Ivory Coast will hold the 2024 African Cup of Nations (or it could also be called 2023) after CAF or the all-African football federation rolls to host. The plan was that Ivory Coast would host in 2021, but because there was a change with the previous year’s host, CAF decided that Cameroon would host in 2021. Ivory Coast, which had been preparing, finally relented and held it in the 2023 edition.
Even though it is often criticized by European clubs, the African Cup of Nations still remains to be held in the winter season. Many European clubs have had to give up their players to be called up to the national team, and it is not uncommon for them to return with injuries. However, this is the consequence of recruiting players from Africa, and FIFA must find a solution to these two interests.
Back in Ivory Coast, they welcomed the African Cup of Nations with an elephant mascot named Akwaba, which means “Welcome”. A warm welcome will certainly be given to the 34th edition of the African Cup of Nations, which will be held from 13 January to 11 February 2024. There are 24 countries participating to win the highest football supremacy trophy in the African region.
Held since 1957 in every odd year, Egypt is still the collector of the most European Cup titles with 7 titles. Cameroon followed with 5 titles, followed by Ghana and Nigeria with 4 titles. For the previous edition (2021), Senegal lifted the African Cup of Nations for the first time in history. Aliou Cisse’s team beat Mohammed Salah’s Egypt on penalties, after both teams played goalless in normal time. Edouard Mendy, who at that time had just won the Champions League with Chelsea, became the protagonist after blocking Abdelmonem and Mohanad Lasheen’s shots.
For the 2023 AFCON period, the capabilities of the top tier consisting of Morocco, Egypt, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Tunisia and Senegal are quite even. It is difficult to predict which will be the champion in February. Nevertheless, here are estimates of 3 countries that could be seeded to become the best in Africa this year.
- Morocco (FIFA Rank #13)
Decided to make Morocco the main seed in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, apart from its FIFA ranking being the highest compared to other African countries, it was also due to this team’s performance at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Unexpectedly, they were able to rank 4th in the World Cup, by eliminating two big teams, Spain and Portugal. After that, they had to admit France’s greatness in the semifinals with a 0-2 defeat, and lost 1-2 to Croatia in the race for 3rd place.
The Atlas Lions squad also has relatively little change with coach Walid Regragui remaining the coach. Using the mainstay 4-3-3 formation, Walid will entrust his goal to Al Hilal goalkeeper, Yassine Bounou. Even though he plays in the Arab Super League, Bounou’s ability is still maintained by bringing Al Hilal to the top of the standings with a fantastic record for conceding goals, only conceding 9 times in 19 matches!
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The back line still relies on the duo Nayef Aguerd (West Ham) with captain Romain Saiss (Al Shabab). Achraf Hakimi will be on the right side, while Mazraoui, who is starting to gain Thomas Tuchel’s trust at Bayern, will be on the left side.
The three in the middle will still play the pivot of Soyfan Amrabat, who will continue to be relied on despite being left out by Manchester United, along with Azzedine Ounahi and Amine Harit who both played together at Marseille. El Nesyri will still be the spearhead with the support of former Chelsea, Hakim Ziyech on the right and a player who is rising with Bayer Leverkusen, Amine Adli.
This composition does not have many changes compared to when they appeared at the 2022 World Cup, in fact the presence of Adli to replace Boufal could enrich the attacking dimension. The obstacles they might encounter are the physicality of captain Romain Saiss, who often cannot complete 90 minutes of matches, plus Amrabat’s match fitness, which is rarely used full-time by Eric Ten Hag. They are the axis of the team, and must be able to lead their colleagues to win the second African Cup of Nations for their country.
Morocco is in Group F with Rep. Democratic Congo, Tanzania and Zambia. They will get through the group perfectly and just have to wait for potential opponents from other groups in the round of 16. Hopefully they can avoid Group A representatives quickly.
- Ivory Coast (Host-FIFA Rank #49)
Having a lower FIFA ranking than Senegal, Tunisia, Algeria, Cameroon, Nigeria and Egypt, but it is difficult to ignore the privilege of Les Elephants, Ivory Coast, as hosts. The Africa Cup of Nations is notoriously tough on visiting teams, although the last team to win at home was Egypt in 2006.
Trained by Jean-Louis Gasset since May 2022, Franck Kessie et al have had good results in the last 9 matches they have played. ^ a win, 2 draws and a defeat against Zambia was their record before the tournament. In their latest match, they beat Sierra Leone 5-1 on January 7 in San Pedro, Ivory Coast. Ousmane Diomande, Franck Kessie, Jonathan Bamba, Jeremy Boga and Jean Thierry Lazare each scored a goal. The composition in this match is a reflection of the Ivory Coast main team at AFCON 2023.
Using a 4-3-3 formation, Yahia Fofana (Angers) will stand in goal. The four flat defenders will be Wilfried Singo (Monaco), Ousmane Diomande (Sporting CP), Evan Ndicka (AS Roma) and Ghislain Konan (Al Fayha).
Franck Kessie (Al Ahli), Sekou Fofana (Al Nassr) and Ibrahim Sangare (Nottingham Forest) will be the fighting motor in midfield, supporting the fast movement of the trio of Jeremie Boga (Nice), Sebastian Haller (Dortmund) and Christian Kouame (Fiorentina) in front.
They also have players who will be ready to surprise on the bench, such as Nicolas Pepe, Simon Adingra and Jonathan Bamba who can make things difficult for opponents with their speed and power.
The weakness of the Ivory Coast team, like most hosts, is the lack of competitive level in recent months. As hosts who don’t need to qualify, of course they will get around it with a friendly match. However, the feeling of competing was not as competitive as the other participating teams. Playing in Group A, Ivory Coast will have the opportunity to compete with Equatorial Guinea, Guinea Bissau and other potential champions, Nigeria.
- Nigeria (FIFA Rank #42)
Now is one of Nigeria’s golden generations since the era of Nwankwo Kanu et al. Want proof? Look at this line of attackers: Ademola Lookman, Victor Osimhen and Victor Boniface, they are quality guarantees for scoring goals for The Eagles at AFCON 2023. Jose Peseiro, the coach from Portugal who has been appointed to handle Nigeria since May 2022, can even field 4 strikers at once in a match. They did this when they tried out against Saudi Arabia last October 13 which ended 2-2.
Using a 4-4-2 pattern, Francis Uzoho (Omonia) is the goalkeeper protected by Tyronne Ebuehi (Empoli), Semi Ajayi (WBA), Calvin Bassey (Fulham), and Bruno Onyemaechi (Boavista). Bad news hit them at the end of player registration at AFCON, because Wilfried Ndidi, the mainstay defensive midfielder, had to be absent due to injury. His absence will mean Frank Onyeka (Brentford) will take over the pivot position alongside creative midfielder Alex Iwobi (Fulham).
If against Saudi Arabia Peseiro played Chukwueze and Lookman together on the wings, it would be wiser if in this tournament he only played Ademola Lookman (Atalanta) as the left wing, with the right wing being Joe Aribo (Southampton) who has more defensive instincts. This is because the monster duo, Victor Boniface (Bayer Leverkusen) and Victor Osimhen (Napoli) will definitely find it difficult to compromise on negative progression. Actually, these two players are of the same type and it is a challenge for both of them to unite their duet chemistry.
Victor Osimhen will show his worthiness to win the 2023 African Player of the Year title. His action at Napoli was affected when he wore the Eagle’s proud uniform.
Nigeria’s strength is the power and use of set-pieces by its players. Opposing teams will definitely note every possibility of stopping the Nigerian twin duo, and hope that Lookman cannot move freely to make a stab.
If we talk about weaknesses, the lack of cohesion of the front players is the handicap. On paper they have a high rating as individuals, but the results on the field are still far from satisfactory. Of the 8 matches they played in 2023, they were able to record 4 wins, 3 draws and one loss. Even though they are quite good, in fact their opponents are not the Big Six from the African Zone. So, it’s worth waiting to see whether the Nigerian Eagles can immediately find their best ingredients before the competition starts.
Those are the three teams that will be seeded at the 2023 African Cup of Nations (AFCON). Of course, the progress of Mohammed Salah (Egypt), Sadio Mane (Senegal) and Andre Onana (Cameroon) will be another color in the competition between the best African countries, which may be the last for Mane and Salah.
ASL
