The 'minnows’ continue to serve up humble pie in Morocco at AFCON 2025

The refrain ‘there are no more minnows in football’ has been used way too many times by the so-called analysts; it has become slightly tiresome, clichéd almost.

After all, haven’t we witnessed many a match whose outcome even a non-football fan would correctly predict — the gap in quality so huge that to term the particular encounter a contest would be a mockery of the word?

But for once, the phrase is appearing justified. At the current Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals hosted by Morocco, the competition has been so tight that the pundits are being served large helpings of humble pie.

Prior to yesterday’s Matchday 3 encounters at the 35th edition of the biennial, continental showpiece, just three of the 24 countries had a perfect two-out-of-two record. Algeria, Egypt, and Nigeria were the only nations to have confirmed their spots in the knockout stages with a match to spare.

It spoke to the highly competitive nature of the tournament that hot favourites Morocco and Senegal had already dropped points: the hosts having been held to a draw by Mali, while the Lions of Teranga played to a stalemate against the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The successful trio may have grabbed maximum points, but even they did not cruise into the knockout phase. Egypt’s success over Bafana Bafana was fraught with controversy, the Pharaohs’ victory having been achieved via a hugely contested penalty conversion amidst calls by the South Africans that they should have had a spot kick. It spoke to the closeness of the encounter. That Egypt won their opening match against Zimbabwe 2-1 confirms just how tough this tournament is.

Algeria are yet to concede a goal as they erased the disappointments of the previous two tournaments — at which they failed to progress past the group stage — and have now elevated themselves into the position of favourites following victories over Sudan and Burkina Faso.

Nigeria only just booked their Round of 16 spot, the Super Eagles holding on to victory over Tunisia by the skin of their teeth as the Carthage Eagles impressively clawed their way back into a match they were losing at a canter to see it ending tensely at 3-2. Prior to that thriller, Nigeria had kick-started their campaign via a 2-1 win over a Tanzania side many had expected them to smash off the park.

A lot of expectations were smashed to smithereens by the end of Matchday 2. Of course, there were some one-sided matches, such as Senegal’s 3-0 defeat of Botswana and Algeria’s smashing of Sudan by the same score. But no one — and I mean not even the smartest of punters — would have banked on Sudan recovering from that mauling to win 1-0 against Equatorial Guinea.

And surely only the Mozambicans believed their country’s maiden victory at the AFCON finals would come at the expense of the Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang-inspired Gabon. The Mambas made history as they beat Gabon 3-2, with 42-year-old Elias Pelembe contributing by earning his country a penalty during a tournament in which he is becoming the second-oldest player behind Egypt’s legendary goalkeeper, Essam El Hadary.

It is a tough tournament and the upcoming Matchday 3 ties are sure to spring more surprises that many a punter would be floored by. And that is just how we love our football to be — unpredictable.