Afcon 2017 is almost upon us and the teams are gearing up for battle. Gabon play host to the tournament which kicks off on Saturday the 14th and as part of our build up, we profile Group A which consists of the hosts Gabon, Cameroon, Guniea Bissau and Burkina Faso.
Gabon have one of the world’s best strikers in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who has shot the lights out with his performances for Borussia Dortmund. Aubemayang is also the captain of the team and will be tasked with leading the line for the host nation who got to the quarter finals in the 2012 edition. It’s a tough group for the host nation and it will be difficult for them to get through.
Second in the group is the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon who have won the tournament four times. Cameroon topped their group en-route to Afcon 2017 but they will have to do it without eight players who opted not to go to the tournament which will be a major loss for them. They do however have a number of talented players with all but two players based in Europe. That said, the instability caused by the absence of so many first team players will surely affect the team negatively.
Burkina Faso got to the final in 2013. The Burkinabe have been to ten Afcon tournaments and won their group which consisted of the Comoros, Botswana and Uganda. They aren’t as strong as they were on their run to the final in 2013
Last but not least are the new boys in the group, Guinea Bissau. Having never been to this level of competition, Guinea are in uncharted territory and the overwhelming underdogs to progress from this group. Despite being the babies in the group, they managed to top their group and can’t be written off. That said, the chances are that they will be the wooden spooners
Fixtures
January 14th : Gabon vs Guinea-Bissau, Burkina Faso vs Cameroon
January 18th : Gabon vs Burkina Faso, Cameroon vs Guinea-Bissau