Where are Africa’s best?

Curiosity was the feeling most people had as the prestigious African Cup of Nations 2012 kicked off in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.

“The so-called Powerhouses of African Football are missing”, “the hosts might not impress, leading to early empty stadiums”, “the western world will not cover it”… so much pessimism.

Now, just one week into the tournament, we are experiencing breathtaking performances, crowds in the stadiums and lots of surprising results. It’s been beautiful and breathtaking.

From the opening day and game it’s been surprises galore. Zambia sent Senegal crashing, two goals to one. Senegal boasts some of the big names in world football, in players like S Diawara, Demba Ba and M Niang. The tactical positioning of Zambian players off the ball and a spirited performance gave them the day – fired on by 17 500 shouting fans.

Equatorial Guinea, after a chaotic preparation, gave smiles to their fans by beating Libya 1-0.

Star-studded title favourites Cote d’Ivoire needed a Didier Drogba lone goal to overcome the surprising underdogs, Sudan. Who would have thought before now that this duel among these two (on paper) ‘unequal’ teams could end with such a narrow goal difference? Kudos to Sudan.

Cote d’Ivoire needed an 81st minute own goal (by a Burkina Faso defender) to finally seal their victory 2-0 over Burkina Faso and book their ticket for the next round.

Ghana, another title favourite, were lucky to scrape past lowly rated Botswana by 1-0. They even ended the game one man short after the expulsion of their captain, Mensah, for a late tackle on a goal-bound Botswana striker.

The spectacular 2-2 draw between Zambia and Libya was one of the high points in this championship until Guinea came and exploded the previously solid Botswana by 6-1. Guinea had lost their opener to Mali by 0-1 even if, in my opinion, they were the most enterprising side and deserved better.

One week into this tournament, which everyone thought was going to boring, it is turning out to be one of the most unpredictable and interesting Afcons to watch.

There are practically no small nations in African football anymore. Little separates the tournament favourites from the others. Two favourites are heading home because the African nations now defend better as a team, are less “complex” in confrontation with ‘the big boys’, have several players as European-based professionals, are qualified by hard work and are hungry.

So many cited their fears and opinion that the tournament this year would be “spark-less’, stating that the best in Africa were not present. Well those who are present now had to beat some of the so-called “best of Africa” to qualify.

In summary, this year’s African Cup of Nations is turning out to be a great tournament with an explosive first week, great goals, lots of spectacle and, I think, it is safe, fair and right to say that, as of today, Africa’s best are in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, slugging it out to be crowned 2012 Champions of Africa. Africa’s best are in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea right now.