LIBREVILLE: A new-look Ivory Coast will defend their Africa Cup of Nations title while the hosts’ lightning-quick striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang leads the cast of superstar names as the 2017 tournament begins in Gabon on Saturday.
As Borussia Dortmund striker Aubameyang prepares to carry the hopes of the small central African nation on his shoulders at the biennial African football showpiece, the fleet-footed Riyad Mahrez will aim to top a magnificent 12 months by taking Algeria to the Feb.5 final and the continental title.
Mahrez heads for Gabon fresh from winning the Confederation of African Football player of the year prize for 2016, pipping last year’s winner Aubameyang.
“The next thing after this award is the Africa Cup of Nations. My team will try to do good things there,” the French-born star of Leicester City’s Premier League title triumph said after securing the CAF prize.
Algeria and a Senegal side — the top-ranked in Africa — led by Liverpool forward Sadio Mane are the major contenders to succeed the Ivory Coast, who beat Ghana on penalties in the final in Equatorial Guinea two years ago.
But they will face each other in a Group B that also contains Tunisia and outsiders Zimbabwe.
“Our group is difficult, with some top African sides. It is not going to be easy with the conditions in Africa but we have to be prepared and we have a great team,” Mahrez told beIN Sports recently.
The Elephants of the Ivory Coast have seen inspirational playmaker Yaya Toure retire since their 2015 win while forward Gervinho is injured and Michel Dussuyer has succeeded fellow Frenchman Herve Renard as coach.
“The objective is of course to defend the title that was proudly acquired in 2015,” said Dussuyer, one of 12 men from Europe or South America coaching in the 16-team tournament.
“It will not be easy. There are fine teams who aspire to win the trophy, but we have the weapons to go far.”
The Elephants will come up against their old coach Renard in Group C with his new side Morocco, and they are the favorites to reach the quarterfinals ahead of DR Congo and the Togo of Emmanuel Adebayor.
“I have made reaching the quarterfinals an objective that we absolutely must attain. If we get there then we will see what we can do,” said the perennially bronzed and white-shirted Renard, who also coached Zambia to glory the last time the Cup of Nations was staged in Gabon — jointly with Equatorial Guinea — in 2012.
Egypt are back for the first time since winning a record seventh Cup of Nations in Angola in 2010 and will pin their hopes on Roma winger Mohamed Salah.
They are one of six teams who qualified having missed out in 2015. Another, Uganda, will come up against Egypt in Group D, as will Mali and Ghana.
The only nation making its Cup of Nations debut is Guinea-Bissau, who have the honor of facing Aubameyang’s Gabon in the opening game at the Stade de l’Amitie in the capital Libreville on Jan. 14.
Gabon, an oil-rich country of barely 1.8 million people, has been in some disarray ever since incumbent President Ali Bongo was declared the winner of a contested election in August.
Defeated opposition chief Jean Ping continues to dispute the result and post-election violence left at least three people dead and saw more than 800 arrested.
Opposition activists have called on citizens to boycott the tournament, which will see games staged in Port-Gentil, Franceville and Oyem as well as the capital.
Gabon, which in 2014 was awarded the hosting of the tournament due to the turmoil in Libya, is struggling with an economic crisis as well as a political one.
However, Bongo, who invited Lionel Messi to the country to lay the foundation stone of the stadium in Port-Gentil in 2015, is hoping the football can act as a distraction.
He has called for the Cup of Nations to be a time for “joy, coming together and shared happiness” and insisted that “political dialogue will open the day after the tournament,” in an attempt to usher in a period of calm.
Aubameyang, Mahrez lead stars targeting Cup of Nations glory
Aubameyang, Mahrez lead stars targeting Cup of Nations glory
Fleetwood targets world no. 1 as he defends Dubai Invitational title
- Event is taking place at Dubai Creek Resort from Jan. 15-18
DUBAI: Tommy Fleetwood is relishing the challenge of playing against a world-class field at the Dubai Invitational as he looks to successfully defend his title and mount a charge towards the world no. 1 ranking at Dubai Creek Resort from Jan. 15-18.
The Englishman produced a dramatic birdie-birdie finish at the inaugural event in 2024 to edge out Ryder Cup teammate Rory McIlroy on the final day, and he heads into the opening event of the International Swing full of confidence after a career-defining 2025 season.
The 34-year-old became only the second Englishman in history to capture the PGA Tour’s prestigious FedExCup title with his victory at the Tour Championship. He followed that triumph with a victory at the DP World India Championship before playing a starring role in Europe’s historic Ryder Cup victory at Bethpage Black, finishing as the leading points scorer across both teams.
“I played really well here two years ago,” said the Dubai resident. “I enjoyed playing with Rory in that last round.
“Any time you get to test yourself against one of the greatest of all time is always a lot of fun. It’s a great finish. I think it was a good reminder that anything can happen, that you just have to stick in. I felt like I had control of the tournament on the back nine and Rory came through. Thriston (Lawrence) had an amazing round. And things went my way. It was just a reminder that you have to keep going and play until the very end.
“And winning is always cool. I had the family there. It was amazing.”
Off the back of his stellar 2025 season, Fleetwood finds himself at a career-high third in the official world golf ranking, with runaway leader Scottie Scheffler and career Grand Slam winner McIlroy the only players above him.
While Fleetwood knows there is much work to do to get past them, he is aiming for the very top, with this week’s Dubai Invitational offering early-season opportunities to build momentum toward that goal.
“I would love to,” he said of challenging for top spot. “There is a clear gap, those two guys are definitely the best golfers in the world. I’m just one of the players in the pack behind that has some catching up to do there.
“Look at every aspect of my game, where I can improve, where I can pick the smallest amount of shots up to those guys.
“But it’s an amazing challenge, if you think of it like that. Starting the year in a different position than I’ve ever been, world no. 3, and I think that’s very cool and very exciting to have to think about trying to maintain the level that I’ve reached there, and I think that’s very, very exciting.”
Fleetwood will once again face McIlroy in the field, alongside fellow Open champions Shane Lowry, Padraig Harrington and Francesco Molinari. The field also boasts multiple DP World Tour winners, including Ryan Fox, Matt Wallace, Nicolai Hojgaard and Race to Dubai leader Jayden Schaper.
The 60 professionals will be joined by 60 amateurs competing in the pro-am format, including tournament host Abdulla Al-Naboodah, NFL legends Larry Fitzgerald and John Elway, along with former Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke.
