Abidjan (AFP) – From shocking results that exceeded expectations and did not stop at a certain point, to the abundance of goals and the lively crowd, the Africa Cup of Nations was full of excitement and promised more in the remaining eight matches in host Ivory Coast.
Published on: 02/01/2024 – 12:41
4 minutes
Agence France-Presse highlights some of the events, starting with the president of the Confederation of African Football, who never misses a match, to the stars who are proud to draw happiness on the faces and in the hearts of their citizens who are suffering under financial burdens.
-Goals Festival-
The record for goals scored in 24-team finals is 102 goals in 2019 in Egypt, where Nigerian Odion Ighalo was the top scorer with five goals.
This number was surpassed in Ivory Coast, where the number of goals reached 105 in 44 matches, with 8 matches remaining in the knockout rounds before the curtain falls on the continental championship.
Emilio Nsaoy (34 years old), who plays in the Spanish third division, tops the scorers’ standings with five goals, but he will not be able to increase his score due to his country, Equatorial Guinea, being eliminated by Guinea in the final stage (0-1).
-Non-stop movement from the president-
While the cameras were broadcasting images of the fans at the quarter-final matches in the West African country, one person caught the eye with his constant presence in every match, and that was the President of the South African Confederation of Football, Patrice Motsepe.
Traditionally, it was customary for the chief football official in the African continent to follow one match every day, but billionaire businessman Motsepe has raised attendance at matches to a new level.
Explaining how Motsepe could watch matches in the northern city of Korhogo and the southwestern city of San Pedro on the same evening, a CAF official said the CAF president was using a private plane.
-Bruce for a second title-
Frenchman Herve Renard is the only coach to have won the Africa Cup of Nations with two different teams, as he led Zambia to glory in 2012 and repeated the feat with Ivory Coast three years later.
Currently, veteran Belgian Hugo Bros has a chance to equal the “Fox” with South Africa, after he won the title with Cameroon in 2017.
Ghanaian coaches Charles Gyamfi and Egyptian Hassan Shehata hold the record for the most winners with three titles each.
-From hardship to happiness-
The common denominator among many of Ivory Coast’s top ‘killers’ was the joy the players felt in bringing some happiness to their compatriots burdened by daily financial difficulties.
Many Africans suffer from the high cost of living, so victories in African nations on a continent where football is the dominant sport, bring joy and immediately after the national team wins, people take to the streets to celebrate.
“Economically, times are difficult for many Angolans, so it is great to hear that our successes have raised morale in our homeland,” Angola captain Freddy (33 years old) said before facing Nigeria in the quarter-finals.
-Yaya supports Bafana-
That South Africa defeated Morocco, the fourth World Cup in 2022, in the 2-0 final, is a very surprising result for many football fans, but this achievement did not surprise Ivory Coast legend Yaya Toure.
Speaking before the start of the tournament, the former Manchester City midfielder included Bafana Bafana among the teams he believes can go far in the competition.
French coach Claude Le Roy, who participated in nine previous editions of the continental championship with six different teams, also supported South Africa, which was crowned champion in 1996, to be a serious contender for the title.
© 2024 AFP
2024-02-01 11:41:05
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