Africa Cup of Nations: Winners and Losers from Day 2
The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations continued with the first two matches in Group B.
Sunday’s contests weren’t quite as dramatic as Saturday’s bouts, with the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia and Tunisia and Cape Verde sharing two 1-1 draws.
There was no shortage of talking points, though, with both matches featuring some notable contributions and some controversial incidents.
In this feature, Bleacher Report presents winners and losers from AFCON Matchday 2.
Losers: African Goalkeeping
1 of 5I hate to peddle a stereotype, but I can begin to understand where Fabrice Muamba is coming from when he wrote on Twitter that “You just can’t trust African goalkeeper[s].”
Obviously this is a gross generalisation, with Vincent Enyeama a glistening example of the continent’s custodians, but the evidence of the men between the sticks at the AFCON so far hasn’t been great.
Didier Ovono of Gabon made a few crucial saves, but both he and his namesake, Equatorial Guinea’s Felipe, were guilty of several mindless moments when under pressure.
Today, Robert Kidiaba reminded the watching world of his penchant for some ill-timed recklessness, while the experienced Kennedy Mweene was also guilty of some questionable handling.
Let’s hope the likes of Darren Keet, Fabrice Ondoa and Sylvain Gbohouo can help restore Muamba’s confidence in Africa’s stoppers.
Winner: Yannick Bolasie
2 of 5The Democratic Republic of Congo didn’t exactly set the world alight against Zambia in Ebebiyin, but one of their players appeared determined to steal the show.
From the off, Yannick Bolasie shone with his rapid dribbling down the left flank. He demonstrated other aspects of his game during the second half of the first 45 as he swapped wings with Firmin Mubele.
After the break, he proved to be the Leopards’ hero with a 66th-minute equaliser, a powerful strike that left Mweene with no chance.
Bolasie is a growing force in African football and has been earmarked as a potential breakout star of the tournament following his superb performances for the Central Africans in the qualifiers and his increasing influence at Crystal Palace.
Losers: Zambia
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The 2012 champions haven’t lost a Cup of Nations match since 2010, but against the DR Congo they looked much more like the disappointing 2013 collective than the team who lifted the African title the year beforehand.
Chipolopolo were particularly lightweight and wholly failed to build on their terrific start—they scored after only 62 seconds—and it was inevitable that they would cede the initiative.
I am particularly concerned about how lightweight Zambia looked, and this potential fragility is certainly something that Tunisia and Cape Verde will look to exploit.
Most concerning, however, was the injury suffered by Nathan Sinkala toward the end of the match. The Southern African’s skipper is the team’s linchpin, anchoring the team in Honour Janza’s 4-1-3-2 formation, and without him, Zambia would surely struggle to escape from Group B.
Winners: Cape Verde
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It didn’t look good for Cape Verde in Ebebiyin, as they fell behind to a powerful Mohamed Ali Moncer strike at the back post.
The islanders had had their moments—even hitting the woodwork in the early stages—but they had been denied a potential penalty when Ali Maaloul’s foul on Heldon Ramos was wrongly adjudged to have been outside the box.
However, the Cape Verdeans received an overdue portion of fortune later on when Syam Ben Youssef’s foul on the edge of the box was given as a penalty.
Heldon made no mistake from the spot, his emphatic finish coming as a major fillip for his compatriots.
Losers: Ghana
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Ghana haven’t kicked off their Cup of Nations campaign just yet, but already the Black Stars have further problems to contend with.
Beyond being drawn in the Group of Death and losing key men Kwadwo Asamoah and Abdul Majeed Waris to injury, the West African giants also have to integrate a new manager, Avram Grant, to the fold.
However, the Black Stars camp have been rocked by the news that Asamoah Gyan is a doubt for the opener against Senegal.
As reported by Umar-Farouk Atipaga of Goal Ghana, the striker has been diagnosed with a “mild bout of malaria” and was admitted to a hospital in Mongomo on Saturday.
Should Gyan fail to recover, it’s hard to see exactly how Grant’s side will manage to wriggle out of a taxing opening pool.
