Africa Cup of Nations 2023: Who will win the trophy?

euronews (in English)

Côte d'Ivoire is ready to host the latest edition of the Africa Cup of Nations in January, but who will win the continent's biggest competition?

Transcript

00:00 Africa's biggest festival of football is back in January.

00:03 Senegal are the defending champions,

00:05 whilst Morocco are flying high

00:07 after the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

00:09 So who will be continental champions in 2024?

00:13 Hello there and welcome to Football Now from Doha.

00:20 It is nearly that time of year again

00:22 where one of the biggest competitions

00:23 in world football begins.

00:25 The 2024 Africa Cup of Nations kicks off

00:27 in just under a couple of months time

00:29 with the Ivory Coast as the hosts.

00:32 On this week's episode of the show,

00:33 we'll take a deep dive into some of the favourites

00:35 who are taking part and some of the stars

00:38 that we can expect to feature,

00:39 as well as understanding just what this competition means

00:42 to the people on the continent.

00:44 But before we do that,

00:45 let's remind ourselves about a tournament

00:47 that first began way back in 1957.

00:50 After the creation of the Confederation of African Football

00:53 in June 1956, there were immediate plans

00:56 for a continental tournament to take place every two years.

01:00 And it was Egypt who were crowned the inaugural champions

01:02 in the first ever Afcon a year later,

01:05 the first of seven occasions they would claim the title.

01:08 By the 1970s, the amount of nations competing

01:10 had been raised to eight,

01:12 and the tournament was thriving

01:14 as six different nations lifted the trophy

01:16 over the span of a decade.

01:18 Sudan, Congo, Zaire,

01:20 now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo,

01:22 Morocco, Ghana, and Nigeria

01:25 all enjoyed success over those years.

01:27 In the modern era, 24 teams now compete,

01:30 and Egypt again have led the way

01:31 in terms of reaching the latter stages.

01:34 They've made five out of the last 10 finals,

01:36 including winning an unprecedented three in a row

01:38 from 2006 to 2010.

01:41 They were also involved in the most recent 2022 final,

01:44 losing on penalties to Senegal,

01:46 who were crowned winners for the first time.

01:48 - Well, I mean, just looking at the scenes

01:51 from the last Afcon,

01:53 how much it just dominated the landscape,

01:55 not just in the host countries,

01:57 but also in all African countries,

02:00 it's such a massive deal.

02:01 And I think that you look at the teams that are on show,

02:05 and it's such a tough one to call.

02:06 There's gonna be some really, really difficult games,

02:08 even in the group stage.

02:10 But I actually think that there's a cluster

02:13 of maybe eight or nine teams

02:15 that have got a serious chance of winning that title,

02:18 which makes it a very, very exciting proposition.

02:21 - Yeah, it's clearly a competition

02:23 that means so much to millions of football fans

02:25 across Africa.

02:26 But what about the teams taking part?

02:28 The draw back in October

02:29 produced six intriguing groups of four for the tournament.

02:32 Host nation Ivory Coast have been placed alongside Nigeria,

02:36 Equatorial Guinea, and Guinea-Bissau in group A.

02:40 Egypt, who will be looking to avenge

02:42 their final defeat two years ago,

02:43 will begin against Ghana, Cape Verde,

02:46 and Mozambique in group B,

02:48 while Senegal will begin the defense of their trophy

02:50 against five-times winners Cameroon,

02:53 Guinea, and Gambia in group C.

02:55 Algeria, still captained by Riyad Mahrez

02:58 after his departure from Manchester City in the summer,

03:00 will face Burkina Faso, Mauritania, and Angola in group D.

03:05 In group E, Tunisia will be looking to progress

03:07 from a group containing Mali, South Africa, and Namibia.

03:11 And after a World Cup fairy tale in Qatar

03:13 culminating with them becoming the first African side ever

03:16 to reach a semifinal,

03:18 Morocco will come up against Democratic Republic of Congo,

03:20 Zambia, and Tanzania in their first stage of their quest

03:24 to win this tournament for the first time since 1976.

03:28 So then, as you saw there,

03:29 Senegal are the reigning champions

03:30 following Sadio Mane's heroics in Cameroon.

03:33 The first-time winners will be in contention

03:35 once again this year, but they face some tough opposition,

03:38 not least Morocco, who became the first African side

03:41 to reach the semifinals of a FIFA World Cup

03:43 when they did so here in Qatar last year.

03:45 While Idra Greggi's side captured the hearts

03:47 of the footballing world during the tournament,

03:49 with the Atlas Lions set to host the AFCON next time around,

03:52 it really is a golden period for the nation.

03:55 - On paper, they're a very strong side,

03:56 but I think what makes this team spectacular

03:59 is the sort of unity, the cohesion they have,

04:03 not only within the squad,

04:04 but also with the coach, with the supporters.

04:06 They all seem to be really pushing,

04:07 and even at the federation level,

04:09 nobody has better football infrastructure

04:10 than Morocco on the continent.

04:12 They know how they want to play football.

04:14 They know that they wanted, at the World Cup, they sat back,

04:16 they were very compact, very organized,

04:17 and they sort of surprised teams with the counterattack.

04:20 - Now, the Africa Cup, a nation's most successful side,

04:22 is Egypt.

04:23 The pharaohs have won the competition a record seven times,

04:26 including on three consecutive occasions

04:28 between 2006 and 2010.

04:31 Once again, they'll be buoyed by the likely inclusion

04:33 of the continent's biggest star, Mohamed Salah.

04:36 Salah has enjoyed huge success with Liverpool

04:38 since signing for the club back in 2017,

04:40 but Major Silverware with his country has eluded him.

04:43 So could this be his year?

04:45 - I think he carries the burden of Egypt

04:48 firmly on his shoulders, doesn't he?

04:50 Because, you know, with the greatest will in the world,

04:54 he is a cut above a lot of his compatriots

04:58 in terms of the ability that he has.

05:00 He is one of the best players in the world.

05:02 Some would argue he has been the best player in the world

05:05 in certain seasons.

05:06 It's not necessarily down to him

05:07 not being able to maybe do the business,

05:10 but maybe just that his national side

05:13 aren't quite at the same level as the club side

05:16 that he's enjoyed the success with in Liverpool.

05:19 - Well, Egypt's gain will be Liverpool's loss.

05:21 A January tournament means that a number

05:22 of major European sides will be without key players

05:25 for up to five weeks during their domestic league.

05:28 So which stars should we be keeping an eye on

05:30 during the competition?

05:31 - This time around, there's a new generation of players

05:33 that we're also very much looking forward to.

05:35 And I think the main one is Napoli star striker,

05:38 Victor Osserman.

05:39 Also, I think you have Yves Bissouma.

05:41 Yves Bissouma is a player that we've sort of known

05:42 in the primary league.

05:43 And I think with Mali, he's sort of seen as like a number 10

05:46 and he sort of flourishes in that role.

05:47 So I think Yves Bissouma is another one

05:49 that we could very much look out for in the Ivory Coast.

05:51 - Yeah, it's all set to be a brilliant tournament

05:53 with some massive names involved.

05:55 That is all we have time for.

05:56 Do let us know who you think will win it

05:58 using the hashtag #FootballNowAFCon2024.

06:01 And we'll see you at the same time next week.

06:03 Bye for now.

06:04 (upbeat music)

06:06 (upbeat music)

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