According to the World Food Programme, Chad ranks 73rd out of 78 countries on the Global Hunger Index. And yet, the country is now the shirt sponsor for Ligue 1 club Metz.
Yaya Toure won the African Player of the Year award four years in a row and after winning the Africa Cup of Nations with the Ivory Coast for the first time in 2015, he thought he was a lock to make it five in a row. But he didn’t. Instead, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and his fabulous lapels became the first player from Gabon to claim the award for his incredible play with Borussia Dortmund.
The Ivory Coast have won the African Cup of Nations title 23 years after winning it for the first time with a penalty from goalkeeper Boubacar Barry (a.k.a. Copa Barry) serving as the shootout decider. A shootout that Gervinho, who was subbed off just before it began, couldn’t bring himself to watch.
The African Cup of Nations semifinal between host nation Equatorial Guinea and Ghana was marred by crowd violence that forced an extended stoppage of play late in the second half and put Ghana’s players and fans in danger. But Ghana still won 3-0 to advance to the final, where they will face the Ivory Coast, thanks in part to goalkeeper Brimah Razak’s good luck charm.
Razak brought his favorite Spider-Man action figure onto the pitch with him and placed it next to his goal. And with that comforting presence at his side, he kept a clean sheet to help his team reach the final.
Mali and Guinea both finished Group D in the African Cup of Nations with three points from three 1-1 draws to finish joint second behind the Ivory Coast. This brought about the cruelest and most perversely anticipated tiebreaker of all: the drawing of lots.
Gervinho had a complete and total meltdown during Ivory Coast’s African Cup of Nations match against Guinea. It began with him slapping Naby Keita in the head for supposedly stepping on his foot and when the referee showed the Roma striker a red card for his ill-advised retaliation, he completely lost his mind and threw a tantrum worthy of a two-year-old.
This all played out in the 58th minute with the Ivory Coast down 1-0, but being reduced to 10 men didn’t stop them from scoring an equalizer in the 72nd minute. Not sure if that will make Gervinho feel better or worse, though.
