Best and Worst of Weekend's Afcon Qualifiers

Cup of Nations qualifiers resumed this weekend with a full schedule across the continent. We are currently at the halfway point of qualification for the continental showpiece in Morocco and the seven groups are beginning to take shape.

By and large, the continental giants have adopted spots near the top of their respective qualification pools, but few have been completely convincing.

Reigning champions Nigeria are the continent’s underperformers to date, while Egypt are another high-profile side who sit outside the qualification spots at the time of writing.

In this piece we outline the best and worst of the weekend’s Cup of Nations qualifiers.

Speaking in Episode Two of the African Football Weekly podcast, I expressed doubt at how much new coach Ephraim "Shakes" Mashaba has really instigated a revolution with the South Africa national side.

Since replacing Gordon Igesund ahead of the Cup of Nations campaign, Mashaba was been praised for his faith in youth, but, in truth, he has only handed debuts to two players, Rivaldo Coetzee and Bongani Ndulula.

The latter has emerged as the side’s new star, scoring against both Sudan and, this weekend, against the Republic of Congo.

Bafana Bafana headed to Pointe-Noire looking to prove that there was substance behind their impressive early start under Mashaba.

Any lingering critics were silenced resoundingly as a pair of goals from the aforementioned Ndulula and Bournemouth striker Tokelo Rantie gave South Africa an invaluable 2-0 away victory.

With seven points in the bag already, and two consecutive home games to come, the fallen continental giants look set to complete an unlikely revival. James Ezimoha, of Africa Football Shop, certainly believes that Mashaba could be the man to “lead Bafana back to the pinnacle of African football.”

Surely this is the nadir for the Super Eagles. As I explored in my AFCON reaction piece this weekend, the decline of Stephen Keshi and his troops has been steady but unrelenting.

The reigning African champions have now only won one game in their last 12 matches, that being in the World Cup against Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Initially, one could have argued that while the side were lacking in offensive areas, the defence provided a strong platform upon which anything was possible. Even that one final bastion of Nigerian pride has crumbled away, following the Super Eagles’ 1-0 defeat away in Sudan.

Putting this into context, the Falcons of Jediane were emerging as Group A’s whipping boys. They had previously been beaten 3-0 by South Africa in Omdurman and 2-0 away in the Republic of Congo and looked like the ideal opponents for Nigeria to reignite their AFCON qualification campaign.

Remarkably, they were even beaten 3-1 at home by lowly Lesotho as recently as September 2013.

Now, with qualification for Morocco looking like a serious stretch, and with the manager’s position looking increasingly untenable, the Super Eagles are in grave danger of slumping back into those desperate days that preceded the 2013 Cup of Nations triumph.

James Ezimoha, of Africa Football Shop, is just one commentator who has questioned whether the Big Boss should cut his losses and walk away from the national team.

Ought Gabon be considered dark horses for January’s continental showpiece?

The Panthers are one of Africa’s emerging forces and look to be peaking at just the right time.

Borussia Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang shone at the 2012 Cup of Nations on home soil, but has struggled to repeat that impact with the national side in the intervening years. Largely, this has been because he hasn’t always been surrounded by similarly talented players in the Gabon setup.

This might all be changing, however, as Jorge Costa’s side now look like a more complete outfit.

Centre-back Bruno Ecuele Manga is an imposing and intelligent stopper, Andre Poko is a dynamo in midfield, Lloyd Palun a menacing influence on the left and Frederic Bulot an exciting addition to the side.

Africa Football Shop’s Solace Chukwu also praised the contributions of Samson Mbingui and Malik Evouna in a recent article on the side’s latest showings.

They started qualification well, with a victory at home to Angola, but their credentials were thrown into doubt following a disappointing 1-1 draw away with minnows Lesotho.

They have since roared to the top of the group with a convincing 2-0 home victory against AFCON finalists Burkina Faso. Aubameyang, with a brace, was the star performer, but his class shouldn’t detract from an overall excellent performance against a very strong side.

How far can the Gabonese go in Morocco?

Speaking with Gary Al-Smith on CitiFM ahead of Ghana’s match with Guinea, receiving calls from Black Stars fans, I was amazed with the apathy that fans were showing towards their team.

Following the disappointing World Cup showing in Brazil, and the controversy that accompanied the pampered Black Stars, support for the national side is at a low ebb.

Their slow start to the 2015 Cup of Nations qualifiers hasn’t helped either.

Kwesi Appiah oversaw a sluggish home draw against Uganda and an unconvincing (if thrilling) 3-2 victory away in Togo before being dismissed. However, despite having a month to appoint a new coach, interim boss Max Konadu stood in for the “away” fixture against Guinea.

The temporary manager stuck with Appiah’s team, naming an unchanged XI and Ghana’s lack of conviction remained.

The buildup play was slow, the midfield unbalanced and, despite taking the lead through Asamoah Gyan, a late Ibrahima Traore equaliser ensured the points were shared.

Despite not setting the world alight in Cup of Nations qualification so far, Algeria are the top-performing team in Africa.

They are the only team in the continent to retain a 100 percent record after three games and this stat, married to their excellent showing at the World Cup, justifies their spot as Africa’s top team in the FIFA world rankings.

Impressively, Algeria currently sit 20th in the world.

Since replacing Vahid Halilhodzic post-Brazil, ex-Lorient manager Christian Gourcuff has tweaked the Bosnian’s side, rather than overhauling it.

The North Africans haven’t been convincing—requiring late goals to beat both Mali and Ethiopia—but they look well-placed to become the first African team to confirm their place at the 2015 showpiece alongside hosts Morocco.