Following the conclusion of the group stage action at the ongoing U-17 Africa Cup of Nations in Algeria, we rank the top 5 teams that caught our attention with reference to their performances and results.
Eight countries – Senegal, Algeria, Congo, Nigeria, Morocco, South Africa, Mali and Burkina Faso are through to the quarter-final and will vie for the semi-final place that guarantees qualification for the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup later in the year.
How far can the group leaders, runners-up and third-placed teams go?
1. Senegal
The Teranga Cubs stood out in the group stage with their dominance in Group A.
Serigne Dia’s boys broke the country’s group stage jinx for their first ever appearance in the knockout phase. Senegal had a perfect record of three wins, seven goal scored and did not concede in all their three matches to finish atop of their group table.
2. Mali
The West Africans are the second team in the competition with an unblemished record of six points, three goals scored and did not concede any goal in the two Group C played.
In the second and final group fixture against Cameroon, Mali showed resilience after a cagey 80 minutes and scored two late goals in the 86th and 95th minutes to secure a 2-0 victory.
3. Nigeria
Nduka Ugbade’s team created the most chances in the tournament so far and they managed two wins and a loss in their Group B encounters.In their 1-0 loss to Morocco in their second fixture, the Golden Eaglets 27 chances compared to the Atlas Lions’ four. They have shown composure in their plays and organisation from the defence to the attack.
4. Algeria
The hosts did not home fans with Moslem Anatouf scoring all of Algeria’s goals in the group stage. The Desert Fennecs started their campaign with a remarkable 2-0 win against debutants Somalia but couldn’t do enough against Senegal as they conceded a 3-0 loss.
Anatouf turned up against Congo with a crucial equaliser that secured Algeria’s passage to the last-eight.
5. South Africa
The Amajimbos squeezed their way through to the next round as one of the best losers after they finished third in Group B with three points from three matches.
South Africa scored the most goals in the tournament after Senegal, and they finished as the highest-scoring team in Group B with five goals scored but they were defensively unstable conceding at least two goals in each of their group games.
