From the standout match, player and goal through to personal highlights, disappointments and more, here is the verdict on the contest in GabonEgypt 1-2 Cameroon The best was saved until last. This was a watchable tournament throughout but, with almost an hour of the final played, Egypt appeared to be seeing it out to a conclusion that, given some of the attacking football on view from other sides, was not necessarily the most palatable. Then came an out-of-the-blue equaliser from Nicolas Nkoulou, a whirlwind of an onslaught from Cameroon in the final 30 minutes and a goal from Vincent Aboubakar that will bear replaying over and over again. All in front of a full house, largely peopled by Cameroonian expats,...
José Antonio Camacho had hoped his side could unite the politically-divided nation but their joyless and unimaginative football did not excite the fansAs boos rang around the rapidly emptying Stade de l’Amitié, Gabon’s left-winger Denis Bouanga wept. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, after another underwhelming display, walked straight off the pitch, head bowed, shoulders defensively hunched. A goalless draw against Cameroon put Gabon out of the Africa Cup of Nations and made them only the fourth hosts in 31 tournaments and the first since Tunisia in 1994 to fail to make it out of the group stage. Related: Hosts Gabon crash out of Africa Cup of Nations after Cameroon draw Related: Afcon 2017: how did South Africa and Nigeria, Africa's richest nations, miss...
Liverpool winger Sadio Mané gives Senegal an unpredictable edge that has helped them reach the quarter-finals in Gabon after only two matchesAs soon as Tunisia’s win over Algeria was over, the Senegal fans filed into a corner of the stadium. They had no need to wait – one ticket gets you into both parts of the double-header – but some sense of courtesy seemed to hold them back. They are, after all, by some way the noisiest fans in Group B and within seconds of turning their block of seats yellow, green and red, had set up a rhythmic drumming and whistling that they maintained until the final whistle. By then, the game had long since been won: 2-0 was...
A range of teams could win the 2017 tournament, which takes place against a backdrop of political unrestThe pattern has become familiar: a country wins the right to host a tournament and there is excitement, then come doubts about costs and readiness, but in the days before the event, the negativity falls away and excitement takes over. Not here. In 2015, Gabon stepped in to replace Libya as the hosts because of the conflict there but, as the 31st Africa Cup of Nations approaches, there is a clear sense a significant proportion of the country does not want it to happen. Related: Afcon 2017: a group-by-group guide to the Africa Cup of Nations Related: Guinea-Bissau: intrepid outsiders who will make...
Liverpool, Manchester United, Sunderland, Leicester and others may be hit by loss of players to tournament as clubs such as Chelsea, Manchester City capitaliseNow is the time for top clubs to prove that to be forewarned really is to be forearmed. Everyone knew that the Africa Cup of Nations was on the agenda for early 2017 and now, with 23 Premier League players among those heading off to Gabon to compete for their countries in what their employers view as the world’s worst-timed international tournament, rich clubs must show they are resourceful enough to cope. Otherwise they will pay a heavy price. Related: Liverpool’s matchwinner Sadio Mané will head to Gabon with a heavy heart Related: Wilfried Zaha accepts Ivory...