Great tournament as expected, congrats to winners! Nigeria played poorly in both semifinal and final. Cote d'Ivoire snatched their way to semis and then played their best.
Post AFCON CAF Ranking (takes into account a period of roughly 2.5 years - so AFCON 2021+ AFCON 2023, 2022 WCQ, the 2022 World Cup itself such as 2026 WCQ and friendlies in the period used are relevant for my ranking) My methodology is factors about 60% results and 40% performances Here is my updated CAF Ranking ( In brackets change rating compared to pre-AFCON) 1. SEN 82.5 (-0.5) 2. MAR 81 (-2.5) 3. CIV 78.5 (-2) 4. NGA 78 (+2.5) 5. EGY 77.5 (-4) 6. MLI 77.5 (+0.5) 7. TUN 77 (-2) 8. ALG 76.5 (-1.5) 9. COD 76.5 (+1.5) 10. RSA 76 (+2.5) 11. EQG 75.5 (+2) 12. CMR 75 (-1.5) 13. BFA 75 (-1.5) 14. CPV 75 (+5) 15. ANG 74.5 (+3) 16. GUI 73.5 (+2) 17. GHA 72 (-1.5) 18. GAB 72 19. ZAM 70.5 (-2) 20. MTN 70.5 (+2.5) 21. NAM 69.5 (+4.5) 22. COM 69.5 23. GAM 69.5 (+0.5) 24. TOG 69 25. LBY 69 (+5.5) 26. KEN 69 (+2) 27. MOZ 69 28. MWI 68 29. GNB 67.5 (-4) 30. CGO 67 31. TAN 66.5 (+1.5) 32. CTA 66.5 33. MAD 66.5 34. ZIM 66 35. UGA 65 (+1) 36. SDN 65 (+1) 37. BDI 65 (+0.5) 38. BEN 64.5 (+1) 39. SLE 64 (-0.5) 40. BOT 64 (+1) 41. ETH 63 42. RWA 63 (+0.5) 43. NIG 62.5 (+1) 44. LBR 61.5 45. LES 61.5 NEW 46. SWZ 61 (+0.5) The remaining 8 CAF nations are unranked in my Top 150 Ranking
I'll never forget Jean-Louis Gasset's body language when Equatorial Guinea scored the first goal. It routed Côte d'Ivoire 4-0. I guess if he does this gesture in English Premier League or in front of coaches like Mourhino, Anchelotti or Guardiola, his career will end. Also, English tabloid will mock him the day after.
I cannot think of a better come back story in international football. Talk about comming back from the dead.