Rare chance for Bafana to shine

This week, visa permitting, I will head off to Egypt for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. This will be my eighth Africa Cup of Nations that I have covered as a journalist, since I headed off to Mali in 2002 where Carlos Queiroz’ Bafana reached the quarterfinals, only to be knocked out by the host nation.

Little did I know then, but that would be matched again only in 2013, when Gordon Igesund’s side lost on penalties to Mali in the last-eight in Durban, and never bettered, in a fairly miserable era on all fronts for the senior national team.

The Africa Cup of Nations has mostly been a thoroughly enjoyable tournament to cover, with some amazing matches and star performances standing out.

Samuel Eto’s was extraordinary the last time the Africa Cup of Nations was held in Egypt, in 2006, coming into the tournament in fine form with Barcelona, and netting a hat-trick against Angola in his opening match for the Indomitable Lions, and adding another two goals in the group stages, before Cameroon were beaten 12-11 by the Ivory Coast in a marathon penalty shoot-out in the quarterfinals.

The passionate home support for the Pharaohs was also on show, as Egypt went on to win the title under Hassan Shehata, the first of three continental crowns on the trot for Egypt and the last time that a host nation has lifted the trophy.

The Pharaohs will be among the favourites to win the 2019 edition, with Mohamed Salah hopefully fully fit, after injury really spoiled his participation in the 2018 Fifa World Cup in Russia.

Egypt have won three of the four Africa Cup of Nations that they have hosted up to now, the exception being 1974, when they were beaten by Zaire in the semifinals.

The last Africa Cup of Nations I went to, in Gabon in 2017, saw Egypt reach another final, though they were beaten 2-1 by Cameroon, a surprise package given the lack of star names in the Indomitable Lions team.

Bafana Bafana, of course, were not there at all, a poor qualifying campaign that included a defeat to Mauritania. Stuart Baxter has come in for a second spell and guided the team back to the finals, though his task was certainly made easier by the fact that the tournament will, for the first time, include 24 nations, in a competition also moved to June/July to help avoid the club v country debates that boiled to the surface when the competition was held in January and February.

One factor that will certainly come into play in Egypt is now the heat, with the Afcon being played in the summer months. Hopefully that will not harm the quality of what is on offer to any major degree.

Baxter’s side have every chance of making the last 16, with the four best third-placed teams in the six groups, as well as the top two in each group, making it to the knockout rounds. From there, anything can really happen, though the star quality of the likes of Egypt and Senegal is more likely to shine through.

First, Bafana will have to handle the Ivory Coast on Monday in their opening Group D match, and if they are not the force they once were, the Elephants have some superb players, like Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha in attack and AC Milan’s Franck Kessie in midfield.

Approaching a tournament is unfortunately often the best time for optimism in a Bafana camp, with results almost never matching expectations. With expectations at an all-time low, however, maybe Bafana will surprise a few people in Cairo. One certainly hopes so.

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