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Weekend Football
01 February 2008
by Jerrad Peters

African Nations Cup
Samuel Eto'o became the most prolific goalscorer in the history of the African Nations Cup, Wednesday. With a brace against Sudan, the 26-year-old broke Cote d'Ivoire striker Laurent Pokou's record of 14-goals – a mark that had stood for 38-years. Incredibly, Eto'o is likely to feature in three or four more competitions before he retires; and it is not inconceivable that he could double Pokou's standard by the time he retires.

If he doesn't, he may look back to a handful of missed opportunities against Sudan. For while he gave Cameroon the lead just shy of the half-hour, he missed a clear chance in the 14th-minute when Mahjoub El Moez saved his effort from in close. Eto'o was gifted another break when the rebound found him with a gaping net. But his strike flew over the goal.

While Cameroon attacked, using effective wing-play to create openings, Sudan opted for a decidedly physical approach. Amir Damir, in particular, escaped a certain booking for a horrific tackle on right midfielder Joel Epalle.

Sudan's reckless tactics came back to haunt them, however, when Cameroon were awarded a penalty after Yousef Alaeldin hauled down Achille Emana in the area. Eto'o approached the spot, sent El Moez diving to the left, and eased his shot into the centre of the goal. The tally was his fourth of the tournament and record-breaking 15th in Nations Cup history.

Just six minutes later, the result was all but sealed. Mohammed Ali Khider's own-goal in the 34th-minute gave Cameroon a 2-0 heading into the break. And despite some inspired play from the Sudanese after the restart, the outcome was never in doubt.

That said, Sudan squandered several quality chances throughout the second period. Alaeldin and Haitham Tambal made good use of the flanks and delivered a number of dangerous crosses which had Carlos Kameni scrambling between his posts to maintain the clean sheet.

It was against the run of play that Eto'o's second goal came in stoppage time. The powerful forward ran onto Epalle's pass and guided the ball past El Moez for his tournament-leading 5th-goal. With second-place in Group C wrapped up, Cameroon will battle Group D winners Tunisia in the quarterfinals on Monday.

Tunisia, meanwhile, played out the string of their group phase fixtures against Angola on Thursday. With both Senegal and South Africa having self-destructed earlier in the competition, both the Carthage Eagles and Palancas Negras entered the match with one eye squarely on the quarterfinals.

Roger Lemerre's teamsheet reflected as much. The Tunisia manager opted to award Armine Chermiti his first Nations Cup start after serving a two-match ban in earlier games against Senegal and South Africa. Top-scorers Francileudo dos Santos and Yassine Chikaoui began the affair on the bench.

Appropriately, it was Chermiti who nearly opened the scoring after just more than a quarter-of-an-hour. Kali's giveaway to the 20-year-old produced an effort which stretched Angolan 'keeper Lama for the save.

While Lemerre rested his stars, Angola boss Luis Goncalves kept the striking partnership of Alberto Manucho and Flavio intact. And Manucho, the Manchester United prodigy who had been loaned-out to Panathinaikos earlier in the day, tested Tunisia goalkeeper Hamdi Kasraoui with an effort midway through the opening half. Ze Kalanga, as well, was denied by Kasraoui in the early going.

With a draw suiting both sides, the match petered out quickly after the restart. Flavio and Manucho continued to create the odd chance. But whenever either came within an eye of goal, their efforts tended to drop comfortably into the lap of Kasraoui. Tunisia, in particular, took little initiative in going forward. Lemerre's five-man midfield snuffed any creativity out of the opposing attack; and Angola resorted to comfortably passing the ball among themselves in their own end.

At the final whistle, both sides eased into the knockout stage with the 0-0 draw. Tunisia, however, advanced as group winners by virtue of goals-scored. They will face Cameroon on Tuesday while Angola will be paired with 2006 champions Egypt.

Like the 0-0 draw in Tamale, Egypt and Zambia were involved in a similarly dour affair in Kumasi on Wednesday. Nevertheless, The Pharaohs lined-up in their attacking, 3-5-2 formation as manager Hassan Shahata targeted all three points. Still, it was Zambia which made the better start. Jacob Mulenga forced Egyptian ‘keeper Essem Al-Hadri into making the game’s first, difficult save in the early going.

On the quarter-hour, however, it was the returning champions drawing first blood. Ahmed Fathi’s lovely run produced a Sayad Moawad cross which Amr Zaki volleyed past Kennedy Mweene. Zaki nearly had his second in the 27th-minute when his disappointing effort was easily handled by the Zambian goalkeeper.

But for Mweene, Chipolopolo might well have been 4-0 down by the hour-mark. Zaki, again, missed a clear opportunity; and Shahata sent Mohamed Zidan and Mohamed Aboutrika onto the pitch in search of goals shortly thereafter. Egypt continued to dominate possession into the final minutes; but their lack of finishing returned to haunt them as the match drew to a close.

Chris Katongo, having brought down a pass inside the 18-yard-box, turned Fathi inside-out before slotting the equalizer past Al-Hadri. It was too little, too late, however. And group-winners Egypt will be paired with Cameroon in the quarterfinals on Monday.

Neither Senegal nor South Africa will be involved in the knockout stages. As a matter of fact, Senegal’s especially dismal showing at the competition will prompt further examination when the management team returns to Dakar. Lamine Ndiaye, having replaced Henri Kasperczak after the Polish manager resigned following a 3-1 loss to Angola, proceeded to Ousmane Ndoye, goalkeeper Tony Sylva, and captain El-Hadji Diouf after the trio were found in a Kumasi club on Wednesday night.

South Africa, a colossal disappointment in their own right, opened the match with a realistic shout for a penalty in the early minutes when Elrio Van Heerden was brought to the ground by Souleymane Diawara. The Club Brugges winger did open the scoring, however, when he converted Teko Modise’s cross past goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul.

South Africa looked to be easing into half-time with the lead until a defensive gaffe cost Bafana Bafana their first win of the tournament. Blackburn Rovers midfielder Aaron Mokoena mis-played a Senegal through-ball – playing it into the path of Henri Camara who beat Moeneeb Josephs for the equalizer.

The Lions of Teranga appeared the more enterprising side after the restart. Mamadou Niang and Siphiwe Tshabalala combined in creating several opportunities and Papa Waigo came close to notching the go-ahead as well.

On the other side of the ball, Siphiwe Tshabalala persisted in shooting either wide or high over Condoul while Kagisho Dikgacoi’s effort in the dying minutes demanded a good save from the Colorado Rapids ‘keeper in order to maintain the level scoreline.