AFCON 2021: GROUP A PREVIEW
AFCON 2021 gets underway on January 9 in Cameroon, A look at group A, which includes Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cameroon, and Ethiopia.
Group A fixtures
Sunday 9 January: Cameroon v Burkina Faso- 17:00, Ethiopia v Cape Verde – 20:00
Thursday 13 January: Cameroon v Ethiopia – 17:00, Cape Verde v Burkina Faso- 20:00
Monday 17 January: Burkina Faso v Ethiopia – 17:00, Cape Verde v Cameroon – 20:00
Cameroon
Cameroon automatically qualified for the competition as the host nation, however, that does not stop the Indomitable Lions from finishing top of their qualifying group (F) with Cape Verde coming second.
Cameroon is in the quest to win the tournament for the sixth time. Vincent Aboubakar, Al-Nassr is expected to lead the team to AFCON glory while they will be counting on Bayern Munich’s Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting to bring in the goals. Teams need to also watch out for Lyon’s Karl Toko Ekamb.
The Indomitable Lions play high-intensity football since the arrival of Antonio Conceicao.
Cameroon wins their matches at the midfield because of their abilities to control the midfield and dictate the tempo.
Ajax goalkeeper, Onana did not play a competitive match for eight months due to a doping ban. However, Onana is back to the first team lineup and is expected to be between the sticks for Cameroon.
Best performance: Afcon title (1984, 1988, 2000, 2002, 2017)
First Appearance- 1970
Last appearance -2019
Appearances- 20
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso finished top of their group in the qualifying round, to qualify for Afcon and world cup playoffs, after missing out in 2019. Burkina Faso’s best performance in the continental championship was in 2013 when they lost narrowly to Nigeria by 1-0 in the final.
Burkina Faso boasts of hungry young talents that want to take the continent by storm, the likes of Herve Koffi, Edmond Tapsoba, Issa Kabore, Bertrand Traore, and Gustavo Sangare.
They have the right mentality and talents to make Burkina Faso proud and they are among the favorites to qualify to the next round.
Best performance: Final (2013)
First Appearance- 1996
Last Appearance- 2017
Appearances- 12
Cape Verde
Cape Verde is making their third appearance at Afcon after finishing second in their qualifying group (K). Many of their players are young and have little experience in Afcon. That could be a stumbling block from reaching the Afcon finals. The team focuses on and counter-attack playing style. Though Cameroon and Burkina Faso are the favorites, the Blue Sharks can cause an upset.
Best performance: quarter-finals (2013)
First Appearance- 2013
Last Appearance- 2019
Appearances- 3
Ethiopia
The Walia Ibex are making their first Afcon appearance since 2013, after finishing second in their qualifying group. Ethiopia was one of the pioneering teams in Afcon, and they won it in 1962 but since then they have been an underdog.
But they are back even better with their one-touch football, thanks to their coach Wubetu Abate. Ethiopia will seek to repeat their famous 4-3-3 Afcon qualifier playing style in this tournament.
Teams will need to be wary of the attacking midfielder, Dawa Hotessa, Shemelis Bekele, and captain Getaneh Kebede.
Abubeker Nasir, 2020-21 Ethiopian Premier League golden boot winner is also ready to score goals in this tournament.
Best performance: Winners (1962)
First Appearance- 1957
Last Appearance- 2013
Appearances- 11
