The 2021 African Cup of Nations kicks off in January, from Sunday January 9th to Sunday February 6th in Cameroon and the groups are as follows: Group A 1- Cameroon (host) 2- Burkina Faso 3- Ethiopia 4- Cape Verde Group B 1- Senegal (runners up in 2019) 2- Zimbabwe 3- Guinea 4- Malawi Group C 1- Morocco 2- Ghana 3- Comoros 4- Gabon Group D 1- Nigeria 2- Egypt 3- Sudan 4- Guinea Bissau Group E 1- Algeria (defending champions; won it in 2019) 2- Sierra Leone 3- Equatorial Guinea 4- Cote D'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) Group F 1- Tunisia 2- Mali 3- Mauritania 4- Gambia
AFCON is imo the hardest international tournament to predict. Favourites win it rarely. Very often it's won by a team that wasn't really on the spotlight heading into the tournament. For this edition I'll give 11 nations a shot at winning it. These are: Algeria Morocco Egypt Tunisia Senegal Ivory Coast Nigeria Cameroon Ghana Mali Burkina Faso If the winner doesn't emerge from these 11 teams I'd consider it an even bigger upset than Zambia 2012. That must be telling. If there's a first time winner it has to be Senegal, Mali or Burkina Faso.
Absolutely right. What makes it such a great tournament. In fact I can't remember the last time the favorite won. Like u said usually a top side that has been forgotten or under the radar wins. Let's look 2019 Winner: Algeria Favorite: Senegal 2017 Winner: Cameroon Favorite: Senegal 2015 Winner: Ivory Coast Favorite: Algeria 2013 Winner: Nigeria Favorite: Ivory Coast 2012 Winner: Zambia Favorite: Ivory Coast 2010 Winner: Egypt Favorite: Ivory Coast 2008 Winner: Egypt Favorite: Ivory Coast 2006 Winner: Egypt Favorite: Ivory Coast Interesting that Ivory Coast was Favorite for so long , but it was only after Drogba retired and everyone stopped tipping them to win after so many disappointments, that they ended up winning over favorites Algeria who were hyped after their wonderful world cup in 2014. Going by the formula above I would say the favorites to win would be Morocco, or Algeria, meaning neither side will actually win and the likely winner could be senegal, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, or Egypt.
I don't know what people think yet but I suppose Senegal will be labelled first favourites by most. Then Algeria and Morocco.
Cameroon wants to hold the tournament with full capacity stadiums. Entry will be for vaccinated as well as for people who made a PCR test not older than 48 hours ago. It's on CAF to decide whether they approve this suggestion. https://africafootunited.com/can-2021-le-cameroun-favorable-aux-stades-pleins/
A team that intrigues me lately has been Burkina Faso. They remained unbeaten in CAF World Cup qualifiers and gave Algeria in both games a very good fight. It's unfortunate that Lassina Traoré has been ruled out for the tournament. Bertrand Traoré will struggle to get fit on time. He's another key player who is set to miss AFCON.
Burkina Faso are another team that could fly under the radar but then other teams who could are Mali or even Cote d'Ivoire
Too bad for those injuries. Burkina Faso has always been a decent team. They've had their successes at afcon too. Last time Nigeria won the cup in 2013 we played Burkina Faso in the final, and they also finished third in 2017. But then they will fail to qualify entirely sometimes like they did in 2019. As for injuries wonder if we could list some major injuries for top players. Nigeria are likely to miss our top striker , Napolis Victor Osimehn, and I know Senegal are likely to miss Ismalia Sarr. 2 major losses.
Cameroon the hosts we can't forget about them either. To be able to win it in their backyard, I mean it could happen. But also Eto'o being their new FA president, is bound to turn Cameroonian football around and make it a real powerhouse in Africa once again.
Yeah, Burkina Faso has been one of the best performing 2nd tier nations in CAF from 2010 onward. We can make a list of major players missing the tournament once the squads are out. First and foremost I hope the tournament goes ahead as scheduled. On Wikipedia there is no date named for until when the squads have to be announced.
Cameroon is a strange case. Historically they are one of the three four powerhouses. But for some reason they fly under most people's radar. Having eliminated Ivory Coast (a team I had picked to qualify for Qatar) from World Cup qualfying is a huge statement. I think Cameroon will have a very good tournament. Possibly they end up winners. They got massive pedigree in this competition. They might not possess the best individuals but as a collective they are quite strong. They can rely also on home advantage.
Exactly and for Cameroon if they qualify for Qatar, it will be their 7th or 8th appearance at a FIFA World Cup. I see it happening no matter who they face in the playoff come March.
Really ? Cameroon is such a disappointing team. I dont like to see them at world cups. They always go there to disappoint, ever since 1990. No other African side has such a record of failure at world cups than Cameroon.
That may be true but it doesn't change the fact that they have been consistent when it comes to FIFA World Cup appearance and then next to them is Nigeria but I heard the Super Eagles as of a couple of hours ago sacked Rohr as their manager
Regarding the outright winner I'm looking at the hosts Cameroon, Senegal as the favourites and Mali as a dark horse pick. One of these three will be my winner. Usually North African sides other than Egypt don't fare very well at AFCONs held in Sub-Saharan Africa.
That is true, but it's really hard to ignore the blistering form of both Morocco and Algeria. These trends are meant to be broken. Germany winning in Brazil. My money as of now is on Morocco.
I had Germany winning in Brazil by the way. I wasn't on Bigsoccer though to that time. Every tournament has its own dynamics and unwritten rules. AFCON isn't the same as the World Cup. Morocco will have a good tournament but I see them coming up just short in the later rounds. Regardless I think they could do something special in Qatar if they qualify. It's no coincidence that Morocco has only one CAF trophy to their name. They are perennial underachievers in this competition. That's why I don't trust them to go all the way but I like them to go on a deep run at the World Cup when it isn't much expected from them. I see Algeria as a similair case. They won in 2019 when they flew under the radar. Now they have to show whether they can handle the pressure that comes as reigning champions.
Also another noteworthy fact when I studied the winners list on Wikipedia is that AFCON went always four editions at most without producing a first-time winner. The last first-time winners were Zambia in 2012. You can believe whatever you like but I believe in such patterns. So I give it a good chance that we'll have a new winner. For that I see Senegal and Mali as the only feasible options. Cameroon on the other hand I like because they play at home and look to be in good form. Playing at home is a huge asset for the "Indomitable Lions". Their last competitive home loss dates back to 1998 (3-1 to Ghana in AFCON 2000 qualfying). No other African nation boasts a streak of such longevity right now.
probably the biggest upset of the entire tournament. I dont even think any other result comes close. That was with Herve Renard in charge.