Is West Africa too much for North Africa? Who really are the powerhouse of African football
According to BBC with the success of sides such as Cape Verde and Togo
in reaching the last eight of the Africa Cup of Nations for the first
time, one major omission from the business end of the tournament may
have been easily overlooked - the absence of North Africans.
The distance between the north and south of the continent has never
seemed greater, as Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria were all forced to
take the long journey home from South Africa early, after falling at
the first hurdle.
Added to seven-time champions Egypt and three-time finalists Libya's
failure to qualify and it marks the first time since 1992 that there
will be no North African presence in the quarter-finals.
It is a low point for a region more accustomed to dominatingthe
continental scene, after producing four consecutive title wins in a
row - Tunisia in 2004 and Egypt's three in a row between 2006 and
2010.
Algeria finished bottom of GroupD, behind neighbours Tunisia, after
claiming just a point from three games with Ivory Coast, Togo and the
Carthage Eagles.
The Tunisians fared slightly better, after a fortuitous win over the
Desert Foxes, defeat to group winners Ivory Coast and adraw with the
Togolese - who edged them out of second spot.
Morocco, meanwhile, exited the tournament unbeaten, but three draws
were not enough as they finished third in Group A, behindhosts South
Africa and debutants and tournament headline-grabbers, the Cape
Verdeans.
The Atlas Lions, who host the next Nations Cup in 2015 played down
their early exit, with coachRachid Taoussi claiming it may have come
too soon for his young squad, after he opted to omit some experienced
internationals, such as Adel Taarabt and former captain Houssine
Kharja, for this tournament.
"Our priority has always been the 2014 World Cup qualifiers and the
2015 Cup of Nations, where I am confident this groupof players will do
well," Taoussi said.
Matters look far more serious forneighbours Algeria, however, who were
the first team to be eliminated from this year's finals,after defeats
to the Tunisians and Togo - having dominated both games for long
periods.
Algeria coach Vahid Halilhodzic labelled their early exit"disastrous"
and said he felt"deeply ashamed".
"It's hard to analyse," the Bosnian coach said after the Desert Foxes'
crushing 2-0 defeat to the Togolese sealed their fate, ahead of an
academic 2-2 draw with Ivory Coast.
"We didn't play great football, but it's hard to blame anyone. I made
the choices. I take responsibility for what happened.
"Now we'll sit down and think about the future of Algerian football."
Whether Halilhodzic - who previously coached the Ivorians to a
quarter-final place in 2010 - will form. I have to conclude from what
I have seen so far North Africans are now in the shadow of their West
African brothers.
in reaching the last eight of the Africa Cup of Nations for the first
time, one major omission from the business end of the tournament may
have been easily overlooked - the absence of North Africans.
The distance between the north and south of the continent has never
seemed greater, as Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria were all forced to
take the long journey home from South Africa early, after falling at
the first hurdle.
Added to seven-time champions Egypt and three-time finalists Libya's
failure to qualify and it marks the first time since 1992 that there
will be no North African presence in the quarter-finals.
It is a low point for a region more accustomed to dominatingthe
continental scene, after producing four consecutive title wins in a
row - Tunisia in 2004 and Egypt's three in a row between 2006 and
2010.
Algeria finished bottom of GroupD, behind neighbours Tunisia, after
claiming just a point from three games with Ivory Coast, Togo and the
Carthage Eagles.
The Tunisians fared slightly better, after a fortuitous win over the
Desert Foxes, defeat to group winners Ivory Coast and adraw with the
Togolese - who edged them out of second spot.
Morocco, meanwhile, exited the tournament unbeaten, but three draws
were not enough as they finished third in Group A, behindhosts South
Africa and debutants and tournament headline-grabbers, the Cape
Verdeans.
The Atlas Lions, who host the next Nations Cup in 2015 played down
their early exit, with coachRachid Taoussi claiming it may have come
too soon for his young squad, after he opted to omit some experienced
internationals, such as Adel Taarabt and former captain Houssine
Kharja, for this tournament.
"Our priority has always been the 2014 World Cup qualifiers and the
2015 Cup of Nations, where I am confident this groupof players will do
well," Taoussi said.
Matters look far more serious forneighbours Algeria, however, who were
the first team to be eliminated from this year's finals,after defeats
to the Tunisians and Togo - having dominated both games for long
periods.
Algeria coach Vahid Halilhodzic labelled their early exit"disastrous"
and said he felt"deeply ashamed".
"It's hard to analyse," the Bosnian coach said after the Desert Foxes'
crushing 2-0 defeat to the Togolese sealed their fate, ahead of an
academic 2-2 draw with Ivory Coast.
"We didn't play great football, but it's hard to blame anyone. I made
the choices. I take responsibility for what happened.
"Now we'll sit down and think about the future of Algerian football."
Whether Halilhodzic - who previously coached the Ivorians to a
quarter-final place in 2010 - will form. I have to conclude from what
I have seen so far North Africans are now in the shadow of their West
African brothers.
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