The 2012 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) is well under way with all teams having taken part in their group match openers. Not a single game finished scoreless but all the of them were tight, with only Gabon managing to register a win by a two-goal margin.
Now that we have seen a first account of every team, let’s rank some of the surprises of the tournament thus far.

ERIC GERETS' STARTING XI
Group C: Tunisia 2-1 Morocco
Few will argue that the resurgent Atlas Lions have improved immensely under the guidance of Eric Gerets during the past year, but plenty of Moroccans will be taking issue with the starting line-up he picked in the 2-1 loss to north African rivals Tunisia.
The Belgian tactician stubbornly selected two players who are fresh off injuries in Oussama Assaidi and Ahmed Kantari. Though immensely talented, the former had little to offer and the latter evidently has not received enough game time with Brest since returning.
Kantari was especially exposed on the second Carthage Eagles goal when Youssef Msakni blew past him. In retrospect, starting two of Adel Taarabt, Abdelhamid El Kaouatari and Abdelfettah Boukhriss would have been more prudent. Meanwhile, some Atlas Lions fans have also asserted that Youssouf Hadji should have received the nod too considering his continental experience and the hat-trick he scored against Grasshopper a week ago.

SUDAN'S SHOWING AGAINST COTE D'IVOIRE
Group B: CIV 1-0 Sudan
Coach Mohamed Abdalla Mazda came into the tournament under heavy criticism from some sections of the Sudanese press for his inability to find a functional attacking strategy, but the Falcons of Jediane surprised everyone, including their opponents, with the stubborn resistance they put up against a much fancied Cote d’Ivoire.
Not only did they effectively resist many Ivorian attacks, they put a great deal of pressure on the Elephants and could have found on equaliser had their finishing been a little more precise.
After the Sudanese were thoroughly dominated by Tunisia in a pre-tournament friendly, it appeared the west Africans would make easy work of them but that was far from the case.

SENEGAL'S LACKLUSTRE START
Group A: Zambia 2-1 Senegal
Zambia can take a great deal of credit for an outstanding beginning to their 2012 Afcon campaign against the Teranga Lions, and continue their tradition of silencing those who doubt them. Nevertheless, one can’t ignore that Senegal were completely unrecognisable in the first half on Saturday.
Where was the team who dominated qualifying and were proclaimed as a favourite for the trophy? Despite having a huge amount of attacking talent at his disposal, Amara Traore could not find the winning formula against the southern Africans and bizarrely decided to play Mamadou Niang in a position that is not his own.
Second-half substitutions quelled the tide of Zambian attacks but it was already too late. It is no surprise that Traore has promised changes for the next match against Equatorial Guinea.

NIGER'S DISMAL PERFORMANCE
Group B: Gabon 2-0 Niger
It is perhaps a little harsh to put the Mena on this list considering their 2-0 loss came in their maiden Afcon encounter against co-hosts Gabon at a packed Angondje stadium. Playing well under such circumstances would be difficult, even for sides with experience at this level.
However, Niger’s performances during qualifying left us expecting much more from them. A team who knocked out defending champions Egypt were always going to have special attention paid to them.
Harouna Doula Gabde’s men looked clueless on Monday and one wonders whether Roland Courbis’ addition to the technical staff has upset dressing room harmony. Gabde was selected as the Confederation of African Football’s (Caf) coach of 2011. Did he really need extra help?

LIBYA'S LACK OF IMAGINATION
Group A: Eq. Guinea 1-0 Libya
Having only taken two true centre-forwards to the Afcon, it was always a possibility that Marcos Paqueta’s side would struggle to put away opportunities, but the Libyans surprised onlookers by hardly creating any. Despite controlling the opening stages of both halves against co-hosts Equatorial Guinea, the Mediterranean Knights lacked the trickery and incisiveness to make clear chances.
Walid Al Khatroushi was their sole source of creativity and the north Africans looked their most dangerous only after the Nzalang Nacional had taken a 1-0 lead in the 86th minute. Striker Ahmed Zuway has been punishing Tunisian league sides with CA Bizertin on a regular basis but his team-mates need to offer him better service so that he can put his height and imposing physique to good use in the penalty area.





WATER FOOTBALL
Zambia coach described pitch as a swimming pool
In his post-match press conference following his team’s 2-2 draw with Libya, Zambia coach Herve Renard was highly critical of the referee’s decision to merely delay the kick-off instead of postponing the game even though the Bata stadium’s pitch was severely flooded.
“Even if we won the game, I would have still been disappointed with the referee’s decision because, for me, the pitch was unplayable,” he fumed.
“When I saw the state of the pitch, I knew that [Rainford] Kalaba, [Christopher] Katongo, and [Emmanuel] Mayuka weren’t the guy to play on such a pitch, which was a swimming pool. We won’t cry over it. We respect the referee’s decision even though we think that it’s a very bad one.”
The Frenchman stopped short of explicitly accusing the Confederation of African Football (Caf) and the local organising committee of putting pressure on the match officials but got his point across nevertheless.
“In 2012’s football, there’s football and then there’s business. I said it before the match, the ball can’t move. I asked the opposing coach and he agreed,” said Renard.



HEAT GENERATOR!
Ghana goalkeeper admit pressure
playing for Black Stars
Ghana goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey has conceded that being in between the posts for the pre-tournament favourites at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations comes with a great deal of pressure.
The 24-year-old Norway-based shot-stopper is making his Nations Cup debut and was not tested much in their opening game against Botswana on Tuesday.
After having kept a clean sheet so far, the Black Stars keeper believes pressure will continue to mount as Ghana is highly tipped to end their 30-year drought without a continental trophy at senior level.
“There is always pressure in football and especially when you play for a great nation like Ghana,” Kwarasey said to reporters.
“Of course, there is pressure but that's what we do. We live with pressures and we have to handle it.”
The young goalkeeper will face his second test at the continental showpiece this Saturday as Ghana face Mali.


IRREPLACEABLE!
Ghana coach laments skipper's injury
Ghana coach Goran Stevanovic has expressed concern that he is going into his second game at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations without dependable defender John Mensah.
The captain of the Black Stars was given his marching orders in their game against the Zebras of Botswana last Tuesday and has also suffered a hamstring injury.
The Serbian coach, who is making his debut Nations Cup appearance, is sad with the latest development, but believes that he has a bench that can still execute his strategies without the Olympique Lyon defender.
“I'm worried because Mensah is very difficult to replace,” Plavi told the press in Gabon, co-hosts of the 28th edition. “He played well against Botswana but then got sent off.”
“But while we were training in South Africa, I told the players that I need every one of them for this competition and so I have 20 other players who could replace him and we will be ready for Mali,” the coach assured his local fans.



JOYFUL TIMES
Libya coach Paqueta happy
to remain in contention
Libya coach Marcos Paqueta is a happy man to remain in contention for a place at the last eight at the ongoing 2012 Orange Africa Cup of Nations.
The Libyans reignited their chances after holding Group A favourites Zambia, to a 2-2 draw on Wednesday at a rain-soaked Estadio de Bata.
“The weather made it difficult for both teams; one side of field was soggy and we had to play at one part of the pitch.  The second half was better. The result is a fair reflection of the game as the two teams fought hard.
“Although we drew today, we still have a chance to qualify. But that will depend on the result of the other match (Equatorial Guinea versus Senegal).
The Brazilian expressed satisfaction with the point grabbed at the expense of the Chipolopolos under such difficult conditions.
“We played against a Zambian team who are now favourites in the group. We took a risk since they have pacy midfielders. We had a mission to go forward and look for a goal.
“Our next game is against Senegal, which is a very respectable team in Africa. We hope to map out the right strategy to face them.”
The Libyans will wrap up their group phase campaign against Senegal on January 29 in Bata.