09/01/2024【Feature】Michael Essien: ANC champion and group winner analysis

Michael Essisen – ANC
Michael Essien earned over 50 caps for Ghana from 2002 to 2014, playing in 2002, 2008 and 2010 African Cup of Nations. Also, he played for Chelsea, Real and AC Milan.

Lions of Teranga to roar again
The ANC is such a huge tournament for the continent of Africa and this year will be no different. After the postponement of the tournament from last year all the players and countries, who will have immense pride in representing their nation, will be eager to get playing and hopefully go on to be crowned champions.

There are three clear favourites for me: Senegal, Morocco, and Cote d'Ivoire.

Senegal is defending champions, and they would love to win it back-to-back. They have a very strong squad, especially the spine with Mendy, Koulibaly, Sarr and Mane and I think out of all the squads they have the strongest depth of quality needed for tournament football.

Morocco is in fine form and off the back of a strong world cup. They have not won this tournament in a long time, and this could be the year they do it having quality in many positions of the squad with players playing at top European clubs like Hakimi, Mazraoui, Ziyech and En-Nesyri. However, I think their lack of a real clinical goalscorer, like a mane or salah, will just mean they fall short this tournament. 

Cote d'Ivoire, like Morocco have many flair players and they have the home advantage. I have been there before, luckily as a home nation player for Ghana in 2008, and I know how it is and how that support can get you through the tournament. I was surprised to see players like Zaha and Bailly left out of the squad for experience and I think it might just be a step too far for this young squad, even with home support.

Overall, I think it will be Senegal who are champions. They have a great coach in Cisse and like Morocco we saw them do well at the Qatar World Cup. For me they know how to win it and have the edge with such a strong squad, especially the firepower in the attacking positions up front with Mane, Jackson, Sarr as well as midfielders who also score goals, which I think will mean they will just be better than the opponents.

My surprises for the tournament will be Ghana and Mali. My black stars I always must support, and we have a good coach in Houghton who is experienced manager. There is no expectation on us, and I think that will help this team go far. Mali is another team with a strong squad and has looked good pre-tournament. I think this team could surprise some people.

Group A: Cote d'Ivoire
This is the hardest group to predict who will win outright as both top teams are strong and equal on paper. I will predict Cote d'Ivoire just on home support to finish top, but it will be Nigeria in very close second. Nigeria has dangerous striker in Victor Osimhen, which will be a danger to any team in the tournament. The game between the two will be a fiercely competitive match but the home crowd will make the difference for the group winners.

Group B: Egypt
The two standout teams to go through are the all-time AFCON winners, Egypt and my home nation Ghana. Whilst Ghana has improved in recent months, Egypt will be too strong and will likely win their fixture to take top spot in Group B. on a deep run in this year's AFCON.

Group C: Senegal
Senegal, my tournament favourites will win this group. The opposition is not too strong in Group C in Guinee and Gambia so Cameroon should not have any problems securing the second place to qualify for the knock stages. They are a passionate nation and have good tournament history.

Group D: Burkina Faso
My choice for first place in this group may surprise some people is for Burkina to be the winners of the group. Algeria is a good side but I think they have their day in 2019 and won’t be as passionate to try and win again. Burkina is a really improved team and I think the players will be eager to showcase their talents on the continents biggest stage.

Group E: Mali
Group E is very interesting for me as this is the toughest group to predict as I believe 3 teams are equal and has a good chance of qualification and it will be competitive race to get out of the group stage. I like Mali so believe they will be strong enough to emerge top. Namibia, I don’t think will be strong enough to qualify but it will be interesting between Tunisia and South Africa. Whilst South Africa have been good in recent years I think it will the more organised Tunisia who manage to take second spot.

Group F: Morocco
Morocco is the highest ranked African team by FIFA and they will be the highest ranked team in Group F in 1st place with no troubles whatsoever. They will take confidence from their World Cup and really believe they can go all the way. DR Congo will take a close second position because they more experienced players and tournament know how compared to the other teams like Tanzania whose are only appearing for the third time at ANC.

Information is provided by the third-party provider and it is intended to be used for reference only.  The content and information have not been verified or confirmed by The Hong Kong Jockey Club and/or its affiliates (together, the “HKJC”), and will not be used for dividend payout purposes. HKJC also do not make any representation or warranty about the timeliness, reliability or accuracy of any such information.