By Fredrick Naduli aka Razor,
With every team having got a run-out,the tournament is slowly taking shape and as usual bookmakers and pundits are already busy at work,putting their money where their mouth is,literally.With all eyes firmly fixed on group C,aptly named the group of death,group D is equally tight,with two of Africa’s perennial campaigners Ivory Coast and Cameroon on one hand,and ‘pretenders’ to the throne Guinea and Mali on the other.
It is the small boys showing scant respect to their seniors.
COTE d’IVOIRE – GUINEA
Guinea,one of the countries worst hit by the Ebola epidemic,arrived in Equatorial Guinea as rank outsiders.They played most of their qualifying home matches away from Conakry,but credit to them,they show no signs of carrying mental baggage.The young side,most of whom play their club football in France,remained unfazed before their more illustrious opponents.
Little Osman Traore was the master in midfield,spreading passes and showing no lack of skills.Mohammed Yattara put them in the lead and their confidence hit rooftop,at some point even showboating much to the chagrin of the star-studded Ivorians.
However,the seasoned Elephants brought their experience to bear when needed most.
That they rallied from a goal and a man down goes to underline their mental character as a unit.When Gervinho was sent off at the hour mark after some silly adrenalin rush,coach Herve Renard shuffled the pack to press for an equaliser while checking out the pace of the speedy Syli Nationale youngsters.The introduction of Seydou Doumbia for off-colour Salomon Kalou was a tactical masterstroke.His high workrate destabilised Guinea and if his goal was a relief,the build up to it was a gem.
He weaved his way past a defender and found his strike partner Wilfried Bony with a lobbed pass.Bony coolly chested it and lay the ball on the path of the advancing Doumbia.His momentum took him past two centrebacks and away from the goalkeeper for a bottom corner finish.
At postmatch coach Renard came just short of blaming the red card,”we should have won with 11 on the pitch” he lamented
MALI – CAMEROON
The Eagles,led by veteran skipper Seydou Keita,are a perfect epitome of what teamwork entails.Mali,with the exception of the Roma midfielder, have no household names to call upon,but their strength as a unit left Cameroon chasing shadows for the better part of the night.Bakari Sako and Adama Tamboura were a handful down the left channel,while Moustapha and Souma Yatabare’s aerial prowess exposed the
Indomitable Lions’ soft defensive underbelly.Cameroon inexplicably gave away cheap freekicks knowing full well they lacked the height to cut off Keita’s sharp deliveries.It is from one such set-piece that they conceded,Yatabara controlling and rifling past Ondoa Ebogo.
Their coach Volke Finke paid tribute to Mali,echoing their overal strenghth as a team and strongly tipping them to emerge out of this group that ironically has all French speaking nations.
