Five things we have learnt from the African Cup of Nations group stages

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“In terms of levelling the playing field, no competition in world football comes close to AFCON. You will have guys making £250k a week in the Premier League getting outplayed by guys on a minimum deal in Cyprus. It is sheer, unadulterated chaos. It is unexplainable.” – @ZachLowy

From all the negative things said about AFCON before it began and even when the games resumed, to the negative press due to the lack of goals and the refereeing howler, the group stage of this year’s tournament has delivered in more ways than many of the naysayers would have expected.

The Round of 16 takes off this Sunday with a number of juicy matchups to look forward to. However, before that begins, let us take a few steps back to review some of the high points and maybe the low points from a fascinating AFCON group stage.

The use of VAR is too subjective

The two things VAR was introduced to achieve for on-field referees was to make better objective decisions and to enhance the level of consistency. Interestingly, it has failed to achieve this and to make matters worse, it has increased the level of controversy as well as the debate post-match.

At this year’s AFCON, its use has almost reached the most ridiculous of interpretations ever seen with some of the post-review decisions seeming almost insane.

It almost seems like these referees just visit the screen for the fun of it. The dismissal in the Mali v Tunisia game was ridiculous as there was no contact. The disallowed goal in the Egypt v Guinea Bissau game was another bizarre incident and the last gasp penalty awarded to Senegal topped it off.

Objectivity has been thrown to the dogs and replaced by the subjective. Once the referee goes to the screen, the decision stays the same. The officials should do better and embrace the opportunity technology offers them to rectify those elements of human error that have troubled the game for so long.

The gap has closed

Comoros, an island with an estimated population of 869,000 people got the better of four-time Champions Ghana to make it to the knockout stages in their first-ever AFCON appearance.

Sierra Leone held both Cote D’Ivoire and Algeria in the group stage to draws, and prior to this year’s competition, the Lone Stars also held Nigeria to two draws during the Qualifiers. Cape Verde and Malawi have also given very good accounts of themselves standing up to some of the powerhouses in the African Game.

In what has proven to be an unusual AFCON, the tournament has been filled with upsets or at least close shaves for some of the top teams.

For many, expanding AFCON to 24 teams seemed premature at the time. However, these countries have shown that they deserve to be here and are not just making the numbers, demonstrating that the gap between the big teams and the small teams may have closed.

Cagey start gives away an explosive climax

Like in most football competitions at international level, the first set of games are always cagey as no one wants to get off on a bad note or with a loss to start off any competition. AFCON is no different, but despite this, there were widespread criticisms of the lack of goals especially with the number of 1-0 wins recorded.

Once we got past the first set of group matches, the floodgates opened in many venues with Cameroon and Tunisia scoring four goals, Nigeria putting three past Sudan, Sierra Leone and Cote D’Ivoire delivering a four-goal thriller and Malawi, Guinea and Zimbabwe also delivering a three-goal scoreline.

The goals started to fly in during the second and third match days, but we might be in for another goal drought as the knockout stages come calling. Despite this, it has been a thrilling competition so far.

Who moved the penalty spot?

A number of penalty misses have been recorded at this AFCON with Tunisia the only team that have failed to convert two spot-kicks. What is particularly thrilling is the players missing from the spot are individuals you could stake your mortgage on to score comfortably especially when the chips are really down.

Waziri Khadri, Riyad Mahrez and Kei Kamara are three dependable players from the spot but all disappointed when their teams really needed them most. On the final matchday, all three awarded penalties were missed and the outcome led to the eliminations and demotion of Algeria, Sierra Leone and Tunisia respectively.

You may want to call it a coincident but it seemed more like someone had moved or tampered with the penalty spot across the venues in question.

Defences may still win championships

Heading into the tournament, Senegal were rated as one of the big favourites to win their first-ever AFCON after a few close shaves.

Senegal are known for their strong attack but it seems it is their defence that is getting all the plaudits. Three games in and no goal conceded even though the Taranga Lions have not scored from open play and their only goal so far was from a dubious penalty.

There is a famous saying that illustrates having a solid defence is the route to winning a championship, so on many occasions, the team with the best defensive record goes on to win the title. It is safe to say Senegal are on their way to finally crowning this golden generation with an AFCON they have long craved.

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