/ 1 October 1997

Nations Cup is the first hurdle

Andrew Muchineripi : Soccer

With South Africa qualifying automatically for the 1998 African Nations Cup in Burkina Faso as title holders, the biennial competition has tended to slip from the minds of the local football public.

While 28 national teams fought for the honour of competing in the African showcase, Bafana Bafana could afford to turn their full attention to a successful qualifying campaign for the 1998 World Cup in France.

Fellow qualifiers Cameroon, Morocco and Tunisia will also be in the landlocked West African state next February, but the other African flag bearers, Nigeria, are missing.

Nigeria refused to defend the Nations Cup title in South Africa last year because of political differences triggered by the hanging of nine minority rights activists, including renowned writer Ken Saro-Wiwa.

This led to a four-year ban being imposed on the Super Eagles, subsequently halved to two, meaning Nigeria can enter the qualifying competition for the 2000 Nations Cup in Zimbabwe.

While the absence of Nigeria is regretted from a football viewpoint, the 21st edition of the Nations Cup promises much excitement, largely because it is a wide open tournament.

Among the 16 qualifiers for the 22-day spectacle, only Burkina Faso, Togo, Namibia and Mozambique appear to have no chance, while Cameroon, Tunisia, South Africa and Morocco are the early favourites.

It is a relatively simple exercise to find flaws with the big names, however, as Cameroon struggled to qualify, relying heavily on two victories over Namibia after failing to beat Gabon or Kenya at home or away.

Tunisia are virtually unbeatable before their own crowds, but can they rediscover that form in the alien conditions of West Africa, where teams from the north have traditionally struggled?

If South Africa could transport the 95 000 fanatical fans that pack FNB Stadium to Bobo-Dioulasso, a dusty town more than 300km south-west of the capital, Ouagadougou, they would be the team to beat.

But no matter how warm the welcome, Bobo is going to seem a long way from home for a squad that never had to leave their Parktown hotel and Marks Park training ground during the 1996 finals.

Coach Clive Barker has expressed concern about accommodation, food and training facilities, but the word from Burkina Faso is that there will be none of the dirty tricks evident at some finals.

Morocco are the team many people believe will succeed South Africa because they are ranked No 1 in Africa by world controlling body Fifa on the strength of impressive qualifying results for the Nations Cup and World Cup. However, the Lions of the Atlas have a poor record in the premier African event, failing to qualify for the last two tournaments and lifting the trophy only once.

The qualifiers have been divided into four mini-leagues two in Ouagadougou and two in Bobo-Dioulasso with group winners and runners-up advancing to the knockout phase, beginning with the quarter-finals.

Former champions Cameroon and Algeria and Guinea and Burkina Faso, who hired recently-sacked Nigerian national coach Philippe Troussier this week, comprise Group A in the capital of a country whose name means the land of upright men.

Apart from unpredictable Cameroon, Algeria are a modest outfit trying to regain their place among the elite and Guinea could emerge as dark horses if they overcome an inability to perform well away from Conakry.

Burkina Faso will have home advantage, partisan support and the expertise of former Kaizer Chiefs coach Troussier, but the Stallions appear destined for a first- round exit.

Ghana and Tunisia should advance from Group B unless the Democratic Republic of Congo can shake off the sluggish form that has dogged them since the name of the Central African state changed from Zaire.

The Black Stars, African champions a record four times and runners-up on three occasions, have proved a constant thorn in the side of Tunisia, winning four previous finals clashes and drawing the other.

Potent striking partnerships from Angola and Ivory Coast pose the biggest threats to South Africa, who will surely view anything less than a semi-finals place as failure.

Paulao and Akwa from Portuguese club Academica Coimbra score most Angolan goals and the pairing of French-based Joel Tiehi and Ibrahim Bakayoko has reaped rich rewards for the revitalised Ivorians.

Every international tournament has a Group of Death and in the case of the 1998 African Nations Cup it is, appropriately enough, Group D, that includes Zambia, Morocco, Egypt and Mozambique.

Poor Mozambique! They have not won a match in two appearances and the chances of ending that dubious distinction are wafer thin against three of the top five ranked nations in Africa.