After the longest delay in the history of the tournament, AFCON 2021 has finally got underway in Cameroon with the Black Stars bidding for a fifth continental title.
In fact, very little has changed from the tournament’s last iteration. At the start of the tournament, the expected favorites to lift the trophy were unsurprisingly 2019’s finalists.
Both Algeria and Senegal were backed as favorites to lift the trophy from a number of market-leading betting sites in Ghana.
But before we get ahead of ourselves, Ghana first has to make it out of the group stage before they can really test their mettle. The Black Stars’ opening match against Morocco did not go as planned with a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Morocco, while they followed that up with a disappointing 1-1 draw with Gabon.
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Against Morocco, the Atlas Lions dominated possession for long swathes of the match, completing third more passes than Milovan Rajevac’s side. The star man in midfield, Arsenal’s Thomas Partey, failed to dominate in the center of the pitch, largely because of a lack of offensive support.
The Black Stars are vying for one of the top two spots in Group C of the competition. Life has become difficult but not impossible with two teams in each group advancing to the knockout stages of the competition.
Ghana’s bid for a spot in the knock-out rounds suffered another dent in the controversial draw against Gabon. Thee Gabonese now have four points, having scored a 1-0 victory against debutantes and East African minnows Comoros in their opening match.
The pressure is now on Rajevac’s side to deliver. Ghana must come out on top in their final group match against Comoros if they are to give themselves a chance of advancing.
Big name English Premier League players such as Partey as well the likes of Crystal Palace forward Jordan Ayew and Leicester City’s Daniel Amartey form the spine of Ghana side that lacks immediate star power but can benefit from unity.
Unsurprisingly the odds on Ghana making it out of the group have recently been given a significant boost due to their poor performance so far. The national side is currently ranked behind Morocco and Gabon at around 8.0 to finish in the qualifying spots with bookmakers such as Betway.
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With a match against Comoros to come, there is still plenty to be hopeful for as the Serbian manager looks to regroup and gel a group of players that abound with potential.
Although the immediate form has been lacking, the Black Stars have proved solid in their World Cup qualification campaign with recent victories over the likes of South Africa, Ethiopia, and fellow AFCON qualifiers Zimbabwe. They remain in the hunt to pick up one of Africa’s five spots at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
If the Black Stars can regroup around their core of experienced talent they should be able to get the better of their remaining opponents in Group C and possibly sneak into the knock-out rounds of the Africa Cup of Nations.
Source: www.ghgossip.com
