AFRICAN CUP OF NATIONS 1998 - match discriptions (impressions)

match discriptions:

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GroupA

GroupB

GroupC

GroupD

Q/Finals

S/Finals

3rdplace

Final

other info sources

 (for a review of the first round see GOAL FEVER, an already available part of the Nations Cup documentation under construction)

 The informations given here are not backed with a background information infrastructure you are used to from other information sources. It is recommended you verify and complete those informations by consulting those official information sources mentioned below.
 The discriptions (or impressions) are taken from the news ticker attempt and are not reedited. If you do not find today's matches here, search at the news ticker attempt.
 The reason why this service is offered as an addition to those is that there is a measurable request for information on the African Cup. In the same time the competition is completely invisible for German TV viewers relying on cable. This might be the case too in other European areas because of the Winter Olympics in Nagano are taking place the same time. For example Eurosport, the station which usually showed the matches has concentrated completely on Nagano and does not show anything else during those two weeks.
 
 
 
 
 

3rd place play-off
 

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GroupA

GroupB

GroupC

GroupD

Q/Finals

S/Finals

3rdplace

Final

other info sources

 

Friday, Febr 27th  3rd place Play Off: Burkina Faso - DR Congo  kickoff 16:00 GMT (17:00 MEZ, 11:00 EST)

before the match...Burkina Faso - DR Congo:    3rd place matches are often played a leattle eased of the tension. Sometimes it is questioned for its value but consider that in a knock out system all but one teams go home with a defeat. From psychology point of view this is very unsatisfactory for most of the fans and players. With the third place play off at least it is two who have a victory as final impression. Also its nice to watch a match a little free of the fears that determined tactics since knock out football has begun. On the other hand it is no friendly. So it is something unique and deserves its place although better only at the biggest tournaments

1st half action:  -('1) Congo threatens to overroll the slow starting Burkinabé 'Stallions' and #20 storms on right wing into the box. There is contact and he falls but the referee does not give a penalty which migfht be ok when the ball had aleady been quite unreachable  -('2) Congo obviously more concentrated yet storms on  -('4) huge BFA opportunity after a short played corner when #10 Osmane Sanou sets up a turmoil in the Congo box. Sanou was replaced only 15 minutes after he was brought in in the quarter finals is allowed to begin today and is one of the conspicious players of the first half  -('6) on right wing #8 plays a through ball on #19, what might have been offside, #19 centres the ball and from 5m #20 Ouedraogo touches the ball on into the corner- 1:0  -at the 1:0 all players had not been tightly marked and until 9th minute two more dangerous attacks by Burkina Faso followed by another exciting scene when #19 storms along the left wing  -('13) nice attack by #10/#9 DR Congo but the shot is too harmless  -it is a high tempo most attractive match yet  -minor opportunities follow on both sides  -Congolese defence until about the 20th minute uncoordinated, som play offside, others not so Burkinabé players are exposed free  -('34) superb counterattack by Burkina Faso: fine long ball on #10 who plays through to #20 who curves around the keeper but from a difficult angle hits the net only from outside  -again exciting Burkina Faso fast attacks involving #3, #10 and #20  -no safe passes, no tight marking, no overloaded defence formations, less anxious conservative offside refereeing, both trying things often forbidden by coaches and no long rest passages that will have to be required if tempo stays the same  HALFTIME- 1:0

2nd half action:  -('53) after lost ball in Congo midfield Burkinabé #12 storms along the left wing to ground line passes back to #19 Barro who cuts inside and canons it from 17m half left into the right corner- 2:0  -('57) #10 Sanou had released some excitement on the left wing a corner follows now. #12 Traoré sees the 16m line uncovered and plays it there. #15 Nafon takes the ball direct from 18m- 3:0  -('58) #2 Seydou Traoré, darling of media, had been brought in as substitute and now causes some more excitement  -The Congolese try to attack but the Burkinabé in a frenzy ride one exciting counterattack after the other  -('71) long Traoré ball from Burkina Faso #12 on #2 triggers another exciting fast break  -('71) DR Congo #17 Emeka Mamale after #9 Tondelua set it up curves around the keeper but only hits the crossbar of the empty goal  -('76) Burkina Faso #19 misses close from 18m  -after two minor opportunities, one against a failing offside trap DR Congo scores a fine goal, when #9 passes to #14 who scores from 15m- 3:1  -('78) again a fine Congolese attack profiting from the (for this tournament) new offside interpretation (in doubt for the attack) of the linesman on that side of the field, another small opportunity for #9 follows 4 minutes later  -('87) after the Burkinabé had combined along the field #2 suddenly explodes into the penalty area and latherals to #18 Talle scores from 5m- 4:1  -('88) the Burkinabé seem to have won the match in their heads when Congolese #19 Bapupa kicks a harmless crossball into the penalty area. The goalkeeper unpressed droppes the ball and #7 Kasongo scores in enlegant manor- 4:2  -('89) Congo attacks, chaos in Burkinabé defence and #9 Tondelua scores from 5m- 4:3  -('90) the Congolese hurry even more and the Burkinabé worry. Congo launches a conccentrated attack spread over the right wing where #7 had given it to #17 who centres the ball exact on the head of #14 Lokenge Mungongo who puts it centimeters left from the right goalpost into the triangle- it is 4:4  -Burkina Faso tries to ride another attack but cannot work out another opportunity  -A sensational match reached its climax when Burkina Faso scored the 4:1 four minutes before end of the match seemed over. But Congo faught back and Burkina Faso could not settle anymore.  FINAL RESULT- 4:4     no extra-time here   but penalties right away

penalty shoot-out:    DR Congo (first) Burkina Faso #10 Simba left keeper right, goal #17 Emeka right keeper left, goal #3 Kisombe right keeper left, saves #6 Selenge right keeper right, goal         #2 right keeper right, saves #3 F.Sanou right keeper left, goal #8 right keeper right, saves               all directions from the scorers point of view -remark: because there was no theoretical possibility for Burkina Faso anymore the last three penalties are not executed anymore. This is the way it is played everywhere  -Burkina Faso has played an flamboyant exuberant match of excitement and threw away a three goal advantage in 3 minutes in front of the horrified eyes of Philippe Troussier against a Congolese squad that never gave themselves up and showed many of the qualities that brought them here. In the penalty shoot out they had the momentum on their side against a psychological distroyed opponent  FINAL RESULT- 4:4, DR Congo wins 3rd place on penalties 4:1, Burkina Faso finishes 4th

 
 
 
 
 
 
Final
 

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GroupA

GroupB

GroupC

GroupD

Q/Finals

S/Finals

3rdplace

Final

other info sources

 
 

Saturday, Febr 28th  Final: South Africa - Egypt  kickoff 16:00 GMT (17:00 MEZ, 11:00 EST)

before the match...South Africa - Egypt:    Both teams are hard to beat: South Africa did not lose a match in this tournament yet (3 wins, 2 ties) while Egypt only lost one match in the last minute against Morocco and this was the only goal Egypt conceded in 5 matches! South Africa conceded 4 in 5 what is not bad as well, even for a finalist. So many predict a match dominated by tactics.  The match is also a batlle of the spectacular goalgetters Benedict McCarthy and Hossam Hassan for the tournaments top scorers crown. We have seen many different refereeing styles during the tournament and the recent removal of 2 referees from the World Cup lineup seemed strange to some, especially because the action was taken so hasty. This puts a lot of pressure on the referee when a certain percentage of mistakes is inevitable. Whether this signal has any influence in favour of the bit more physical South Africans are too much speculation so that the outcome of the match is completely open. The match is also a batlle of the spectacular goalgetters Benedict McCarthy and Hossam Hassan for the tournaments top scorers crown:

1st half action:  -('2) the first shot on the goal, it is by #8 Yasser Radwan of Egypt  -('3) #2 Rabutla of South Africa tests the bones of Hossam Hassan and the attitude of the referee and gets away with a plain free kick  -('4) #17 Ahmed Hassan walks with the ball through midfield. All players are marked but he himself does not get challenged. So he releases a shot from 25m with effet to outside into the right triangle- 0:1  -('6) the next bone aimed South African foul  -('8) Saouth African #4 Jackson conquers the ball in midfield, marches down the left lane but his shot is far too weak  -('12) Free kick from half left and a super free kick trick manouvering out the wall and the entire defence by the typical Egyptian direct play. In a triangle play #4 Ramzy passes to #9 Hossam Hassan who touhes on to #20 Tarek Mostafa- 0:2  -('13) SAF answers but Moshoeu aims to high from 18m  -('23) Moshoeu finishes solorun again with a shot too high from similar position  -('26) Egypt now completely drawn back while SAF who changed tempi often during the preceding matches look something like patient and paralysed in the same moment, the man with the ball seems the loneliest man in the world  -('27) Masinga tries bycicle kick but it rolls wide  -('28) yellow vs. SAF #11 after foul play  -('30) Egypt threats when #9 heads it back to #20 but SAF defence concentrated  -('31) weak SAF 20m shot  -('32) brilliant counterplay benefiting from a dispersed defence but #17's shot this time can be saved by the South African goalkeeper  -('34) long ball on Hossam Hassan who almost steals it against #2 and the keeper  -('36) almost a spectacular scene when Hossam Hassan conquers the ball and fires immediately touching the crossbar from 30m, but it had been a clear foul  -('39) another counterplay but #20 shot goes wide  -('39) finally #14 Hazem Emam enters the stage curving around two defenders, can't be fouled but his attempt to hit exactly the triangle goes wide from 17m  -('41) South Africa tries but Egypt defends very well  -('45) another South African foul, this time yellow agains Radebe  HALFTIME- 0:2

2nd half action:  -# 14 Quentin Fortune comes in for Augustine  -('55) yellow against #17 Ahmed Hassan for holding  -('55) #10 Sabry comes in for Hazem Emam  -('55) South Africans try free kick trick but the shot is blocked  -('57) Egyptians #10, #9, and #20 cause some turmoil again  -('58) free kick Egypt blocked  -('62) yellow for Egypt #5 Kamouna for holding  -('67) only second South African threat of the second half when Radebe breaks through on left wing and centres back the ball from groundline but a defender picks it off  -('72) #10 Egypt far too high from 20m  -South Africas uninspired look also is caused by very concentrated defence  -('75) Egyptian #10 Sabry plays out half the defence but there is no support for him  -('75) on the opposite side Moshoeu tries again from 18m and this time hits the goalpost  -yes, McCarthy does play but he seems to have threatened compared to Hossam Hassan in a relationship of about 1:10  -('79) frustrated foul by SAF #14  -('79) Egypt brings in #21 Nabih for #20 and almost threatens with a counterplay  -('81) SAF brings in #13 Ndlanya for Masinga  -('83) free kick from 18m after handplay but it is into the wall by Quentin Fortune  -('84) some excitement after #17 McCarthy set up a 16m shot that is deflected to a corner. This brings a Fish header that is saved by the keeper  -Egypt walks it home  -From the scenes mentioned it is visible the match did not have too many highlights when Egypt concentrated on defending while still threatenting by its dangerous attackers so that South Africa did not dare to completely expose. It had not made much sense anyway because the Egyptian penalty area was already crowded. Egypt was very concentrated against the few inspired combination attempts. The match was fair, the fouls mentioned here only to visualize the different kind of approach of the two teams and the difficult sensible role a referee plays in it.  FINAL RESULT- 0:2, Egypt wins the Nations Cup 1998

It will take four or five days before the review of the tournament will be completely available.

 

special

elect the  African Footballer of the decade, the official election by 'The Shot That Passed Right Through The Net'  From now on until the first of April 1999 the vistitors of 'The Shot That Passed Right Through The Net' can vote for the African player of the decade. It might be better to call it the African player of a generation for the border line should not be too harsh because some players career is split over decades. The election is spread over a long period because momentary impression should not dominate. There will be some souvenirs to win, that have not been determined yet. Additional sponsorship will be welcome. Five players are suggested but you can vote for anybody else. If there is a new suggestion, a player that was fogotten and was now voted a considerable number his name will be added to the list. The names of suggested players are: 1) Roger Milla. It is left up to you whether you think his career does not belong in an election of the 90's when he was already 38 at the World Cup in Italy 1990. 2) Kalusha Bwalya. He did not win the Nations Cup nor did he play at the World Cup. But he is an outstanding player in a tragic decade for a Zambian team of 'almost'. 3) Abedi Pele. He won the European Cup of Champions with Olympique Marseille and was the leader of the Black Stars over a decade that saw them fail to capitalise although Pele was appreciated as a great player and leader everywhere. 4) Rashidi Yekini. The Nigerian player was the hero of the Nigerian game until 1994. Later he was plagued by injuries and it is questionable if we will see him in France. 5) George Weah. The Liberian became the first player to win the World footballer crown. He played successful in France and Italy for AS Monaco, Paris St.Germain and AC Milan but despite his (also financial) engagement for the team he could not lead the Liberian National team further than among the last 16 in Nations Cup 1996. The first name convincingly promoted by a vote is 6) Hossam Hassan, who already was a famous player when Egypt played a fine World Cup 1990 and now lead Egypt to this unexpected and formidable Nations Cup triumph.  Now it is up to you. Give your vote.

How did you like the African Nations Cup service of 'The Shot That Passed Right Through The Net'? Write your comment to The Shot. 'The Shot That Passed Right Through The Net' is no commercial site and so it seems very difficult to keep up this level or even realize plans for more interesting actions. Whether it is financial or technical (server) problems, performance may not always stay on the same level. But even if the adress may get lost, 'The Shot That passed Right Through The Net' definitively will continue its service now existing for some years. If you have any idea how to support this service please contact the adress given before.

 
 

 

back to top

GroupA

GroupB

GroupC

GroupD

Q/Finals

S/Finals

3rdplace

Final

other info sources

 
You want the result right after the match? then hurry and look up at Reuters or/and the shot's  news ticker attempt.

For match details check on other news sources in African Football news ressources on Internet or review the news ticker match impressions of the past days in the shot's match discription page. Another fine site is the BBC World Service with different style match discriptions and impressions. You can put questions to journalists in Burkina Faso that do not get answered.

 (for a review of the first round see GOAL FEVER, an already available part of the Nations Cup documentation under construction)

A first evaluation of the tournament by the Electronic Mail and Guardian from South Africa

Results and standings as well as statistics on this and past tournaments can be reviewd at RSSSF or at this page by Raoul S da Silva Curiel .

Recommended information sources for information on the host country or links to information on the host country as well as maps you find at: Burkina Faso Page at University of Pennsylvania.or this new Africaindex from Norway.
 
An introduction to the tournament by FIFA
Another introduction to the tournament from South Africa
CAF online, the WWW service of th African Football Confederation has some informations as for example the complete team roasters and refers to official Burkina Faso 98 Site. This page is very nice done, bilingual (Francais, English), has team photos, and exposes the BF98 mascot, one of the finest in World and Continental Cup history. But it offers no actual match discriptions.