GROUP B TEAMS: Nigeria, Guinea, Madagascar and Burundi.
Venue: Alexandria Stadium, Alexandria (oldest in Egypt &Africa)
General Overview
This group promises to offer fans very slippery fixtures in the city of Alexandria. Despite the pedigree of the Nigerians on the continent, they are staging a huge return to the tournament after winning the 2013 edition whilst Madagascar and Burundi are making their debut appearances. Same cannot be said about Guinea who are also making their 12th appearance with their last participation in Equatorial Guinea in 2015. Coincidentally, all the countries in the group failed to qualify for the last edition held in Gabon.
NIGERIA
The Super Eagles have been a very dominant force in Africa with 3 African Cup of Nations titles in their cabinet following their triumphant victory in 2013 on the lands of South Africa as the last time the West African side took part in the championship. The team coached by former German footballer Gernot Rohr made a huge statement by topping the group with 13pts in the qualifiers to mount a return to the competition they have missed in 2015 and 2017.
The group which consisted of South Africa, Libya and Seychelles saw Nigeria enduring a scary start in their campaign when they lost 0-2 at home to South Africa and that happened to be the only defeat they tasted throughout the qualifiers scoring 14 goals (2.3 goals per game) and conceding only six.
With their best displays coming in 1980, 1994 and 2013, The Super Eagles have struggled from 2008 and 2010 where they got eliminated at the quarter and the semi finals by Ghana respectively. And they boast of single appearance (2013) in the last four editions of the continental football festival where they became eventual winners.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
The performance of some keys players in Europe is expected to give the technical team some sleepless nights in respect to who gets selected to join the plane to Egypt.
Captain John Obi Mikel is one of the most experienced and successful players on the continent. He led the country to the glory the last time and as expected the coach has convinced him to return from the self- imposed exile and Mikel would be expected to make Nigeria’s midfield rich and also the main orchestra for the Super Eagles. Currently playing for Middlesbrough FC, the 32year has been consistent for the championship side and his worth of experience cannot be discounted by Nigeria after a long absence.
Leicester City FC’s midfield became a headache for all the coaches after the departure of N’golo Kante and Danny Drinkwater. However, the arrival of Winfred Ndidi has germinated some stability for the Foxes. Ndidi has metaphorically shipped away Daniel Amartey from the midfield since his entrance into the King Power stadium. It is no mean an achievement for a player to play 36 English Premier league games in a season and that is exactly what the 22-year old Nigerian has done. His solidity in the middle of the park nearly grabbed an Europa slot for Leicester City next season.
Chasing his first AFCON appearance, Odion Ighalo has established himself as a key figure in the Super Eagles setup. Scoring half of Nigeria’s 14 goals during the qualifiers to become the top scorer in Group E indicates his desire to put his country on his shoulders. As third top scorer in the Chinese Super League and second for his club means Nigeria can turn to the former Watford forward to bang in the goals.
YOUNG PLAYER TO WATCH
The 2019 AFCON once again serve as an opportunity for young players to prove their mettle. And such player in the fold of Nigeria will be Samuel Chukwueze of Villareal FC. The 19-year old attacking midfielder has scored 5 goals & 5 assists out of 25 laliga games for the Spanish giants. Strong in dribbling, long shots and counter attacks, manager Gernot Rohr would be hoping to replicate this form when the tournaments kicks off in Egypt.
GUINEA
The Syli Nationale (National Elephants) are staging a return to the tournament after missing out in the last edition held in Gabon. Enveloped in Group H during the qualifiers with Ivory Coast, Central African Republic and Rwanda, Guinea topped the group with 12pts to make their 12th appearance to entrench their name in the history books as one of the teams to have participated in the maiden edition of the expanded version of the African Cup of Nations. Guinea is among the teams that went unbeaten throughout the qualifiers after picking 5pts on the road including a shocking 3-2 win over Ivory Coast in Bouake.
Their last AFCON ended in a horrible fashion as they got thrashed 3 nil at the quarter finals by the Ghana. With their best performance in this competition happening in 1972 as runners up, the Syli Nationale will be hoping to replicate the qualification form when they open their campaign against Madagascar in Alexandria.
The mentioning of the Guinea may not be dreadful but the experience and the pedigree of headcoach Paul Put on the African soil cannot be discounted following his exploits with Gambia, Kenya and also leading Burkina Faso to the AFCON 2013 where they finished as runners up behind Stephen Keshi’s Super Eagle in South Africa.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
It’s uncertain if Guinea will have their star man Naby Keita after the midfielder pulled out in the first leg of Uefa Champions League semi finals tie against Barcelona at the Camp Nou. Reports are suggesting the Liverpool player could miss the continental showpiece despite efforts by the Guinea Football Federation to have him in their fold. Be it as it may, the Syli Nationals can rely on Bordeaux attacking midfielder Francois Kamano who scored 2 goals during the qualifiers. The 23year old has hit the back of the net 10 times out of 27 appearance in the French League 1 and also making some descent strides in the Uefa Europa League.
After making a total of 35 appearances for Chateauroux in the French Ligue 2, Sekou Conde is expected to be resolute in the heart of defense for the Guineans in their attempt to make huge impact in Egypt. The centerback could be the reason the West African side would replicate their defensive solidity.
YOUNG PLAYER TO WATCH
Napoli’s defensive midfielder Amadou Diawara will be a delight to watch. The 21year old passing strength would be key for the Syle Nationales to reclaim a slot in the minds of the followers of the tournament.
BURUNDI
The expansion of the African cup of Nation from 16 to 24 team tournament has been very beneficial to some relatively unknown countries and Burundi is no exception. The lowest ranked team in this group is the reason why English Premier league’s joint topscorer Pierre Aubamayeng will not be in Egypt with his country Gabon after they were held to pulsating 1-1 draw in Libreville. Surprisingly, The Swallows went undefeated in their group which consisted of Mali, Gabon and South Sudan after grabbing 5pts away to finish as runners’ up with 10pts.
The African cup of Nations has been very hostile towards debutants in recent times but trust the East Africans to cause level of upset following the current rise of football in that region of the continent.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Burundi scored a total of 11 goals throughout the qualifiers to make their debut appearance and forward Fiston Razak was instrumental toward this achievement. Fiston was the top scorer in the qualifiers with 6 goals. The JS Kabylie’s forward has been a journey man on the continent playing for several clubs and coach Olivier Niyungeko is ready to rely on the 25-year old to bang in the goals to increase his tally from 17 as Burundi’s all-time top scorer.
Another player the eyes would be scanning is Al-Taawon striker Cederic Amissi. His partnership with Fiston Razak upfront produced whopping 9 goals for the Swallows catapulting them to Egypt. His consistency in the Saudi Arabian league will be very crucial for the survival of the Swallows in this group.
MADAGASCAR
Another surprised entrants are the Barea of Madagascar who are making their first appearance and coincidentally, the first team to qualify apart from the host nation. The name of the technical head Nicolas Dupuis was cheered after sealing a slot for the island country for the first time following their several years of trial. Madagascar made a flying start in the qualifiers with a 3-1 win away over Sudan in group A. The Bareas were able to gather 6pts away in a group including AFCON favourite Senegal, Equatorial Guinea and Sudan to book their place for the first time in the country’s history.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Moving from Le Havre to Clermont in the French Ligue 2 has proven to be the wisest of decisions following rise in consistency and game time. 27 games have proven enough for forward Faneva Andriatsima which aided him to contribute 3 goals for his country and also made him a joint top scorer in the qualifiers to put a seal on the AFCON qualification triumph.
YOUNG PLAYER TO WATCH
Madagascar will come all gun blazing with anticipation of showing to the world the football the continent has been lacking due to their constant failure to make an appearance. The player expected to light up the tournament is 20-year old Rinjala Raherinaivo who plays for Swiss side FC Sion. Despite his seemingly inactiveness for club side, Rinjala has proven to be an asset for his country.
GAME OF THE GROUP
This group is fortunate to have two debutants and battle between them is expected to be fiercely contested.
FINAL GROUP PREDICTION
This group on paper passes to be one of the easiest groups in the competition. However, the events in the qualifiers makes it a very slippery group which could produce a lot of upsets if proper attention is not given to the underdogs in this group. The Super Eagles are the advanced favourites in this group are expected to grab 9pts to top the group. Guinea may be given a scare in the tournament by the debutantes which could be Madagascar but surely make it to the next stage of the competition.
Predicted Full Time Results of Group G Matches
1. Nigeria 2-0 Burundi
2. Guinea 1-1 Madagascar
3. Nigeria 3-0 Guinea
4. Madagascar 0-1 Burundi
5. Madagascar 0-2 Nigeria
6. Burundi 0-1 Guinea
Predicted Final League Table
1. Nigeria 9pts
2. Guinea 4pts
3. Burundi 3pts
4. Madagascar 1pt
