Positive Feelings

There were plenty of reasons to be optimistic after the Nations Cup in Gabon

- Jonathan Wilson

With 64 goals in 32 games, this was the second-lowest scoring African Nations Cup since the tournament switched to a 16-team format in 2000. Only Mali, in 2002, with its dry, dusty and dreadfully bobbly pitches denied Gabon 2017 top spot. However, that statistic is a very misleading one.

After a decade or so of drab football at the Nations Cup – and, indeed, at international tournament finals in general – this felt more progressive and more open, with better football than at any Nations Cup since Ghana 2008, perhaps even before. There was a sense, for the first time in a long time, of an upswing in the quality of the African game.

Such assessments are by their nature subjective, and the fact that this latest tournament felt so positive despite averaging just two goals per game does little other than highlight how goals are not in and of themselves a measure of quality or excitement. But before looking at the tactical implications of that, it’s worth first looking at the influence of external factors.

First of all, the pitches. One of the problems with stadiums that are finished a few days before a tournament kicks off is that the pitches have insufficient time to bed in. The result in Gabon was that the strips of turf began to separate, leading to long stripes of soil running the length of the pitch in Libreville, Oyem and Port-Gentil. The sandy subsoil of Port-Gentil was a particular issue, with the pitch there so bad that even simple 10-yard passes became a lottery.

At one point, serious consideration was even given to moving the quarter-final from there to Oyem.