African Depth Shines in Group D

Another day, another day of surprises at the African Cup of Nations, with Group D (the last group to start play) picking up where the preceding quartets left-off.

Thought Burkina Faso reversing the qualifying results and drawing Cote d'Ivoire (report) was surprising?  Try Gabon doing the same only beating Cameroon.

Was low-scoring Mozambique getting a draw and two goals (report) against Benin unexpected?  Try no-scoring Zambia getting an early goal and a point.  From Tunisia.

Now at the end of the first round of matches, the dominant theme of the tournament thus far could be African depth.

Consider:  Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, and Nigeria have a combined one point.  Malawi has more by themselves, as does Gabon.  And other teams - like Burkina Faso, Mozambique, Zambia - came to Angola well prepared, with better developed tactics, and were rewarded with strong first match results.  Beyond the mere results - all these surprise teams have "looked the part."

The current group leaders include Burkina Faso, Gabon and Malawi.  Cameroon and Nigeria sit alone in last place.  Whether that makes for a better or more exciting tournament, I don't know, but it does help dispel the notion that Africa is a handful of good teams and then a drop (I refrain I commonly hear).  That is no true than the notion that South America is Brazil, Argentina and everybody else.

There is depth to be found in Africa.

On Wednesday, that idea was embodied by Gabon, who upset Cameroon 1-0 thanks to a masterful defensive performance.  Reserving their two, third-round qualifying losses to the Indomitable Lions, the Gabonese climbed atop Group D and (just as important) got three points from their toughest match.  Still with Zambia on their fixture list, Gabon now has to be considered probable for the quarterfinals.

Elsewhere, Zambia created an early goal against Tunisia, and even after the Eagles equalized just before halftime, looked the better side.  It was a surprising performance for the Chipolopolo, who had so many difficulties scoring in qualifying.

Now in second place, Zambia exhibited a form that would make them a factor going forward in group play.  The question is whether that form can be replicated.

More after the jump, but here is the Group D table: 

Whether Zambia can build on today's tie informs us on the value of Gabon's upset.  If Zambia is still the highly-flawed side we thought they were, the Gabon's three points from Cameroon almost guarantees a quarterfinal spot.  Those plus the points they should expect from Zambia means they need only for Cameroon to draw Tunisia (match three) to be assured advancing.

Completely contradicting their qualifying performances, against Tunisia, Zambia showed they are capable of building attacks against a decent defense.  The Eagles of Carthage did not play poorly; rather, Zambia patiently carved out their options, showing a high degree of preparedness while doing so.  

Coach Hervé Renard seemed to have his team very well prepared, allowing them to get an unexpected point.

If Zambia's performance was a result of preparedness, there is no reason it can't be replicated, though their next match against Cameroon will present a different series of challenges.  As opposed to Tunisia, Cameroon will apply high pressure when they are without the ball.  This seems like an approach that could get an inexperienced side out of their game.  Though the Zambians did well in the stretch of second half where the Tunisians were active in pursuit, it remains to be seen if they will perform as well under ninety minutes of pressure.

For Tunisia's part, while their ultimate result was bad, their performance was not.  They went up against a good Zambia side today, and without the kind of dangerous players who can consistently create something out-of-nothing, Tunisia is hard pressed to win matches like this.  This is part of the reason why Tunisia lost in Mozambique this fall.

Worse than the draw for the Eagles was Gabon getting three points from Cameroon.  The Eagles must now play as if Gabon is on six points, expected them to beat Zambia.  This means Tunisia has to win their next two matches.  If it turns out they need only three or four from matches against Gabon and Cameroon, so be it.  Until that is the case, Tunisia must assume Gabon gets to six and their third match with Cameroon decides who joins the Gabonaise in the quarterfinals.

As for those Gabonaise, they gave a superior defensive performance.  Credit must be given to the players, particularly goalkeeper Didier Ovono and (to pick one) defender Rodrigue Moundounga (who plays in Swaziland).  Credit must be given to Alain Giresse for the preparation and plan.

Gabon's organization was near perfect.  Only once did I see gaps starting to form in their line or their defensive midfielder(s) undermine the formation.  That was midway through the first half when I thought their left back was venturing too high on the pitch and leaving space between himself and the left-center half.  Whether those times I noticed were anomalies or the problem was addressed, Gabon closed the gap.

Their marking through the midfield was great, and the passing-on of running Lions from midfielder-to-defender was precise.  The communication between defenders seemed solid, and late in the match you would see constant (intense) discussion between teammates trying to hold their 1-0 lead.

Even when Cameroon created opportunities, it was more happenstance or Cameroon's talents than it was Gabonese deficiencies.  Perhaps this was a Hickory High, Villanova-versus-Georgetown, perfectly executed performance.  Or, perhaps the Gabonese are just this good now.

Regardless, they are in the driver's seat.  They could play worse than today and still get a point from Tunisia in their next match.  And for all the virtues Zambia showed today, they were not at Gabon's level.  The question is whether Gabon is really at Gabon's level.

Cameroon's situation is much like Nigeria's, save the poor performance.  The Lions probably should have found a way to win this match, as good teams can still find a way to break down stellar defenses; nonetheless, they will be favored against both Zambia and Tunisia.  They are still likely to go through.

While Cameroon did not play was well as (to pick another favorite that tripped) Cote d'Ivoire, it's difficult to find too much fault.  They did not score a goal, but how should they have gone about doing that.  In the first half they tried passing into the final third and opening up the Gabonese, and it didn't work.  Gabon was too well organized, so in the second half Cameroon came out and tried to play longer balls into the final third with the hope of catching Gabon before their central midfielders could fall back and get their defense set-up.  But that didn't work.

You could look to Samuel Eto'o and ask for a moment of brilliance.  That would have worked, but Eto'o is also not that kind of player.

Gabon gave a performance that should be applauded.  Cameroon was unlucky to have come up against them.  It does not make the Indomitable Lions any more "domitable" than they were yesterday.