The 30th edition of the Africa Nations Cup finally came to end with Cote d’Ivoire winning the championship after edging Ghana in a closely contested final played at Estadio de Bata.
Kawowo Sports’ Ismael Kiyonga did follow the proceedings from Equatorial Guinea from day one and names his best team of the tournament.
Felipe Ovono (Equatorial Guinea): Until the semi-final against Ghana, Ovono had only let in a single goal in each game. In all those fixtures right from the group stages, the young goalie was the hero of the team and beats Cameroon’s Ondoua to the slot just for one simple reason, The Indomitable Lions didn’t make it beyond group stages.
Serge Aurier (Cote d’Ivoire): Arguably the best right back in Africa at the moment. He was consistent and never gave away possession easily. Defend or attack, the PSG man was a menace to opponents. Ghana’s Harrison Afful is the closest competitor.
Baba Rahman (Ghana): He gave the Black Stars width, whipped crosses in and defended well too. He is a composed lad and made brilliant attackers like Gervinho and Ibrahima Traore look so ordinary.
Kolo Toure (Cote d’Ivoire): His performance in the finals against a talented Ghana side plus his show in the last group game against Cameroon is the reason he makes the cut. The Liverpool man did reinvent self in the tournament.
Jonathan Mensah (Ghana): Over the course of the tournament, Mensah was the outstanding centre-back for Ghana. He did magnificently well. He got his back three in line, he pulled people around, made last-ditch tackles and organised his backline well.
Serey Die (Cote d’Ivoire): The harder a game is the more he likes it, the more he digs in deep. He can also play and I think that he has had a sensational tournament. The Elephants never missed Cheikh Tiote simply because Die was ever present.
Mubarak Wakaso (Ghana): I think he does deserve to be in there. He didn’t play well in the opening fixtures forcing Grant to bench him but he was excellent as the tournament grew.
Andrew Dede Ayew (Ghana): Without Andre Ayew, Ghana would have been out of the tournament a long time ago (group stages), there is no doubt. He has got his goals and assists and never deserved to be on the losing side in the finals.
Christian Atsu (Ghana): He was the danger man of Avram Grant’s side. Every time he got the ball he looked like he was going to hurt the opposition. He’s the one who got his head up, running at people with pace, and asked questions of people plus came up with some important goals.
Thievy Bifouma (Congo Brazzaville): Bifouma is the reason Congo Brazzaville went up to the last eight in the tournament. He didn’t only score three goals in the tourney but also kept opposing defences on tenterhooks.
Ahmed Akaichi (Tunisia): He hasn’t been the Akaichi i wanted to see by turning up and dazzling us with his skills at breakneck speed but he has had decisive moments in games where he has got his team through. He scored the all important goal against Equatorial Guinea only to be denied by a place in the semis by a controversial penalty decision.
Coach: Florent Ibenge: The AS Vita coach was amongst the three local coaches in the tourney but defied odds by guiding the Leopards to the third place.
Honourable Mentions: Yannick Bolasie, Bokila & Mbokani (DR Congo), Gervinho, Maxi Gradel (Cote d’Ivoire), AbduNoor (Tunisia), Ibrahima Traore (Guinea), Javier Balboa (Equatorial Guinea) and, Harrison Afful, Kwesi Appiah (Ghana)
