Key events
Cameroon: The Indomitable Lions entered this tournament under the cloud of managerial/bureaucratic chaos. Samuel Eto’o, the president of the Cameroon federation, finally got his wish and the Belgian head coach Marc Brys was dismissed earlier this month. Brys, appointed by the Cameroonian sports ministry last year against the wishes of Eto’o, contested the sacking and picked his own squad for Afcon.
David Pagou, a coach in the Cameroonian domestic league and former assistant with the national team, is now in the dugout. He’s having to do without the injured Napoli midfielder Frank Anguissa and has left senior figures like Vincent Aboubakar and André Onana out of his squad. They beat Gabon in their opener thanks to Karl Etta Eyong’s early goal.
Côte d’Ivoire: The holders won their opening game 1-0 thanks to Amad Diallo’s second-half strike. Emerse Faé is having to fill a Sebastian Haller-sized hole up front. The Utrecht striker’s goals helped fire Les Éléphants to the title two years ago but he’s not in Morocco due to a hamstring injury.
Wilfried Zaha, now playing in MLS with Charlotte, started the first game and now Vakoun Bayo of Udinese gets his chance to lead the line.
Recap: Already in Group F today, Mozambique have beaten Gabon 3-2 to claim their first win at Afcon since 1986 – when their 42-year-old captain, Elias Pelembe, was a toddler.
In Group E, Sudan have given themselves a great chance of progressing to the knockouts with a 1-0 win against Equatorial Guinea. A Riyad Mahrez penalty means Algeria currently lead Burkina Faso 1-0 with around 10 minutes to go.
Team news: Amad and Mbeumo start
Côte d’Ivoire XI (4-3-3): Fofana; Doué, Koussounou, N’Dicka, Konan; Kessié, Fofana, Sangaré; Amad, Bayo, Diomande.
Subs: Lafont, Koné, Zohouri, Operi, Agbadou, Gbamin, Diomande, Boly, Oulai, Seri, Touré, Guessand, Krasso, Diakité, Zaha
Charlotte’s Wilfried Zaha drops to the bench for the holders, with Udinese’s Vakoun Issouf Bayo given a start up front.
Cameroon XI (3-5-2): Epassy; Malone, Kotto, Tolo; Tchamadeu, Avom, Baleba, Namaso, Yongwa; Mbeumo, Kofane
Subs: Ngapandouetnbu, Omossola, Wooh, Boyomo, Nyamsi, Nagida, Kamdem, Onana, Kemen, Bassagog, Ebimbe, Etta Eyong, Magri, N’Koudou, Soko.
Cameroon’s goalscorer from their opening game, Karl Etta Eyong, is replaced by Bayer Leverkusen’s Christian Kofane up top.
Preamble
Hello and welcome. We’re a week into the Africa Cup of Nations now and really getting down to business. Tonight, two of the continent’s heavyweights meet in Marrakech as the reigning champions, Côte d’Ivoire, take on Cameroon in Group F.
Both teams won their opening match 1-0 on Christmas Eve and, realistically, this is a showdown for top spot in the group – though Mozambique will have something to say after beating Gabon earlier today. Don’t ask me about permutations but, with the four best third-placed teams also heading to the last 16, a draw tonight will all but guarantee both teams’ progression to the knockouts.
Kick-off at the Stade de Marrakech is at 8pm (GMT). If you’ve got any thoughts on the game, or any of the action at Afcon today, you can get in touch via email.
