Guinea
Introduction
In many ways it is remarkable to even be writing this preview. Turned on its head by the modern day Ebola pandemic, it may be a bit coarse to compare the struggles of the football team to the struggles of the country as a whole, but in the past three months Guinea reversed the narrative to defy expectations and become the story of qualifying.
Forced to play their home games outside of Guinea, as Ebola-fearing Morocco ended up being their temporary home in Casablanca, they not only overcame being completely devoid of home advantage, but the mental decimation in dealing with what was going on at home. And when you look at how problems at home impacted on Sierra Leone’s qualification campaign, you can truly appreciate the scale of what they have done.
Stranded on four points after four games, two wins from the final two games was enough to drag themselves over the line, as they held their nerve against Uganda in the final game, winning 2-0 in their adopted home in the second-place decider. Finishing just one point between a stuttering Ghana side, they return to the Cup of Nations finals after missing out in South Africa, making Equatorial Guinea familiar territory from when they went out at the group stage in 2012. They will be a side looking to continue that drive to give the people at home something to celebrate, and with such emotional events occurring last time Equatorial Guinea hosted, it is no wonder that some are calling Guinea the “new Zambia”.
went out at the group stage in 2012. They will be a side looking to continue that drive to give the people at home something to celebrate, and with such emotional events occurring last time Equatorial Guinea hosted, it is no wonder that some are calling Guinea the “new Zambia”.
The Framework
Starting in a 4-3-3 formation, the name of Guinea’s game is to counter with pace. A defence marshalled by the experienced Kamil Zayatte and Florentin Pogba (brother of Paul), a settled, young midfield with a base of two defensive midfielders with Ibrahima Conte just ahead of them, the transition up the pitch is electric. Their front three, normally made up of Ibrahima Traore, Idrissa Sylla and Seydouba Soumah, are able to take the ball towards goal at pace. Tending to not dominate possession, they instead rely on the strong dribbling ability and movement of these three for the fast creation of chances.
Strengths
Clinical finishing - A necessity for a successful counter-attacking style, Guinea have proved to be absolutely ruthless finishers, with the front three often sharing the goals between them. Seydouba Soumah in particular showed this in qualifying, scoring five goals, and have young Lyon forward Mohamed Yattara to come in should one need replacing.