“Underdogs” Creating Upsets!

The ongoing 33rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations is unfolding with every reason to think that the continent could be up for unprecedented shakeups in its football history. As delegations and the world at large have been stunned by the quality of infrastructure Cameroon has offered, so too are spectators amazed with the spectacle of the tournament. 
Prior to the kick-off of the 24-nation competition on January 9, 2022, many sports analysts were vocal on the strengths and weaknesses of each of the participating teams. While some were tipped as favourites, others were already written off as underdogs. Obviously, these predications were based on past histories of each team with little imagination of likely shocks. 
However, what sports lovers in Cameroon and beyond are witnessing is everything other than the initial writings on the wall.  To say the least, some teams initially written off by bookmakers as underdogs are creating upsets and risk elbowing out some of the continent’s big names as the AFCON TotalEnergies Cameroon 2021 progresses.
The Algeria-Equatorial Guinea game at the Japoma stadium earlier perceived as a match of two extremes finally turned out to be a veritable replica of the biblical Goliath-David fight. While waiting for Day Three matches in the group, the fact at hand is that the defending champions are leading their group from the underside with one point in two matches after pulling a virgin tie with another hitherto little-known team; Sierra Leone. Algeria’s third group game against Côte d'Ivoire who drew 2-2 with Sierra Leone will definitely be a ‘do or die’ match and one of the prior favourites may just leave the competition at the group level.
Other “underdogs” creating upsets in the competition are Guinea who have pocketed four points from two games to lead Pool B likewise the Gambia calling the shots in Pool F with the same number of points. Even Africa’s most capped team, the Pharaohs of Egypt, might have bounced back to the competition with a narrow 1-0 win over Guinea Bissau but the heat they got from their opponent was not easy. It made the star-studded Egyptian team to doubt itself. 
Looking at the teams’ standings on the classification table after Day Two matches, several surprises could be in the offing during the ongoing last group games. While the competition’s f...