From a cheap Hand of God copy to a failed flirting attempt: the ten most bizarre scenes from the African Cup of Nations

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The hosts’ sensational victory brought an end to the Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast on Sunday evening, which had been postponed for a year due to a monsoon. A tournament that provided a lot of spectacle with 119 goals spread over 52 matches and also raised eyebrows with seven coach dismissals (two of which even during the tournament). There were also other bizarre scenes on and off the field that caused much amusement in the social media world.

The African Cup had only been played for two minutes when this year’s edition already saw its first sensational clearing action. Jefferson Encada (25), Guinea-Bissau defender and teammate of Yverdon wing Mauro Rodrigues (22), pushed the ball powerfully out of bounds. It’s just a shame that this rescue operation for the corner would not have been necessary because the opponents were far away.

Second group match in group B, Cape Verde against Mozambique: The Cape Verdean star striker Bebé (33) takes courage and puts his free kick directly on goal from 40 meters. The former Man Utd player’s free kick is poorly placed, but that doesn’t matter. Because goalkeeper Ernan Siluane (25) probably left his contact lenses at home. The ball somehow slides into the goal, the clip of the goal goes viral – prompting the German football magazine “11 Freunde” to transpose Britney Spears’ lyrics “Hit me, Baby, one more time” put in “Hit me, Bebé, one more time.” » to change. By the way: Siluane had to sit on the bench after the mistake in the last group match against Ghana.

When you watch Gambia’s Muhammed Sanneh (23) punch the ball into the goal to equalize against Cameroon in the 93rd minute, memories of the hand of God by Diego Maradona (1960-2020) come to mind. It is unclear whether the teammate of YB representatives Saidy Janko (28) and Ebrima Colley (24) really took the Argentine football legend as a role model. But what he perhaps should have thought about before he started celebrating: there is VAR. The bullshit was quickly discovered, the goal was rightly disallowed and Gambia lost the match 2-3.

The difference between Henry Cavill (40) and Neblú (30)? One is a Superman actor and therefore gets to fly. The other is a goalkeeper for the Angolan national team and should do less – or at least not outside the penalty area and then touch the ball with his hands. But that is exactly what the thirty-year-old did in the group match against Burkina Faso. Although he deliberately committed a handball outside the penalty area, potentially preventing a clear goal-scoring opportunity, he was only shown a yellow card. Let’s hope that the goalkeeper of the Angolan first division club Clube Desportivo de Agosto has learned something from it. Spoiler: he didn’t.

What’s going on with Neblu? The goalkeeper obviously learned nothing from the Superman action in the previous group match. Only 17 minutes had been played in the round of 16 against Namibia when he confronted the on-rushing striker. But he must have forgotten that the penalty area ends. He then parries the opponent’s attempt with his hands outside the penalty area and then flies off the field. A blessing in disguise: his representative, Etoile-Carouge goalkeeper Signori António (29), deflects the subsequent free kick and all other balls. Despite being significantly outnumbered, Angola won 3–0 and reached the quarter-finals.

El Ahly striker Emam Ashour (25), among others, should have followed in Salah’s great footsteps after Mohamed Salah’s back injury in the round of 16. With the emphasis on should have. According to various media, Marcel Koller’s protégé (63) tried a backflip during training a few days before the eighth finals. This went wrong, Ashour seriously injured his head and was out of the match against YB’s Meschack Elia (26) due to a concussion. Ashour himself never confirmed the somersault attempt, but later said on Instagram that he was between “life and death” and saw things he “wouldn’t wish on anyone.”

The hopes of an exploit from Ivory Coast after the failed group stage were high, and the celebration after the victory in the round of 16 over defending champion Senegal was even greater. The fans at the stadium in the capital Yamoussoukro cheered and celebrated, while one gentleman took the opportunity and did his best to convince the person sitting next to him. It’s just a shame that the father of the family was caught by the TV cameras during his pushy attempts at flirting. He later publicly apologized to his wife, children and family. According to him, the telephone number he wanted from the Senegalese woman did not exist.

It is understandable that the celebration after the winning goal in the 120th minute at a major sporting event in your own country is slightly more exuberant. The same applies to the fact that you then throw away your own T-shirt out of sheer joy. And yet Oumar Diakité (20) could have thought about this action a little more. Because less than nine minutes earlier he had already seen yellow. His teammate apparently remembered this and tried to forcefully stop him from taking off his shirt. It didn’t help, Diakité stepped off the top, then flew off the field and was suspended for the semi-finals.

When your team is eliminated from a major tournament after conceding a goal in the 120th minute, a tear may well run down your cheek. For Mali’s trainer Éric Chelle (46) it became much more than just a drop of water. But it’s not his full bags under his eyes that are to blame, but one of his staff members. Chelle calmly pours a bottle of water over her head. It is not known whether the water was a somewhat unconventional method of wiping away tears or whether Chelle was baptized after the final whistle. It was certainly a strange scene.

These are scenes reminiscent of any indoor children’s tournament in Switzerland: during the locker room meeting, little Victor was more concerned with digesting his hot dog than listening and forgot that the trainer had set him up. So he first takes a comfortable seat on the bench, but is called onto the field at short notice. It’s just a pity that Victor is not that small, has a market value of over 100 million francs and is probably the best striker in the world at the moment: Victor Osimhen (25), Nigerian star striker at SSC Napoli, is just sitting on the bench in the match against Angola until he realizes that he should still be on the field. It later emerged that the referee had not stopped the match, but Osimhen thought he had already been officially substituted. A little later he was allowed to sit on the couch.

Source : Blick