Africa Is a Country

Wayne Rooney and a rhinoceros

Africa Is a Country Podcast
African Five-a-Side Podcast

Wayne Rooney and a rhinoceros

By
Elliot Ross

The ultimate preview of the 2013 Afcon Final: Will it be Stephen Keshi's time or can the Burkinabé shock the world in Soweto?

Outside Soccer City, site of the 2013 Afcon final (Image by Matthew Perkins, via Flickr CC).

Nineteen years ago, a Super Eagles team captained by one Stephen Okechukwu Keshi won the Africa Cup of Nations in Tunis. Will it be Keshi’s time again in Soweto today? We leave the serious predictions to the professionals. Check out the latest from BBC reporter Peter Okwoche (we love him) who staged a pre-final prediction match between a bunch of kids. The video is cute, but we’re suspicious that  Team Nigeria seemed to get all the bigger kids. Where was the Sowetan Burkinabés version of Dagano? Anyway, the game ended with an assured 3-1 victory for Nigeria, but then what would you expect from a game set up by a reporter named Okwoche? Watch it here.

Others aren’t so sure about the Super Eagles chances. Top football analyst Michael Cox has detailed tactical analysis (well worth reading to get a sense of where today’s game will be won and lost) of both teams’ semi-final victories, Burkina’s over Ghana and Nigeria’s over Mali. Cox likes Nigeria, but on the strength of what he saw in the semis, he reckons Burkina may be the better side: “if they play with the same level of cohesion and fluidity [as they did vs Ghana], Burkina Faso will defeat Nigeria on Sunday evening.”

Cox reserves his strongest praise for Aristide Bancé, one of this blog’s favorite players at Afcon:

This was as good a centre-forward display as you’ll see in international football. Bancé was involved in everything – he sprinted in behind for chances on the counter, he had a header saved on the goal-line from a corner, he could drop deep and encourage the wide players beyond him. He even showed great defensive ability – at one point rushing back to stop a Ghana counter-attack himself, when most other forwards would have left that to the midfielders.

So look out for Burkina, and watch out for Bancé.

We’re just hearing Emmanuel Emenike won’t start the final, a big blow for the Nigerians. That man has been playing like he’s a cross between Wayne Rooney and a rhinoceros. Still, the Nigerians are confident. Is anyone surprised? Like this fan observed by Jonathan Wilson, the British football journalist: “Just seen a Nigeria fan wearing a loaf on his head, bearing the message ‘Eat them like bread’.“

Further Reading

Repoliticizing a generation

Thirty-eight years after Thomas Sankara’s assassination, the struggle for justice and self-determination endures—from stalled archives and unfulfilled verdicts to new calls for pan-African renewal and a 21st-century anti-imperialist front.

Drip is temporary

The apparel brand Drip was meant to prove that South Africa’s townships could inspire global style. Instead, it revealed how easily black success stories are consumed and undone by the contradictions of neoliberal aspiration.

Energy for whom?

Behind the fanfare of the Africa Climate Summit, the East African Crude Oil Pipeline shows how neocolonial extraction still drives Africa’s energy future.

The sound of revolt

On his third album, Afro-Portuguese artist Scúru Fitchádu fuses ancestral wisdom with urban revolt, turning memory and militancy into a soundtrack for resistance.

O som da revolta

No seu terceiro álbum, o artista afro-português Scúru Fitchádu funde a sabedoria ancestral com a revolta urbana, transformando memória e militância em uma trilha sonora para a resistência.

Biya forever

As Cameroon nears its presidential elections, a disintegrated opposition paves the way for the world’s oldest leader to claim a fresh mandate.

From Cornell to conscience

Hounded out of the United States for his pro-Palestine activism, Momodou Taal insists that the struggle is global, drawing strength from Malcolm X, faith, and solidarity across borders.