Africa

This post is far from Toto's seminal 1982 hit (though it could be u know); but about this beautiful tournament called the Africa Cup of Nations. Maybe it's the fact that Zinedine Zidane's son is playing there; maybe it's the miraculous, carnival-like atmosphere in the stands; maybe it's just the cultural football being played out there. But there is something special about this tournament,

I should know. I just watched an absolutely inconsequential game between Equatorial Guinea & Algeria. No matter what happened; Guinea would be last & Algeria would be first in the group. And still it was great. Still both teams played like their lives depended on it. In the last edition; Equatorial Guinea were the talk of the town; stunning all by progressing to the knock-out stages & in fact upsetting Algeria in the process. This time; it couldn't be more opposite as Algeria have won all 3 group games and Guinea have lost all; in a way going according to the form book.

It is now the knock-out phases; and unlike past editions where there were shocks aplenty; this time there are none. That also means that the heavyweights are all in the knock-out stage; meaning many mouth-watering clashes ahead. The likes of Morocco; Nigeria; Ivory Coast; Senegal & Algeria will all be dreaming big; and there remains no clue as to who will come out on tops. Some of the best players in the world are also on show; with the likes of Achraf Hakimi, Ademola Lookman, Amad Diallo; Sadio Mane & Riyad Mahrez all strutting their stuff.