Five winners
Volker Finke (Cameroon)
After a pitiful World Cup showing, pressure was on Volker Finke to revive the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon and retrieve some semblance of respectability. The German caretaker opted for a risky route, discarding talismanic personalities such as Samuel Eto’o and Alex Song. His reliance on youth in lieu of tried and tested veterans proved a profitable gamble. His new strike force of Clinton N’Jie and Vincent Abou bakar scored all of Cameroon’s six goals, including four against African giants, Cote D’Ivoire on Wednesday night.
Fakhreddine Ben Youssef (Tunisia)
The CS Sfaxien forward, who is nicknamed ‘rouge’ after the colour of his hair, was simply untenable against Egypt on Wednesday afternoon. Ben Youssef gifted Tunisia a head start, finishing with aplomb in the 14th minute after combining cleverly with teammates Ali Maaloul, and Youssef Msakni. Typically stationed on either flank, coach Georges Leekens, positioned Ben Youssef as a spearhead against Egypt. The switch paid dividends as his change of pace and running power overwhelmed an already fragile Egyptian backline.
SadioMané (Senegal)
The Southampton faithful will have kept a watchful eye on new signing SadioMané, and his performances with Senegal should soothe any outstanding worries. The former Red Bull Salzburg striker sparked the Teranga Lions’ scoring against Botswana on Wednesday. In the 34th minute, he latched onto a Mame Biram Diouf through pass and slipped his shot under goalkeeper Kabelo Dembe. Mané was a livewire against both Egypt and Botswana and it looks like he will retain his position in the team even when the likes of Demba Ba, and Moussa Sow are fully fit.
Cape Verde
The Blue Sharks of Cape Verde continued to command Group F after defeating Zambia in Praia. The African minnows now have attained a maximum six points from two matches, keeping a two-point buffer between themselves and second-place Mozambique. To rub some sheen off of the triumph, it is important to note Zambia’s plane trouble as the Chipolopolo only arrived in Praia some twelve hours before the match. Fatigue therefore definitely played its role in the result, but take naught away from Rui Aguas and Cape Verde who are quietly building team to be wary of.
Geoffrey Massa (Uganda)
After snatching a brave draw in Ghana, Uganda had a wonderful opportunity to consolidate their efforts by beating Guinea in Kampala. Geoffrey Massa assured the Uganda Cranes did just that with a spectacular first-half brace, which set the tone for the rest of the fixture. In the 6th minute Massa chested a headed pass from Aucho Khalid and tipped the ball in. Then in the 41st minute Massa was on hand to finish the good work of Luwagga Kizito. Uganda now sits atop Group of Group E ahead of a home-away double confrontation against Togo in October.
Five losers
Hossam Ghaly (Egypt)
Captain Hossam Ghaly was, perhaps, Egypt’s worst player in a limp 2-0 loss in Dakar last weekend. It was, therefore, surprising that he managed to keep his place in Shawky Gharib’s starting eleven on Wednesday night. Astoundingly, Ghaly was even worse. He misplaced passes, fouled incessantly, and was withdrawn at the break. It is highly likely the former Tottenham midfielder will not feature in the upcoming Botswana double-headers in October.
Sol Bamba (Cote D’Ivoire)
These last two years have seen the same problems plague this Ivorian golden generation. Despite a particular richness in personnel, they have struggled to defend as a coherent unit time and time again. Sol Bamba seems to be at the crux of the problem as he consistently fails to organize a resolute backline. Herve Renard must try to recover from Cote D’Ivoire’s shell shocking defeat by scouting a better centre-half.
Mariano Barreto (Ethiopia)
2013 saw the rise of a former East African giant in Ethiopia. After impressing at the Africa Cup of Nations, the Walya Antelopes nearly qualified for the World Cup, giving Nigeria a tough run in the play-off round. After failing to book their ticket to Brazil, many were expecting Ethiopia to kick on and continue in the same vein. Unfortunately for Africa’s third most populous nation, the same mistakes seemed to trouble the Walya Antelopes. Naïve defending, incompetent goalkeeping, and inefficiency in attack has translated to two losses. Qualifying for Morocco 2015 now seems an uphill task for Bareto and co.
Angola
The PalancasNegras have lost their first home match in 15 years, and itwas a drubbing. The visiting Africa Cup of Nations finalists, Burkina Faso, blitzed the hosts in a 15-minute bombardment, during which they scored three goals. Eccentric striker Aristide Bancé bagged the first goal in the 43rd minute, latching onto a Jonathan Zongo cross. Immediately after the break, Jonathan Pitroipa connected with a lobbed pass from Alain Traoré doubling the Burkinabe lead. Then in the 58th minute, Pitroipa completed his brace, after break taking combination play by Zongo and Bancé. Such a spanking is unacceptable from Angola’s perspective and it would be unfair to assign blame to a single player or coach. The entire squad is to be reprimanded for allowing the debacle to materialize.
Kwesi James Appiah (Ghana)
Though Ghana beat Togo in Lome on Wednesday, Kwesi Appiah will be down in the dumps after having been fired. Appiah was in the limelight after showcasing catastrophic man-management skills at the World Cup. A shock draw to Uganda in Kumasi prompted the Ghanaian Football Association to fly former coach Milovan Rajevac back to Accra. Whispers around the nation hinted that if Appiah stumbled once more during the qualification campaign, Rajevac would take over as new coach of the Black Stars. On Thursday evening, the word broke out that the FA would not wait for the slip-up, firing Appiah and hiring Rajevac.
