Gabon, Tunisia fight for top spot
Africa Cup of Nations co-hosts Gabon stand a chance of finishing top of Group C on Tuesday evening provided they are not beaten by Tunisia.
The match will take place in Franceville with kick-off scheduled for 20:00 SA time, and it will be played at the same time as Niger v Morocco.
Gabon took part in one of the most exciting matches of the tournament thus far, as they edged out Morocco to come out 3-2 winners, and they will be hoping they can do the same against another North African adversary.
Panthers coach Gernot Rohr also stated that a top placed group finish would be their best chance in avoiding trophy favourites and Africa’s heavyweights, Ghana. However, the Black Stars’ final position is all up in the air as their fate will only be known on Wednesday evening.
It has been noted that Gabon’s French coach is expected to ring in some changes, most notably Moise Brou Apanga and Daniel Cousin are expected to be included in the starting line-up.
For Tunisia, first place remains a possibility for Sami Trabelsi’s side and they are eager to top the group in order to remain in Gabon for the remainder of their AFCON expedition
Despite having a 100 percent record under their belts so far in the tournament, the coach believes they are coming into the encounter on the back of their worst ever match played under him and he has expressed his strong desire for things to change.
The Carthage Eagles do have some concerns coming into the game, as several players are a booking away from being suspended, while Khalil Chammam and Anis Boussaidi are expected to take over on the left and right side of defence respectively.
In a strange scenario, it has now been confirmed that Bilel Ifa will be able to partake in the match after the Confederation of African Football confirmed the error of wrongly recording him as having received a yellow card. Ifa is expected to partner Aymen Abdennour in central defence.
Meanwhile, a midfield trio of Jamel Saihi, Wissem Ben Yahia and Jamel Saihi will be tested for the first time.