In the period from January 19 to February 10 this year, South Africa adopted another Cup of African Nations, which has already become the 29th in a row. It should be noted that originally planned to host the championship in Libya, but the civil war in this country has made adjustments to the plans of the organizers. Participation in the preliminary selection was accepted by all 47 countries of the continent. According to its results, fifteen participants passed into the final stage, and the host country became the sixteenth.
Interesting in the last tournament was that almost all the mentors talked a lot about starting the construction of their teams and preparing them for the next mundialyu, which will be held in Brazil. This can be said about the representatives of Ghana, Morocco and others. The only one who expressed confidence in his forces and announced his intention to win the current African Football Championship was Sabri Lyamushi, coach of the national team of Côte d'Ivoire. As a result, the Elephants left the tournament already at the quarter finals stage. The Nigerian coach, on the contrary, came before the start of the competition under a flurry of criticism for refusing the services of recognized leaders of past years. Instead, he invited players to the team up to 25 years old, with the exception of a few people. Despite the words about the focus on the world championship in 2018, the Nigerian national team won the competition.
The main disappointment of the tournament, perhaps, was the current champion - the national team of Zambia. On the one hand, last year's triumphers were assigned certain hopes, and on the other - not so sensational such an early departure. In this case, the words of many skeptics who in 2012 claimed that Zambia won the African Nations Cup due to underestimation by competitors proved to be true. Did not show themselves and the main stars of the team - Mayuk and Christopher Katongo. Another loser was the national team of Côte d'Ivoire, led by the ageless Didier Drogba. Calling the last disappointment does not turn the language, but the proper game in any of the matches the experienced Ivorian has not demonstrated. All this leads to the idea that "Elephants" urgently need to find a new striker, which you can bet on.
Now let's talk about discoveries. The last Cup of African Nations gave the world the name of a new football talent - Sunday Mba. The 24-year-old central midfielder plays for the Nigerian club "Warri Wolves", but there are all the prerequisites to claim that next summer he will appear in one of the European teams. Footballer perfectly helped John Obi Mikel in the center of the field and scored two important goals. One of them became decisive against Côte d'Ivoire, and the second - the only one in the final match. Among the teams the main discovery was, of course, the team of Burkina Faso. Few people believed in their exit from the group, not to mention the final silver medals with which they left the Nations Cup.
The host of the next championship will be Morocco. Now it is already known that matches of the competitions will be held in the stadiums of six cities. It should be noted that the Cup of African Nations 2015 should become a new history of football development of the "Black Continent". He will start in a year after the world championship. According to many experts, the championship will be the last for many recognized stars and along with it should open new names and forces. For example, high hopes are placed on the youth of Benin and Gabon. It is possible that on the bridge, we will see people who have been watched just recently.