Afcon sukkels

The Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) is really hotting up now.

As always with a big tournament, the teams you expect to perform don’t always set the stage alight.

And that’s why we have had a number of big-name casualties already, like Algeria who were knocked out on Monday night without winning a single game.

That was a team many, myself included, tipped to go all the way.

By the time you read this, defending champions Ivory Coast could also be on their way back home.

The Elephants needed to beat Morocco last night in their final Group C game.

The biggest elimination, however, could be that of hosts Gabon.

Even with the much-hyped Pierre-Emerick Aubemayang in their side, they crashed out without a win on Sunday.

Now we wait to see whether the home fans will lose interest.

Gabon came alive when they played, even on Sunday the crowd was fully behind the team cheering every pass and doing their bit as the 12th man.

Already on Monday night, the seats were a little emptier and I suppose it is natural, with their boys knocked out, for the home fans to lose some heart and enthusiasm.

To be fair, the stadiums for other matches weren’t exactly sold-out affairs even with a one dollar entry fee to the stadia.

But I think if the hosts were still in, it would have made things a bit more lekker for the gees.

We saw the same thing here in South Africa when we hosted Afcon not too long ago. Once Bafana were out, the interest level was not the same.

For Gabon, they are the first home team since Tunisia in 1994 to not make it past the group stage.

And while that is a real pity for their nation, there is still plenty of quality football to come and it will only be made better if the crowd gets those bums on seats.

As for who will be crowned, Senegal and Ghana are looking strongest as rivals drop out.

But that’s why we love football because you never know, maybe Burkina Faso goes all the way.