Can AFCON 2015 make the headlines for the right reasons after Ebola fears, absent big guns and a change of host?

By Steven Oldham

There has been that much event and controversy surrounding the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations it could be easy to forget the tournament has yet to begin.

Ebola, a late change of host and high profile absentees have all kept the tournament in the headlines without a ball being kicked -  it starts with Equatorial Guinea taking on Congo tomorrow.

The Ebola epidemic that's decimated parts of West Africa has in turn led original hosts Morocco to forfeit the right to hold the tournament after requests to postpone it were refused.  CAF have looked very unfavourably on this and the North African team have been banned from the next two editions of the Cup of Nations.

After several countries ruled themselves out of replacing Morocco - including Egypt and Ghana - Equatorial Guinea, co-hosts of the 2012 tournament with Gabon, was announced as the unlikely replacement venue.

Credit has to go to the country for stepping in to fill the breach, but there remain concerns about how ready they are given the short notice given to prepare themselves for the continent's biggest sporting event - there are still questions surrounding stadia, infrastructure and logistical problems like hotel space and facilities for visiting teams, media and so on.

That CAF chose Equatorial Guinea suggest there were few other countries willing to go ahead with the tournament. The country were thrown out of qualifying in the first round despite beating Mauritania 3-1 on aggregate, having fielded Thierry Fidieu, a player deemed illegal by CAF.

Equatorial Guinea were just one of a number of teams whose on the pitch results were rendered null and void by the authorities. Rwanda were also thrown out of qualifying for fielding an illegal player, despite beating Congo on penalties in the second round. The Seychelles had to forfeit their fixture against Sierra Leone after the visiting team were banned from entering the islands over fears Ebola could spread further.

The Seychelles themselves benefitted from a walkover victory in the first round after Gambia were banned from all CAF competitions for two years, having fielded overage players in qualifying for the CAF U-20s Championships. Eritrea, meanwhile, withdrew from the preliminary round without even taking to the pitch, giving South Sudan a bye in their first attempt to qualify for the Cup of Nations.

Who will win AFCON 2015? Vote on my poll on the homepage here



Estadio de Bata will host the tournament's opening game (nussli.us)

Reigning champions Nigeria failed to qualify, alongside Egypt, the most successful nation in the tournament's history, with seven victories, the last being in 2010. Whether the absence of these big names will be a detriment to the tournament remains to be seen. Even though AFCON has a reputation for being unpredictable, this could be the most open tournament in years.

The bookies' favourites are Algeria, who qualified easily and gained many admirers for their performances in Brazil last summer, when they made history by making the knockout stages of the World Cup for the first time. They may be lamenting the decision by their North African neighbours to rescind their right to host however, given the vast changes in climate to the tropical temperatures they can expect in Mongomo, where they will play two group games.

Burkina Faso were the surprise package of the last tournament, finishing runners up to Nigeria. They continued this good form into World Cup qualifying and only missed out on a place in Brazil on away goals, having drawn 3-3 with Algeria. They will get the chance to avenge the defeat to Gabon that cost them the chance to win their qualifying group, as the two teams have been paired in Group A along with the hosts and Congo.

Both Ivory Coast and Ghana have flattered to deceive in this tournament despite their undoubted talent, and both have been drawn into the tougher two groups. Ivory Coast are paired with Mali, Cameroon and Guinea, while Ghana take on Algeria, South Africa and Senegal. Neither group will be easy to escape, and you have to think any nation that can make it into the knockout phase from these groups has a good chance to win the trophy.

Whether the country is ready or not, Equatorial Guinea will hope the on-pitch action will take attention away from any criticism heading their way. Little is expected of the hosts, but there are plenty of countries here who can play decent football and challenge for victory.

The quality of football at this tournament is sometimes questionable, but it is rarely boring. Players like Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast) , Yacine Brahimi (Algeria) and Sadio Mané (Senegal)  all have the talent to light up a tournament like this.

Hopefully, the tournament will be a success and banish the bad headlines that have relentlessly dogged the build up. Will there be a surprise package like Burkina Faso, or Zambia one year before them? Or perhaps a breakout star who could persuade clubs to splash the cash on them in the transfer window. Who knows? There's one way to find out.

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World Cup power rankings - every country rated 1-16

By Steven Oldham

The group stages are over. There is no football on tomorrow. It's the perfect opportunity to look back on the opening 48 games of the tournament and where they leave each country in the rankings.

1 NETHERLANDS
(P3, W3, D0, L0, F10, A3, GD +6)
9 POINTS

Louis Van Gaal's team have arguably been the most impressive team so far in Brazil, recording three straight victories in what looked a very tough group. Their demolition of Spain set them up for qualification and they kept their heads in the group decider against Chile to top the group and avoid hosts Brazil in the second round. Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie look to be in the form of their lives.



Robin van Persie (@foreverutd)

2 COLOMBIA
(P3, W3, D0, L0, F9, A2)
9 POINTS

Colombia could be the ultimate surprise package of this World Cup. They have made light work of an open group and reinforced their status as dark horses. Often overlooked in favour of their more illustrious continental neighbours, Colombia have so far outperformed Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. Dangerous for any opponent and they will not be daunted by facing Uruguay in the round of sixteen, especially with Luis Suarez now banned.

3 ARGENTINA
(P3, W3, D0, L0, F6, A3, GD +3)
9 POINTS

Argentina have gained a 100% record in their group without ever really hitting top gear and without Lionel Messi in the team they might have struggled to put their opponents to the sword. Nevertheless they topped the group with little trouble, but looked potentially vulnerable defensively against Nigeria, and they struggled to break down Iran in a game many thought they would win by a cricket score.

4 BELGIUM
(P3, W3, D0, L0, F4, A1, GD +3)

The Belgians are similar to Argentina in progressing comfortably without fully turning up as of yet. Widely tipped to do well before the tournament began, they have shown flashes of brilliance, but look solid rather than spectacular so far. Defensively they shared the best record with Costa Rica, but given the riches they possess in attack, four goals is a disappointing return and they will be looking to Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku to improve if they are live up to their challengers billing.

5 FRANCE
(P3, W2, D1, L0, F8, A2, GD +6)
7 POINTS

Didier Deschamps' team have more than exorcised the demons of South Africa four years ago with their performances so far. Most impressive was their 5-2 mauling of Switzerland which in effect won them the group. France are either brilliant or terrible at tournaments, never in between, and they have produced some silky football in Brazil so far this summer. They will be confident of making the last eight.

6= BRAZIL
(P3, W2, D1, L0, F7, A2, GD+5)
7 POINTS

The hosts have not yet reached their brilliant best, and yet Brazil never looked as if they would fail to top the group. This is not a vintage Brazilian team though and they are too over reliant on Neymar to produce the goods. Frustrated by Mexico, given more than a helping hand against Croatia, they only really found their swagger against Cameroon who were already out. They have also been handed a tough second round tie against Chile. Could they go out in the second round?

6= GERMANY
(P3, W2, D1, L0, F7, A2, GD+5)
7 POINTS

Joachim Low's men put their best performance in against Portugal in their opening game, with Thomas Muller hitting a hat trick that looked ominous for the other countries at this year's World Cup. They haven't been as impressive since and Ghana nearly gave them a shock result before a point was recovered. They have been handed a kind looking draw against Algeria but need to be wary of the North Africans' pace on the break.

8= COSTA RICA
(P3,W2, D1, L0, F4, A1, GD +3)
7 POINTS

Nobody gave Costa Rica a chance when they were drawn alongside Uruguay, Italy and England in Group D last year. Excellent performances from the likes of Joel Campbell and Oscar Duarte have given everybody large helpings of humble pie as the Central Americans topped the group with relative ease. Solid defensively and dangerous on the break, they could go even further - their second round clash with Greece could've been much worse.

Oscar Duarte (@FUTBOL_RVTE)

8= MEXICO
(P3,W2, D1, L0, F4, A1, GD +3)
7 POINTS

Mexico were the only team to take points off Brazil in Group A and kept them at bay to record a clean sheet and looked impressive. Had the refereeing been up to scratch in their opener against Cameroon they may well have topped the group, with two perfectly good goals scratched off before they eventually won 1-0. They showed in their decisive game against Croatia they can perform under pressure and while they may struggle against the Netherlands, it's a far cry from the traumas of qualification where they very nearly missed out on a playoff place to minnows Panama.

10 CHILE
(P3, W2, D0, L1, F5, A3, GD +2)
6 POINTS

Before the tournament began, Chile were a team many people thought could push the European teams close, but it was always imagined the Netherlands may be the fall guys. Chile have helped end an era of Spanish domination of world football and at the same time announced themselves as potential major players in this World Cup. Their all-out attacking style sometimes leaves them vunerable at the back, but they will not be overwhelmed by facing Brazil in round two, whose defence looks suspect too often.

11 SWITZERLAND
(P3, W2, D0, L1, F7, A6, GD +1)
6 POINTS

Switzerland did well to recover from their 5-2 defeat to France to convincingly beat Honduras to secure their passage to the last 16. They showed great spirit to keep fighting to the end against Ecuador to score what proved to be a vital winner in the 93rd minute, and along with France they helped Europe fight a mini comeback against the native South Americans - Ecuador were the only team from the continent to be knocked out at this stage. Bayern Munich midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri's hat trick against Honduaras will have caught the eye of Argentina's backline.


12 URUGUAY
(P3, W2, D0, L1, F4, A4, GD 0)
6 POINTS

Oscar Tabarez's team will now have to contest what's left of their World Cup without Luis Suarez after his latest inexcusable bite saw him banned for four months by FIFA. They will definitely miss the Liverpool player and continental rivals Colombia will head into the match as favourites. The Uruguayans did well to recover from a truly dismal start against Costa Rica, but deserved to have men sent off against both England and Italy, which could have made the final standings in Group D much different.

13 ALGERIA
(P3, W1, D1, L1, F6, A5, GD +1)
4 POINTS

Another surprise qualifier for the second round, there is no denying Algeria deserve to make it. They gave the first indication that Belgium may not be the world beaters everyone believed they were in their opening match, and played some brilliant flowing football to dismantle a shell shocked South Korea side to secure their best ever World Cup result. They've now made more history by reaching the knockout rounds for the first time and will have gained many neutral fans' support for their impressive style of play.

14 USA
(P3, W1, D1, L1, F4, A4, GD 0)
4 POINTS

Jurgen Klinsmann's side progressing is a literal middle finger to those berating his decision not to include Landon Donovan in his squad. Given slim to no hope of escaping this group, they set their stall out early on by beating Ghana, and narrowly missed out on securing a famous win over Portugal by letting in a 95th minute equaliser. Germany helped them progress by tonking the Portuguese in the first game, but the US put themselves in contention and now look forward to the knockout stages for the third time in four tournaments.

15 NIGERIA
(P3, W1, D1, L1, F3, A3, GD 0)
4 POINTS

The reigning African champions duly became the first team from their continent to book their place in the round of sixteen. They improved as the group stage progressed, and will be disappointed by their failure to beat Iran in their opener. They overcame dangerous debutants Bosnia Herzegovina however, and put their best performance in against Argentina despite losing. They looked dangerous going forward and while they are unlikely to get the better of France, qualification for the knockouts is progress for a country that has failed to do since 1998.

16 GREECE
(P3, W1, D1, L1, F2, A4, GD -2)
4 POINTS

Greece's surprise love affair with major tournaments continues. Well beaten by Colombia in their opener it looked bad for the Greeks, with many predicting three defeats in as many games. They shared a draw with a desperately disappointing Japanese side who failed to live up to their obvious potential this year. Their win over Cote D'Ivoire in the final round of group games was both brilliant and cruel, for Greece had looked anything but a last sixteen side before they went through.

Check back later for the rankings of the sides already going home.