by NSUISNA plays
Africa Cup of Nations: no surprise. This is what happens when you combine some of the world’s best players, some of the world’s most forgettable managers and head coaches and some of the world’s greatest fans. It’s a wonderful kind of chaos, unmissable viewing that veers from the sublime to the ridiculous. Where else can the former Birmingham City and Middlesbrough striker – now 34 and playing in the third tier of Spanish football – be top scorer? In a preposterous turn of events, Emilio Nsue now has five goals from three games after his double assist battered Equatorial Guinea in hosting the Ivory Coast 4-0 on Monday, a sensational performance that followed his hat-trick against Guinea-Bissau in the previous game.
Ivory Coast is about to be eliminated, and now face an agonizing wait until the final group-stage games to see if they can squeeze through as one of the four best teams in third place. This year’s hosts were humiliated in front of their own fans despite an embarrassment of riches – Franck Kessié, £70m-rated Ousmane Diomande, Nicolas Pépé, Nice’s Jérémie Boga and Brighton’s Simon Adingra to name but a few. Manager Jean-Louis Gasset left Wilfried Zaha out altogether, explaining that he already had “an exciting squad with a lot of right wingers”, ignoring the fact that the former Crystal Palace man is playing on the left wing for almost all his life.
Of course, any Ivory Coast team will always live in the shadow of legends. Memories of Yaya and Kolo Touré, Solomon Kalou and Didier Drogba are a blessing and a curse. The latter came to the fore in the stands, with Drogba’s glum watching Equatorial Guinea clash with Carlos Valderrama’s enthusiasm at the bars. “A nation like Ivory Coast cannot organize such a tournament and get rid of them so soon,” Drogba said afterwards. “There is a real problem.”
Things are no better for Ghana, another heavyweight on the verge of an early exit after a nasty 2-2 draw with Mozambique – who are ranked 111th in the world – in which the Black Stars, 2-0 up at stoppage time, conceded twice to ensure that their unbeaten run in Afcon was extended to seven games. Chris Hughton had a miserable time of it. Appointed in February last year, the manager has been the subject of physical and verbal attacks from fans and journalists alike in this tournament, and is expected to be sent through the door marked Do One once Ghana’s end is confirmed. Tuesday’s action rolled, therefore, with Cameroon and Algeria – both currently third in their groups – among two other giants who could be on the scrap heap by the end of play. Afcon remains as wild and unpredictable as ever.
LIVE ON A BIG WEBSITE
Join Luke McLaughlin now for Afcon watch coverage of The Gambia 1-2 Cameroon and Guinea 0-3 Senegal, with Neil McVeigh on deck at 8pm GMT for minute-by-minute updates from Chelsea 2-0 Middlesbrough ( agg: 2-) 1) in the second game of their Milk Cup semi-final.
STATEMENT OF THE DAY
“Olusosun is a small community near a dumping site… I used to go there to look for old boots that I could use to play. This is how I grew up. It was the culture for many of us in the community. I also used to sell bottled water on the streets of Lagos, to help my family earn a living. I knew that football was the only way to get them out of poverty, so I invested my time and my life in this job. I’m glad it paid off. My biggest victory for my family is getting out of poverty” – Victor Osimhen talks to Osasu Obayiuwana about his upbringing in Nigeria, his hopes for Afcon and his future in Napoli.
DAILY FOOTBALL LETTERS
I have two pedantic questions regarding yesterday’s wonderful Memory Lane photo of QPR teammates Stan Bowles and Ian Gillard posing on the back of a motorbike (full email edition). Is that a Honda CB750 F1? Can the rider and the passenger be ‘on the back’ of a motorcycle at the same time or does the Glenn Hoddle Constant of quantum mechanics apply?” – Pete Headland.
Send any letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. The winner of today’s letter is … Pete Headland, who is giving away a copy of A Culture of Kits, published by Pitch Publishing, for purchase in early February. Visit their football bookshop here to order a copy.
MOVE THE TARGET POSITIONS
In this week’s newsletter – which has now gone out twice a week – USWNT defender Naomi Girma talks about how the loss of teammate Katie Meyer to suicide sparked a player mental health movement. You can sign up to receive our women’s football email here.
RECOMMENDED LISTENING
The latest Women’s Football Week podcast is here for you.
NEWS, YEAST AND BOBS
Italy legend Gigi Riva, renowned for his prodigious goalscoring prowess and widely regarded as one of the greatest strikers of all time, has died aged 79.
English football has no plans to upgrade protocols surrounding racial abuse, despite Gianni Infantino’s call for matches to be automatically forfeited by teams whose fans cause desertion with their headstrong behaviour.
Meanwhile, Udinese were ordered to play one game behind closed doors after Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan was racially abused on Saturday.
Roy Hodgson has been warned he could be sacked if Crystal Palace’s results do not improve.
Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders says Mohamed Salah’s commitment to Egypt should never be questioned amid fierce criticism of the striker’s exit from Afcon. “I have never met a man, and also a person, who is more committed to his life as a professional football player,” Lijnders said as Salah headed back to the Anfield treatment table.
Kalvin Phillips is set to complete a loan move to West Ham.
Scotland are clearly looking to build momentum ahead of Euro 2024, having already drawn friendlies in June with Finland and Gibraltar.
Thomas Tuchel is looking for improvement in Bayern Munich’s “passion, bite”. [and] enthusiasm” if they are to win a record-breaking 12th title. “We are still below our expectations in the games,” he said, ahead of Wednesday’s game against Union Berlin. “We will continue to demand it until we are able to show that passion that hunger and greed.”
Brighton 0-0 Wolves. We’ll leave it at that.
And it’s as you were at the top of the Championship – although slightly tipped in Southampton’s favor after Ipswich’s late 1-1 draw at Leicester. “For me, it’s going to be a race to the end,” Foxes boss Enzo Maresca told Football Daily: “And don’t forget Leeds, the Championship is very long.”
DEFECT RECOMMENDATION
This is a show: it’s on David Squires … the return of Ivan Toney and the power of storytelling.
THE BADNESS OF THE SIGHS
With the atmosphere at Stamford Bridge resembling that of the moon in recent games, Mauricio Pochettino was asked if Chelsea’s dismal performances this season could have contributed to it. “We are paying now [for] effect of 18 months,” said Pochettino, before wiping a bead of sweat from his neck starting to look a little brassy. “We’ve been here for six months and sometimes it’s hard for us to compare. We are getting better results now. But it is the disappointment for the fans from last season. It has been disappointing for a long time.” To be fair, it’s an argument Football Daily has used a few times when disgruntled readers have written in taking our gigs to task. Blame the old fiver regime for your long disappointment, not us.
STILL ABOUT MORE?
A fifth of Premier League clubs are being investigated for financial misconduct by the very body that enabled this deregulated free-for-all – it’s hard to argue, writes Jonathan Liew.
102 were caught the last time Chelsea met Middlesbrough in the crucial second leg, recalls Louise Taylor, and Michael Carrick’s side are looking for another shock.
Inter have won the Supercoppa again but will the split tour of Saudi Arabia cost a fortune, asks Nicky Bandini.
And is Mr Brobbey going to Manchester United? Find out in the Mill.
MEMORY LANE
Phil Parkinson lets Reading fly during the FA Cup third round replay against non-league Cheltenham at Elm Park in January 1998. The Royals had drawn 1-1 in the first meeting before edging out the second 2-1, with courtesy of a goal from Trevor Morley and the great moniker Martyn Booty.
GIVE US ENERGY from emerging Ghanaian journalists
