Gabon
Introduction
Dark horse alert! When Gabon triumphed in the CAF U-23 championship in 2011, showing commendable resilience to overcome hosts Morocco in the final, there were whispers that the seeds for a golden generation had been planted.
The audibility of those whispers grew after an encouraging 2012 Africa Cup of Nations campaign as hosts, narrowly exiting on penalties to Mali in the quarter final.
A drab showing at London Olympics followed by failure to qualify for AFCON 2013, however, saw those whispers muted. After the underwhelming tenure of Paulo Duarte, where the upheaval saw star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang skedaddle into exile, the appointment of former Portuguese international Jorge Costa has seen a revival in Gabon's fortunes, resuscitating the mojo that brought a feel-good factor to the country in 2011 and early 2012.
One of four teams unbeaten during qualification, Gabon certainly had stiff enough tests to show their mettle. They qualified as group winners after beating both Angola and Burkina Faso at home and displayed great resolve to snatch draws on the away legs.
Their qualifying campaign, promising talent, relative obscurity and low pressure back home makes them bona-fide dark horses. The players are either hitting the sweet-spot of their careers or brimming with youthful vigour. At the time of writing, 13 of the 20 outfield players named in the squad are 23 years of age or under (six of the 13 were part of Gabon’s Afcon U-23 triumph) and no outfield player in the squad is over 27 years of age.
With an inviting passage to the semi-finals, Gabon may not have a better chance to prove themselves to the continent as a country of genuinely promising footballing pedigree.
Their qualifying campaign, promising talent, relative obscurity and low pressure back home makes them bona-fide dark horses. The players are either hitting the sweet-spot of their careers or brimming with youthful vigour. At the time of writing, 13 of the 20 outfield players named in the squad are 23 years of age or under (six of the 13 were part of Gabon’s Afcon U-23 triumph) and no outfield player in the squad is over 27 years of age.
With an inviting passage to the semi-finals, Gabon may not have a better chance to prove themselves to the continent as a country of genuinely promising footballing pedigree.
The Framework
Les Pantheres deploy a 4-3-3 formation with a fluid attacking trio of Aubameyang, Malick Evouna and Frederic Bulot, with Aubameyang and Evouna taking turns to spearhead the attack. With no genuine target man and technically adept midfielders such as Levy Madinda and Andre Biyogo-Poko to call upon, Gabon keep the ball on the floor and tend to play it into the quick-thinking pair of Evouna and Aubameyang, who have the sixth sense to bamboozle defenders with their fraternal understanding. Much of their danger comes from the speed down the flanks.