The 2022 edition of the African Nations Championship (CHAN) will kick off on Friday in the Algerian capital, Algiers.
It is the seventh edition of the competition since it began in 2009. All editions together have created some of the best and least of spectacles, which is reviewed by Afrosport.
BEST WINNERS
Morocco: The Atlas Lions are the most successful team in the history of CHAN, winning the competition back-to-back in 2018 and 2020.
On the two occasions, they were dominant from start to finish, especially the 2018 edition on home soil where they thumped Nigeria 4-0 in the final in Casablanca.
That game remains the highest-scoring final in CHAN history with Tunisia and DR Congo’s 3-0 victory over Angola and Mali in the 2011 and 2016 final respectively the next final with most goals.
The North African giants will be looking to go one step further by winning a third consecutive title which will be a CHAN record.
DR Congo: The Leopards are the next most successful team in CHAN with two titles as well.
They are the winners of the maiden edition of the competition, beating Ghana 2-0 in what was an eight-team tournament before moving to 16 teams in 2011.
The Central Africans tasted success again in 2016 in what was the highest-scoring CHAN tournament (80 goals) till date.
Aside from their two titles, DR Congo are the most consistent CHAN participant, appearing in all but one tournament before now alongside Uganda. On every other occasion aside the two titles, they have made it to the quarter-finals (2011, 2014, 2020) and like Morocco will be gunning for a third title which will be a record.
Libya: The Mediterranean Knights are the next best-performing team in CHAN history.
They have only one title which was in 2014 when they beat Ghana on penalties in Cape Town, South Africa. Aside that, the Libyans also finished fourth at the 2018 edition in Morocco where the hosts had the better of them 3-1 after extra time.
Asides these, Libya’s other CHAN outings have been group stage finishes in 2009 and 2020. The North Africans will definitely want to rekindle performances of the 2014 CHAN which begins with a battle against 2022 hosts Algeria on Friday night.
LOSERS
Equatorial Guinea: The National Thunder have only been to one CHAN tournament which was in 2018 in Morocco.
On that occasion, the Central Africans lost all their three matches, finishing bottom of Group C behind Nigeria, Libya and Rwanda, scoring just one goal and scoring conceding seven goals.
Mozambique: The Mambas are among worst CHAN performers with just one previous appearance which was in 2014 in South Africa.
The Southeast African country were paired in Group A with Mali, Nigeria and tournament hosts South Africa. They finished bottom of the table without securing a point while scoring three goals and conceding four.
They have a shot at redemption after qualifying for the 2022 CHAN. They will still have their work cut out however as they have to deal with Algeria, Libya and Ethiopia in Group A.
Togo: The Sparrowhawks like the aforementioned two teams have only made one CHAN appearance.
Unlike the other two which came much in earlier editions, Togo’s outing was at the last edition in Cameroon.
They were paired in Group C with Rwanda, Uganda and eventual champions Morocco. The West Africans finished third, missing out on qualification by two points, securing one win which was against bottom team Uganda.
Togo are not at CHAN 2022 after losing 3-2 on aggregate to Niger during the qualifiers.
BEST TOURNAMENT
Morocco 2018: The 2018 CHAN in Morocco remains the best tournament till date in the history of the competition.
It was all about the Atlas Lions from the beginning of the tournament where they beat Mauritania 4-0 until the final where they beat Nigeria by the same scoreline.
The North Africans scored 16 goals which is the most scored by a champion in the tournament till date and conceded only two goals all through.
Morocco were given the fair play award while five of their players (Badr Benoun, Walid El Karti, Salaheddine Saidi, Zakaria Hadraf and Ayoub El Kaabi) made it into the team of the tournament. El Kaabi was awarded with the Player of the Tournament award as well as top scorer award after scoring nine goals which is a CHAN record.
UNDERWHELMING TOURNAMENT
South Africa 2014: The 2014 CHAN in South Africa will go down as one of the most underwhelming.
Champions Libya scored only six goals all through the tournament, with five of them coming in the group phase. The quarter-final against Gabon was where they scored the other goal, making them the lowest-scoring of all CHAN champions till date.
Libya needed penalties to win all their games in the knockout phase, beating Gabon, Zimbabwe and Ghana 4-1, 5-0 and 4-0 respectively.
The North African did not cover themselves in glory as none of their players were awarded with the top scorer award and best player of the tournament, rather going to South African Bernard Parker and Nigerian Ejike Uzoenyi respectively.
