FC Nantes is one of the clubs that has let the most players leave for the Africa Cup of Nations, which starts this Sunday in Cameroon and ends on February 6. In total, they are five players from Antoine Kombouaré’s workforce to have been called up by their selection for the competition. It is as much as AS Saint-Étienne, two less than FC Metz but more than the 17 other Ligue 1 clubs. Can the Canaries pay the price? We take a tour of the ambitions of each of the selected players, some of whom can hope for a good (and long) course.
Moses Simon (Nigeria)
Third best passer in the championship (six assists) after having occupied the first place for a long time, Moses Simon was one of the strong men of FC Nantes during the first leg. Less legs at the end of the year, it is nonetheless decisive as proven his brilliant action to offer victory to his club against Lens (3-2), December 10.
Holder in selection, Simon will be one of the main offensive weapons of the Super Eagles, amputated by a large package, that of Victor Osimhen (Naples), tested positive for Covid-19. Third in the last edition, Nigeria will seek, once again, to shine in this continental competition.
But the three-time CAN winner (1980, 1994, 2013), placed in the group of Egypt, Sudan and Guinea Bissau, tackles the tournament with a newly appointed coach in the person of Augustine Eguavoen, who has replaced Gernot Rohr, sacked in mid-December.
Charles Traoré and Kalifa Coulibaly (Mali)
Deprived of playing time in the club for a few weeks, Charles Traoré and Kalifa Coulibaly should take advantage of this Cameroonian getaway to chain matches. The left side is indisputable holder with the Eagles of Mali: he started all the qualifying matches for the 2022 World Cup, played since September. A second eliminatory phase that the Malians flew over (five wins, one draw) being the only team not to concede goals.
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Placed in group F along with Tunisia, Mauritania and Gambia, Mali and its new generation are logically aiming for qualification in the round of 16. Kalifa Coulibaly, scorer of two goals in the last two meetings, will compete with Ibrahima Koné (Sarpsborg, Norway) and El Bilal Touré (Reims) for a place at the forefront of the attack.
Jean-Charles Castelletto (Cameroon)
It is the other Nantes holder who will leave his partners. He has started all the matches for which he has been operational since the start of the season in Ligue 1 (16 matches). International since 2017, he has only a handful of selections and does not leave, on paper, as the holder for this African Cup.
A competition for which Cameroon, the organizing country, has great ambitions. With a very affordable group (Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Ethiopia), the Indomitable Lions, winners of the 2017 edition, should reach the second round without too much difficulty.
Santiago Eneme Bocari (Equatorial Guinea)
It is the absence that will have the least impact on the professional team of FC Nantes. And for good reason, Santiago Eneme Bocari (21) has never appeared on an official scoresheet with the Canaries. Disturbed by injuries since the start of the season, he had however been integrated into Antoine Kombouaré’s group during training sessions. His 2021-2022 fiscal year boils down to four meetings with Stéphane Ziani’s reserve team.
His selection, Equatorial Guinea, fell into a very complicated group with two ogres: Algeria and Ivory Coast. International since 2018, he should not have a very significant playing time in Cameroon.
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