2019 AFCON: Algeria, worthy champions
Cairo, Egypt (PANA) - The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) ended on Friday night in Cairo, with Algeria defeating Senegal 1-0 in the final match.
The Fennecs (Desert Foxes) won their second continental trophy after their 1990 victory when defeated Nigeria 1-0 at home in the final.
This Algerian team under tactician, Djamel Belmadi came out as the best attacking squad of this 32nd edition of with 12 goals and the best defence, only at par with Senegal with each team conceding 2 goals.
In addition, Algeria was the only unbeaten team in the tournament, even beating Senegal twice - in the group match and the final.
It is true that Riyad Mahrez, the captain and his Algerian squad did not produce the best football on Egyptian soil.
But they were the strongest, most difficult to play. So are Algeria a worthy champion?
Surely, since they had not triumphed for 29 years and just at the last AFCON in Gabon, they were out in the first round. What a long way they have come, especially in the 10 months since former international Belmadi took over the team.
"I explained to the players from the beginning that we were embarking on a tough project. And they all joined in," he recalled on Friday, just after his troops had been crowned. That was the reward.
However, this was not obvious in this AFCON in Egypt where the Pharaohs, the Egyptian national team, reigned supreme on the field.
They were highly expected to add their eighth continental crown to its record but that dream turned into a nightmare in the Round of 16, when South African played one of their best matches that day and won 1-0.
Like the Pharaohs, many of Africa's greats did not perform well at this AFCON, the first time the number of teams went up from 16 to 24.
Cameroon, then defending champions and with five continental titles to their credit, saw their ambition to defend the title and keep it for another two years before hosting it in 2021, also did not go beyond the Round of 16.
Nigeria, three-time winners who brought down the Cameroonian Indomitable Lions, thought they were heading straight for the crown, but their journey ended in the semi-finals against Algeria.
Côte d'Ivoire, winners in 1992 and 2015, without being brilliant in group matches, thought they had done the most difficult thing by beating their Malian neighbours in the Round of 16. But despite a fine performance in the quarter-finals, they lost on 3-4 on penalties to Algeria after 1-1 draw in 120 minutes.
Hervé Renard's Morocco, the French tactician, who won two African championships, with Zambia in 2012 and Côte d'Ivoire in 2015, was surprised in the Round of 16 by Benin.
Benin, which, like a few "little ones", managed an unexpected run at this 2019 AFCON, qualifying for the next stage for the first time, only to be beaten in the quarter-finals by Senegal.
Undoubtedly, the most beautiful performance goes to the "Barea" of Madagascar, the debutants who, like wild oxen of their Big Island, which gives them their nickname, went all the way to the quarter-finals where they lost 0-3 to Tunisia. For a first participation, it was quite a journey.
On the other hand, the other two debutants, Mauritania and Burundi, did not make it even if they sometimes showed interesting things.
Overall, this 2019 AFCON had a not of surprises. The increase in the number of teams from 16 to 24 was certainly a major factor.
The "small ones" have shown that they can compete with the "big ones" who know that nothing will be easy in Africa from now on.
Hence the interest of the draw of qualifiers for the 33rd AFCON (Cameroon 2021), last Thursday.
-0- PANA BKN/IS/MTA/MA 20July2019
