AFCON 2023
‘One last chance available for Elephants’
AFCON 2023
A shock awaits Cape Verde-Abdou
EXCLUSIVE: Lions of Chinguetti coach on the cusp of another history-defining moment
Mauritanian coach Amir Abdou is a proven achiever. He isn’t new to creating history and causing upsets.
In this exclusive for CAFonline, he takes stock of what has been achieved so far at the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Côte d’Ivoire 2023 and looks forward to more.
- Round of 16 is familiar territory for a 51-year-old
- Thinks of Cape Verde game as a unique opportunity to make history
For the second time running, you’re here for the AFCON; how does it feel?
I have been working with Mauritania for two and a half years and am proud of what we have achieved.
It’s a great honor for me to participate in the Africa Cup of Nations for the second time due to the hard work of the players who beat Algeria for us to qualify. I couldn’t achieve this alone, so it’s an honor.
What was the reception in Bouake like?
We were surprised in Bouake; we had a good reception, the infrastructure was sound, the Ivorians welcomed us well, we were in a welcoming city, the field was in excellent condition, and the tournament was successful.
Knowing you are the first coach to win an AFCON game with Mauritania, how do you feel?
Nothing can be achieved alone; this is collective work that has been done; we prepared the players mentally and physically and ensured that they had the right mindset to be up to the task.
I’m proud to have helped throughout this group stage. No one believed we could qualify for the group stage, but we made it; we are not giving up here and will continue.
Only God knows; at the moment, I’m only focused on the round of 16, and later, we will see.
You caused an upset in Cameroon and have repeated it in Côte d’Ivoire again; how do you build your team’s confidence for big games?
What we achieved with Comoros was extraordinary since it is my country, and I said we could do this again. I said what happened with Comoros could be repeated with Mauritania, but no one believed in us, and at the end of the day, we qualified after the win against Algeria.
You were in a tough group with Algeria, Burkina Faso and Angola, how did you manage that?
The first two games we played against Angola and Burkina Faso favored us. It was essential for us to have a similar mindset. Later, the players believed in themselves and went for it. It’s positive for us.
What will be the approach for the 16-round games against Cape Verde?
We are going to get ready and have the proper preparation for this match; Cape Verde is also considered an outsider, so all I can say is we are going to get ready and prepare accordingly.
So, we need to be calm. No one believed we could qualify. The objective is to stay humble and make sure we go as far as possible, get through this knockout stage, make history, and bring joy to the people of Mauritania.
This is a dream, a vast dream. To achieve this dream, we have to go step by step and look at the matches. If we get a good game against Cape Verde, we will look at what we can achieve later.
AFCON 2023
AFCON Group A – Facts & Figures
Cote d’Ivoire v Guinea Bissau
The 34th edition of the TotalEnergies CAF African Cup of Nations kicks off on Saturday, with hosts Cote d’Ivoire taking on Guinea Bissau.
CafOnline.com looks at some interesting facts and figures of the two sides ahead of the tricky match.
- This will be the first encounter between Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea-Bissau at the CAF Africa Cup of Nations.
- Côte d’Ivoire is participating in its 25th CAF Africa Cup of Nations; only Egypt has appeared more in the continent’s premier competition (26). They will attempt to win the trophy for the third time, after 1992 and 2015.
- Côte d’Ivoire is hosting the CAF Africa Cup of Nations for the second time, 40 years after being held in the country in 1984. Cameroon won the title, while Côte d’Ivoire was knocked out in the group stages.
- The hosts/co-hosts of the CAF Africa Cup of Nations have systematically reached the knockout stages of the tournament in all but one of the last 14 editions – the exception was Gabon in 2017. However, no host has won the AFCON since Egypt in 2006.
- Côte d’Ivoire are unbeaten in their last 12 opening matches at the CAF Africa Cup of Nations (W7 D5) – the last time they lost their first match in an edition of the tournament was in 1996 (0-2 v Ghana). Their opening match will be their 100th in the AFCON, becoming the third team to reach that tally after Egypt and Ghana.
- This is Guinea-Bissau’s fourth Africa Cup of Nations appearance after making their debut in the competition only six years ago in 2017. They have finished at the bottom of their group in their three previous participations, with three draws and six defeats.
- Only Benin (14) and Mozambique (12) have played more matches than Guinea-Bissau (9) at the CAF Africa Cup of Nations without ever winning one.
- Guinea-Bissau have failed to score in their last seven matches at the CAF Africa Cup of Nations, a record for any team in the competition’s history. It’s been over 11 hours since they last found the net (707 minutes), a goal by Piqueti against Cameroon on 18 January 2017.
- If Max Gradel plays, this will be his seventh CAF Africa Cup of Nations, equaling Boubacar Barry, Siaka Tiéné, and Kolo Touré as the Ivorians with the most AFCON appearances. He was part of the winning squad in 2015.
- The duo of Zinho Gano and Jorginho scored 55% of Guinea-Bissau’s goals in the qualifiers for the 2023 CAF Africa Cup of Nations (3 goals each, out of a total of 11 team goals).
AFCON 2023
Namibia gears up for fourth AFCON contest
Hotto sings high praises for youngest TotalEnergies CAF AFCON coach, Collin Benjamin
Countdown to AFCON 2023, presented by Ed Emeanua
Following their safe arrival in Korhogo, Cote d’Ivoire, Namibia are gearing up to compete in their fourth TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations.
The Brave Warriors will be led by their former player, Collin Benjamin who goes into the tournament as the youngest of all 24 head coaches present in Cote d’Ivoire.
Benjamin, who was born 45 years ago in Windhoek enjoyed a highly successful playing career in Germany representing, the likes of Hamburger SV and 1860 Munich where he eventually took up the tactics board as a coach.
The former defender, who represented the Brave Warriors 41 times and also captained the side worked as the team’s assistant coach between 2018 – 2022 before assuming the head coach role.
Speaking exclusively to CAFOnline from their base camp in Korhogo, Orlando Pirates utility player, Deon Hotto sang the praises of Benjamin, saying that he is bringing fresh ideas and energy to the team.
“He is one of the youngest and brightest coaches in the tournament. He played his whole career in Germany at the highest level and so he is sharing that experience with us. He is a very open coach. His door is always open for us. He is just a marvelous coach with new and fresh ideas and someone who is really great to work with”, said Hotto.
The Brave Warriors are drawn in an interesting Group E consisting of neighbors, South Africa, 2004 champions Tunisia as well as Mali, who are expected to enjoy the most support with the nation being on the border of Korhogo.
Namibia go into the tournament carrying the underdogs title, with all three of the previous appearances concluding in the group stages – something Benjamin and his Brave Warriors will be hoping to change in the Cote d’Ivoire edition this year.