2019 Africa Cup of Nations: Group D preview

Ivory Coast, Morocco, Namibia and South Africa will compete in Group D at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. Here’s what to expect from each side.

Boasting three former champions, Group D will be one of the most competitive groups at the Africa Cup of Nations. Two-time winners Ivory Coast, who have qualified for every edition of the tournament since 2006, are joined by Morocco and South Africa who each have one title to their name. South Africa’s neighbors Namibia are the fourth team in the group.

Ivory Coast

Ivory Coast are making their 23rd appearance at the Africa Cup of Nations. The 1992 and 2015 Champions are one of the tournament favorites and will be looking to improve on their last performance in 2017 where they were eliminated at the group stages.

Qualification

Qualification for the AFCON tournament would always have been coach Ibrahim Kamara’s primary goal but he’ll be disappointed that his side qualified second from a group including Guinea, Central African Republic and Rwanda.

The Ivorians lost only of one of their six matches, an opening day defeat to Guinea, but a needless draw against the CAR in October ultimately cost them the top spot. Kamara’s men are still expected to do well in the tournament but their failure to see off weaker opposition in qualifying ultimately resulted in them being drawn into a far tougher group than they would have liked.

The squad

The biggest talking point surrounding the Ivorian squad is the inclusion of Wilfried Bony, who will be making his fifth appearance at the tournament. Prior to Ivory Coast’s build-up games, the 30-year old had not played for his nation since 2017 and was recently released by his parent-club, Swansea. Nonetheless, Kamara’s decision to include him looks to have been a masterstroke after Bony scored three goals in the nation’s two warm-up matches.

Among those unfortunate not to have made the squad is Parma forward Gervinho who has been left out in favor of Nicolas Pepe and Wilfried Zaha. Manchester United defender Eric Bailly misses out through injury while fellow center-back Lamine Kone also failed to make the cut.

Key player: Nicolas Pepe

Nicolas Pepe was one of the breakout players in the 2018-19 season and promises to be one of the stars of the AFCON tournament. The 24-year winger old scored 22 league goals for French club Lille which has seen him linked with a big-money move to Liverpool and he’ll be looking to continue his fine form in Egypt.

Pepe’s pace and ability to cause havoc among opposition defences has seen him become an important part of the Ivorian squad in recent years. He’s role within the squad will be two-fold, namely to score goals and provide service for the likes of Bony and Jonathan Kodjia.