Match Day 2 Adjustments Leave Group A Wide Open

Collapses from Algeria and Angola during their African Cup of Nations' opening matches left questions as to how the teams would respond.  Angola allowed four goals in the last sixteen minutes of their Sunday match with Mali.  Algeria make Malawi into contenders with some poor defending and a resulting 3-0 loss.

On Thursday, rebounds from each team threw Group A wide-open, pushing the group's most talented team into last place.

That team would be Mali, who sit with one point after two matches.  

For all the names Mali possesses in their potential starting XI, they seem to possess an inverse amount of tactical acumen in attack.  As a result, Algeria had a relatively easy time protecting a first half, set play goal from defender Rafik Halliche.  The Desert Foxes's 1-0 win puts them within one point of the group lead while relegating the Malians to fourth.

In the day's second match, the good Angola showed up.  The bad Angola that gave up all those late goals to Mali?  Thankfully for the home supporters, that team never showed up.  Angola scored two early second half goals and showed more focus in closing out the match, finishing-off a 2-0 win over Malawi.

Today's winners will face each other Monday, with the winner moving on to the quarterfinals.

Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let's consider today's events.

Here is how Group A stands after Thursday's action.  The analysis, after the jump:

Error prone and unfocused, Algeria looked lost during their first match. With rumors of contentious relationships between federation, coach, and players, the Foxes' story was unfolding as a clichéd tournament collapse.

Algeria and coach Rabah Sadaane deserve credit for turning things around.  Four days after a match that saw a number of defensive breakdowns, their back line found its World Cup qualifying quality.  As a result, Halliche's first half header held-up.

Though the Foxes' result was commendable, it played out predictably and preventably.  Algeria was opportunistic in taking their lead, but they weren't ambitious, and when they went ahead they slowly started receding into their own end.  Mali should have been prepared for this possibility, yet they showed no indication that they were.  

Frederic Kanouté, who started the match on the bench, should have been inserted as soon as possible after the goal, with the idea being that additional target man  could help attack an Algerian defense bound to be more compact.  Kanouté was not inserted until well into the second half, and not until Algeria adopted a deep, tight shape.  

Over his time in the game, Kanouté was as apt to go wide right to received the ball.  While that helped Mali gain territory for potential play into the box, it took their best target away from goal.

This speaks to the bigger problem with Mali:  tactics, or lack of them.  I concede that it is possible the Malians intended to execute some kind of attacking plan.  I'm just not sure what it is.  I'm not sure the last time I saw one from the Malians.  Even in there comeback against Angola, their philosophy was more akin to "let's try had an hope something happens."  Thanks to Carlos Fernandes, it did.

As the match unfolded (or didn't unfold, depending on how you see it), I was reminded of Benin's attempts to get a third goal against Mozambique.  One tactic I saw (and liked) from Benin was their willingness to draw a forward back from the opposition line, hope that a defender followed as a ball was played to the forward's feet, and then send one or two players running through the gap with the hopes the forward can complete a through ball.

I would have liked to see Mali try that, try to get the Algerian defense to stretch and open-up holes in overcommitting to the flanks (which I don't see the Algerians doing), or start taking more shots from distance.  There are other ideas that the Malians could have tried.  None were guaranteed to work, but all these tactics seem greater candidates for success than Mali relying on breaks.

Mali's problems are the same that we saw from Cameroon, Nigeria, and Cote d'Ivoire.  Against a bunkered-in side, none of these teams have the type of creative presences needed to crack open a defense.  We see players like Seydou Keita, John Obi Mikel, Yaya Touré, and Jean Makoun asked to become creative players.  In an open game, that role can make these players dangerous.  At the end of the match against a compacted side, all of these players are out of their element.

One of the few players on the continent who (at times) plays the playmaker role is Angola's Gilberto, but with the Black Antelope's midfielder suffering through an injury over the last two matches, Angola has not had that presence in midfield. The Al-Ahly midfielder had to be taken out of this match in the 35th minute, leaving Angola to find other methods to connect with Flávio and Manucho.

Manuel José's adjustment was to rely more on play from the wings, an approach that led to their consistent ability to get into attack. Their first goal came off a ball played from deep on the left flank to Flávio.

Despite the organization implied by this adjustment, Angola's attack is still very raw and relies as much on their athleticism and the energy derived from the crowd as it does their execution.  Had Malawi played as well at the back as they did against Algeria, Angola may not have scored.

The downturn in Malawi's defending was exemplified by Peter Mponda's performance.  Mponda was lauded for this performance against Algeria - well deserved praise.  Against Angola, he was their worst defender.

Twice in the first half, Mponga misreads led to Manucho opportunities, with only strong reactions and instincts from Malawi goalkeeper Swadic Sanudi getting the Flames to half deadlocked.  On the second goal, an Mponda giveaway and his inability to make-up for it against Manucho gifted Angola's best goal-scorer the insurance tally.

As good as Mponda was on Monday, he was as poor today.

Malawi has shown their willingness to push defenders forward, often leaving Mponda isolated.  Their first two matches have shown this to be a high-risk, high-reward strategy.  

Against Mali and Frederic Kanouté, this could be a bad combination.  Rather than asking the tactic-less Mali to develop a way to beat you, you're giving them one challenge:  beat Mponda.

With that match-up in front of them, the Malians better-than-outside shot at the quaterfinals.

Group A will resume play on Monday.