Zimpapers Logo

Johannesburg — The sharpest shooters in 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying, Odion Ighalo of Nigeria and Fiston Abdul Razak of Burundi, will come face to face in Group B at the finals this month.

While Ighalo and his Super Eagles team-mates are favoured to top the four-nation table and advance to the knockout stage in Egypt, Abdul Razak and the Swallows may struggle.   

Burundi are the lowest ranked of the 24 sides at the June 21-July 19 tournament and the best they can be expected to hope for is third place below Nigeria and Guinea and above Madagascar.

The countries finishing first and second are guaranteed round-of-16 slots while the best four of the six third-placed teams also qualify.

Here, AFP Sport runs the rule over the Group B hopefuls and assesses their prospects in the biennial African football showpiece:

Burundi

The tiny central African country secured a first appearance at the expense of favoured Gabon despite drawing four of six qualifiers.

Algeria-based Abdul Razak starred with six goals at an average of one per match — a total bettered only by Ighalo, who netted seven times.

But having tormented the defences of Mali, Gabon and South Sudan, can he wreak more havoc against the stronger Nigerian and Guinean defences?

Olivier Niyungeko, who has succeeded where a string of foreign coaches failed, chose Burundians based in 13 countries and also picked one local, goalkeeper Jonathan Nahimana.

Verdict: an early exit looms

Guinea

A squad coached by Belgian Paul Put hope poor dress rehearsals will be transformed into a grand opening night against Madagascar.

Warm-up losses to lower-ranked opponents the Gambia and Benin in Morocco could sow self doubts and there has also been the distraction of injured midfield star Naby Keita.

He injured a thigh playing for Liverpool at Barcelona in the Champions League semi-finals and admits to “not yet being fully fit”.

Put, who took outsiders Burkina Faso to the 2013 final, will expect a lot from Ibrahima Traore, a winger based in Germany whose footwork can bewilder even the tightest defences.

Verdict: Quarter-finals a realistic goal

Madagascar

Like Burundi, the Indian Ocean islanders who are making their Cup of Nations debut will eye third place and qualification as one of the four best teams in that position.

French coach Nicolas Dupuis has worked wonders with a side that got to Egypt by finishing above Equatorial Guinea and Sudan, and he also coaches a lower-league club in his homeland.

He believes practice makes perfect, saying: “Madagascar used to play three or four matches a year and were going nowhere. We now make full use of every international window.”

Dupuis has also convinced France-born Thomas Fontaine, Romain Metanire, Jerome Mombris and Jeremy Morel to represent a country they are linked to through parents or grandparents.

Verdict: reaching second round would complete a fairytale

Nigeria

The three-time champions are back at the Cup of Nations after unexpectedly lifting the trophy in 2013 and then failing to qualify for the next two editions.

They should take advantage of a kind draw and cruise into the second round, but Nigerian supporters will expect much more from a team coached by experienced German Gernot Rohr.

When the Cup of Nations was last staged by Egypt in 2006, the Super Eagles finished third behind the host nation and the Cote d’Ivoire

Apart from former Watford forward Ighalo, Spain-based Samuel Chukwueze could be a major threat having scored regularly for Villarreal in La Liga last season.

Verdict: Anything less than a semi-final place will be considered failure

Meanwhile, Arsenal forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will be a notable absentee when the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations kicks off in Egypt on June 21.

The France-born star plays for Gabon, the homeland of his father, and they missed out on a place after finishing third in a group behind qualifiers Mali and Burundi.

Gabon could have overtaken by winning a final-round match in Bujumbura, but only drew 1-1 with the 29-year-old closely marked throughout.

While disappointing with Gabon, Aubameyang shared the English Premier League Golden Boot last season with two fellow Africans, Egyptian Mohamed Salah and Senegalese Sadio Mane.

They scored 22 goals each, one more than Argentine Sergio Aguero from back-to-back champions Manchester City.

Here, AFP Sport highlights five stars, teams and a top referee who will not be part of the biennial African football showpiece. 

Aubameyang

He often seemed disinterested in the fate of Gabon during the six-round qualifying schedule and refused to visit South Sudan, claiming the chartered plane was not airworthy.

More recently, Aubameyang slammed Gabonese government and football officials for naming his ill father national coach without checking his availability for a post he declined.

Burkina Faso

Bronze medallists in Gabon two years ago, the Stallions came only third behind Angola and Mauritania in a qualifying section.

Poor away form cost the Burkinabe dearly as they picked up only one point of a possible nine on the road after losing in Luanda and Nouakchott and drawing in Francistown in Botswana. 

Grisha

Widely regarded as one of the best African referees, Egyptian Gehad Grisha was dropped from the provisional list for the 2019 tournament after a six-month suspension.  

The ban stemmed from what Caf said was a “poor performance” in the CAF Champions League final first leg despite many believing he called two difficult VAR decisions correctly. 

Le Roy

Septuagenarian French coach Claude le Roy — loved by the media for his straight talking — suffered the rare experience of failing to qualify when Togo came last in a group. 

He guided Cameroon to the 1988 Cup of Nations title in Morocco after taking them to second place two years before, and coached 2008 hosts Ghana to third spot. 

Zambia

The Chipolopolo (Copper Bullets) have failed to build on their stunning penalty shootout triumph over hotly fancied Ivory Coast in the 2012 Cup of Nations final.

They made first round exits from the following two tournaments and failed to even qualify for the 2017 and 2019 editions, finishing bottom this year of a section won by Guinea-Bissau. — AFP.