Gabon and Libya clash in a quarter final encounter at Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane with the winner of the tie dating the Warriors of Zimbabwe who await in the semis as the Orange African Nations Championship nears the end. Sunday 26th January sees the last two quarter finals with Ghana and DR Congo also playing at Free State Stadium in Mangaung. The winner of that game has the Super Eagles of Nigeria to play in the semis, after Stephen Keshi’s boys completed a great comeback from 3-0 down to beat Morocco 4-3.
Back in Polokwane, two sides who both left it very late to score the goals that would bring them into quarters meet in what is an open match. Gabon was down 2-1 to Mauritania with 5 minutes of regulation time left but ended up 4-2 winners. Libya recovered from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 to Congo. A 93rd minute strike from l Abdelrahman Fetori paved the way for a quarter final berth.
Bonaventure Sokambi Taty who rose from the substitute’s bench to notch a brace for Gabon , may well be called upon to make a start on Sunday but it remains to be seen if that will be at the expense of veteran Daniel Cousin who looked a yard slower in the match against Mauritania. Gabon boasts a solid defence and tends to use flanks when going forward. Both sides are offensive minded and possess pace in attack a scenario that sets up an interesting contest where goals seem assured.
Libya will bank on a mobile midfield marshalled by roving Faisal Ali , Mohamed Elgadi , Mohamed Ghanudi and Ahmed El Trib players who have be at the heart of most of the team’s creative play. The Mediterranean Knights have bucket-loads of self -belief and in the words of coach, Javier Clemente, this is a young side that it out to learn and enjoy the tournament. The boys have grown in confidence with each game. We respect all our opponents and just want to give of our best” said the Spaniard.
Libya has always looked like a scoring side and in striker Elmutasem Abushnaf and Abdelsalam Omar they have pacey forwards with an eye for goal and Gabonese defence will need to be on full guard on Sunday. The semis final match will take place on Wednesday 29th January with both games taking place at Mangaung’s Free State Stadium.
Confederation of African Football (CAF) News
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1 Comment
There is nothing i see here other than a Libya victory. The team is just up to the task and i see them easing past Gabon