The African Cup of Nations will start this Saturday, with a group phase lasting until February 1st and the final on the 12th. In their preparation for the competition, the sixteen teams involved are multiplying the friendly games after their training camps.
Following a camp in Marbella, the national team of Morocco beat Swiss club Grasshopper Zürich (3-1) on Monday. After conceding the opener on a penalty in the first half, the “Atlas Lions” reversed the situation at the end of the game. Youssouf Hadji made all the difference for his team, scoring a hat-trick after coming off the bench.
The Rennes striker started by exploiting a poor clearance to dribble a defender and the goalkeeper and score in the empty net (72’); he then placed a nice curled left-footed shot in the inside netting (81’); finally, he hit a cross from the right past the opposition’s goalkeeper (90’).
A great performance for Hadji, who should begin the competition in the starting eleven.
One of the favourites of the competition, Ghana finished its training camp in South Africa this Sunday, with a draw against the South-African national team (1-1), not qualified for the competition. John Boye started this game at centre-back alongside John Mensah, The Rennes player is profiting of the absence of Isaac Vorsah, who will be suspended for Ghana’s first game in the competition, against Botswana. “I am very pleased to take part in this experience. With my few caps, I did know the players a little bit, so I’m fitting well in the squad, it was made even easier by the good atmosphere, I feel very good in this squad», Boye then affirmed to website football365.fr.
One of the outsiders, Jonathan Pitroipa’s Burkina Faso is preparing for trying to qualify out of its group. In a training camp in Yaoundé (Cameroon), the Stallions faced a team of the « Untamed Lions » composed of players from the domestic league, but failed to win (0-0). On the pitch at kick-off, the Rennes forward only played the first half of the game.
Finally, Kader Mangane’s Senegal is getting ready as another favourite for the AfCON. However, before the competition, the “Lions” didn’t stock much confidence, only managing two small victories on their pitch against Sudan (1-0) and Kenya (1-0). Left to rest against Sudan, Mangane played the whole of the second game, on Sunday evening in Dakar.
The two victories failed to fully convince the observers, Senegal showing clear lacks in its collective play.