2019 AFCON: Are There Still Underdogs In African Football?

The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) hasn’t even gone beyond the group stage, and already, fans across the continent have been experiencing a consistent mix of excitement and surprise since it officially kicked off in Egypt five days ago.

With the group stage set to round off by July 5, we’ve noticed that teams everyone thought had next to no chance of doing well are actually giving the top teams a run for their money, leading us to wonder if there are still underdogs in African football.

(Photo: CAF)

Let’s start with the first game in the competition, in which Zimbabwe took on Egypt. Based on stats, you would expect The Pharaohs to make light work of The Warriors, but it turned out to be a fight that dragged on, with Egypt only managing to score one goal.

Just like other Super Eagles fans, we were glad that Nigeria was drawn in Group B, alongside “small” teams. But we started to rethink our enthusiasm when Burundi, making their first-ever AFCON appearance, actually managed to hold their own against the Super Eagles.

(Photo: CAF)

Another debutant in the competition, Mauritania pulled off an excellent showing against Mali. Not only did they hold their opponent until the 37th minute, when the first goal was recorded against them, but they also managed to score one goal against Mali.

As for Benin, which has been in only three AFCON tournaments in the past, it’s really hard to tell how they were able to force Ghana to settle for a draw. With 14 shots against Ghana’s seven, it’s not hard to see why some fans thought they would win their first game.

If these teams, which were all once considered to be underdogs in this competition, continue to pull their weight like this, they could actually end up advancing out of the group stage and go on to make statements that will reverberate across the football-loving continent.