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Hello! Mohamed Salah loves the Africa Cup of Nations but it’s under fire, as per usual. Let’s put some respect on its name.
On the way:
AFCON argument: Carragher comment on ‘major tournaments’ sparks backlash
The Africa Cup of Nations — the continent’s biennial equivalent of the Copa America and the European Championship — is forever fighting for validation and acceptance in some quarters.
The 2025 edition begins in December and that was made to know its place, shunted from its usual January-to-February slot by an expanded 2026 World Cup and a larger-than-life Champions League. There’s a pecking order, see, and Africa isn’t top of it.
That point was reiterated on Sunday by Jamie Carragher, the retired Liverpool defender who works as a TV pundit for Sky Sports in the UK and CBS in the United States. In a conversation about Mohamed Salah’s standing in football, Carragher ruffled feathers by saying the forward’s legacy was hindered by his failure to win a major international competition.
The Africa Cup of Nations, it was quickly put to him, is exactly that.
Forget for a moment that Salah hasn’t won AFCON with Egypt (he was a losing finalist in 2017 and 2021). The reason the exchange caught fire was because of Carragher’s reaction — pulling a face, muttering, “oh my God” — to the idea that the trophy represented an elite badge of honour.
It made headlines and provoked this column by The Athletic’s Jay Harris, who called AFCON “the most disrespected competition in football”. Jay also explains how Carragher later tried to defend his stance.
Pride, drama, politics
There’s no point in pretending AFCON is perfect. Attendances can be patchy. Pitches can be patchier again, and logistics aren’t always first rate. AFCON 2023 was postponed to 2024 to negate extreme heat. The 2025 finals were awarded to Guinea until preparations veered badly off schedule. Morocco will host them instead.
Moreover, it is often cast as a nuisance. A perennial bone of contention is that for many parts of the globe, the competition falls mid-season. Clubs are obliged to release anybody called up. That can, for example, leave Liverpool without Salah for the best part of a month. And nothing is more sure of its own importance than the Premier League.
But to speak to some of the players who feature at AFCON is to understand how emotionally invested in it they are. The finals can be full-blown festivals. They burst with drama and politics. Salah’s enthusiasm for representing Egypt oozes (and he’s indicative of the fact that a number of top-tier footballers tend to feature). In my experience, it’s highly watchable.
Lucas Radebe, the former South African captain and a close friend of the country’s ex-president Nelson Mandela, was an AFCON winner in 1996. I interviewed him during the 2023 edition, and here’s what he said: “I get goosebumps when I talk about 1996. The whole thing was electrifying. Winning it was out of this world.” There speaks a man who had many, many adventures.
First-hand experience
Like Jay, The Athletic’s Simon Hughes has covered AFCON on the ground. I wanted his take on the quality of it. “So much depends on the conditioning of the players, as well as the conditions they’re performing in,” Simon said. “Geography defines any conclusion. The 2025 edition is being held in a temperate climate in the middle of the European season, where many of the best players are based. In theory, the football should be better than ever.”
The game exists in a world which is getting smaller and opening up. There’s fresh appeal in more far-flung tournaments like AFCON, and club competitions like South America’s Copa Libertadores. And if they matter to enough people — which AFCON certainly does — they matter full stop.
News round-up
Cole’s Goal Chase: Kluivert shows Palmer how to do it as lean streak continues
Chelsea whacked Southampton last night — the whole world is dunking on Southampton — and goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen heeded a threat from Enzo Maresca to drop him if he hoofed long balls from the back.
But my eyes were fixed on Cole Palmer, who couldn’t get in on the act (despite a sitter of a chance, above). He’s without a goal or an assist in seven consecutive matches, and you can feel the streak getting into his head.
How much of this is Palmer’s fault is a moot point. He’s creating chances which aren’t being finished but as easy as he made it all look early doors, it’s not quite clicking which, a pasting of Southampton aside, is Chelsea as a whole this side of Christmas. The natives are losing patience with the ownership.
What Palmer could do with is a stonking finish like the one below from the irresistible Justin Kluivert. It didn’t spare Bournemouth from a 2-1 defeat at Brighton — but it won’t be far off goal of the season.
Around TAFC
(Neville Williams/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images)
- Thoughts with Robin Olsen. He replaced the injured Emiliano Martinez in goal for Aston Villa last night and conceded three times to Crystal Palace. But the real drama was Olsen impeding Palace’s eagle mascot and a bunch of kids during the half-time entertainment. The crowd gave him pelters.
- Spanish football is where it’s at this season. The first leg of the Copa del Rey between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid went 2-0 Atletico, 4-2 Barca and finished 4-4. Leg two should be a riot.
- Speaking of Atletico, this — on 17-year-old prospect Jesus Fortea — is pretty fascinating. Real Madrid poached Fortea from Atletico, breaking a long-held pact not to steal emerging talent from each other. It caused a big rift, except Fortea can’t get a look-in at the Berbabeu. Was he worth the hassle?
- Jordan Campbell has gone deeper into the reasons why 49ers Enterprises — owner of Leeds United — is poised to take control of Rangers in Scotland. Rangers will be a worthwhile asset if they ever get their act together.
- Most clicked in yesterday’s TAFC: the racism allegations against Jose Mourinho in Turkey.
Catch a match
(Selected games, times ET/UK)
Premier League (all 2.30pm/7.30pm and Peacock Premium/TNT Sports unless stated): Brentford vs Everton; Manchester United vs Ipswich Town; Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal; Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester City; Liverpool vs Newcastle United, 3.15pm/8.15pm — USA Network, Fubo/TNT Sports.
Copa del Rey semi-final: Real Sociedad vs Real Madrid, 3.30pm/8.30pm — ESPN+/Premier Sports.
Coppa Italia quarter-final: Juventus vs Empoli, 3pm/8pm — CBS, Paramount+, Amazon Prime/Premier Sports.
Coupe de France quarter-final: Stade Briochin vs Paris Saint-Germain, 3.10pm/8.10pm — Fox Sports, Fubo (U.S. only).
And finally…
Marko Arnautovic is 35, soon to be 36. When Inter signed him in 2023, he was back from China and scoring for Bologna. Nobody at the San Siro was daft enough to cast him as a marquee acquisition.
How did Arnautovic introduce himself? By going typically low-profile and taking the No 8 shirt worn at Inter by Zlatan Ibrahimovic. There’s no real comparison — although to go by Arnautovic’s volley against Lazio in the 2-0 Coppa Italia quarter-final win yesterday, he might just have a sliver of Zlatan about him.
(Top photo: Ivory Coast win last year’s AFCON. Credit: Fareed Kotb/Anadolu via Getty Images)
