Zürcher Nachrichten - Stars walk disciplinary tightrope in Africa Cup of Nations

EUR -
AED 3.862096
AFN 79.790574
ALL 98.904135
AMD 422.869945
ANG 1.899078
AOA 960.552355
ARS 1100.123653
AUD 1.668606
AWG 1.895323
AZN 1.784984
BAM 1.965421
BBD 2.127615
BDT 128.509051
BGN 1.958963
BHD 0.396316
BIF 3118.364366
BMD 1.051497
BND 1.420654
BOB 7.281644
BRL 6.241774
BSD 1.053758
BTN 90.844684
BWP 14.5251
BYN 3.44848
BYR 20609.342551
BZD 2.116621
CAD 1.510423
CDF 2991.509426
CHF 0.94374
CLF 0.037594
CLP 1037.564971
CNY 7.624828
CNH 7.623912
COP 4440.104098
CRC 531.70268
CUC 1.051497
CUP 27.864672
CVE 110.806342
CZK 25.095818
DJF 187.648538
DKK 7.462548
DOP 64.897674
DZD 141.693589
EGP 52.849361
ERN 15.772456
ETB 135.594233
FJD 2.424543
FKP 0.865999
GBP 0.841299
GEL 3.017691
GGP 0.865999
GHS 16.017252
GIP 0.865999
GMD 76.228964
GNF 9111.601208
GTQ 8.144869
GYD 220.459146
HKD 8.18703
HNL 26.832088
HRK 7.759573
HTG 137.653814
HUF 408.580343
IDR 17004.810599
ILS 3.804169
IMP 0.865999
INR 90.72364
IQD 1380.457327
IRR 44268.026521
ISK 146.468087
JEP 0.865999
JMD 165.769866
JOD 0.745929
JPY 161.978938
KES 135.853051
KGS 91.953464
KHR 4240.758476
KMF 492.420143
KPW 946.347479
KRW 1506.301443
KWD 0.323898
KYD 0.878199
KZT 545.771547
LAK 22963.40567
LBP 94364.011008
LKR 314.288439
LRD 208.641297
LSL 19.353937
LTL 3.104798
LVL 0.63604
LYD 5.184377
MAD 10.523111
MDL 19.599942
MGA 4924.056384
MKD 61.538874
MMK 3415.221464
MNT 3572.987153
MOP 8.454887
MRU 42.140276
MUR 48.687871
MVR 16.203535
MWK 1827.226882
MXN 21.556242
MYR 4.60398
MZN 67.201357
NAD 19.353937
NGN 1599.411515
NIO 38.779827
NOK 11.804537
NPR 145.351494
NZD 1.844716
OMR 0.404785
PAB 1.053758
PEN 3.913356
PGK 4.229704
PHP 61.344864
PKR 293.682373
PLN 4.221585
PYG 8337.813524
QAR 3.841769
RON 4.973896
RSD 117.095707
RUB 101.86426
RWF 1469.378621
SAR 3.944339
SBD 8.874025
SCR 15.077403
SDG 631.949903
SEK 11.499141
SGD 1.412229
SHP 0.865999
SLE 23.870245
SLL 22049.367704
SOS 602.242243
SRD 36.912778
STD 21763.866363
SVC 9.220132
SYP 13671.564875
SZL 19.358761
THB 35.355012
TJS 11.485923
TMT 3.690755
TND 3.353684
TOP 2.46271
TRY 37.57008
TTD 7.166078
TWD 34.529907
TZS 2676.060254
UAH 44.165872
UGX 3886.989815
USD 1.051497
UYU 45.81426
UZS 13665.894434
VES 60.769626
VND 26371.546489
VUV 124.835843
WST 2.945061
XAF 659.177399
XAG 0.034387
XAU 0.00038
XCD 2.841723
XDR 0.811866
XOF 659.183698
XPF 119.331742
YER 261.875539
ZAR 19.59827
ZMK 9464.734875
ZMW 29.267708
ZWL 338.581627
  • RBGPF

    62.2800

    62.28

    +100%

  • GSK

    0.2200

    34.27

    +0.64%

  • RIO

    0.5300

    62.09

    +0.85%

  • RELX

    -0.5400

    48.85

    -1.11%

  • CMSC

    0.1150

    23.6

    +0.49%

  • RYCEF

    0.0000

    7.55

    0%

  • AZN

    0.4600

    69.06

    +0.67%

  • BTI

    0.8600

    37.91

    +2.27%

  • BP

    -0.0400

    31.45

    -0.13%

  • SCS

    -0.0700

    11.53

    -0.61%

  • NGG

    -0.4300

    60.28

    -0.71%

  • CMSD

    0.0900

    23.96

    +0.38%

  • VOD

    -0.0300

    8.37

    -0.36%

  • BCE

    0.3100

    23.53

    +1.32%

  • BCC

    -1.3400

    127.11

    -1.05%

  • JRI

    0.0400

    12.59

    +0.32%

Stars walk disciplinary tightrope in Africa Cup of Nations
Stars walk disciplinary tightrope in Africa Cup of Nations

Stars walk disciplinary tightrope in Africa Cup of Nations

Up to 21 stars could be involved in the African Cup of Nations semi-finals this week knowing one mistimed tackle would rule them out of the biggest match in the continent.

Text size:

Burkina Faso have 10 players in their squad walking the disciplinary tightrope with one yellow card each, record seven-time champions Egypt have five and hosts Cameroon and Senegal three each.

Senegal are favoured to beat Burkina Faso in the first semi-final on Wednesday night in Yaounde while Cameroon confront Egypt in a hard-to-predict showdown 24 hours later.

All 21 have been cautioned in the knockout phase, and a second yellow card will trigger an automatic one-match suspension and exclusion from either the final or third-place play-off.

There are few more heart-breaking situations for any footballers than being forced to sit out a final because they accumulated two yellow cards.

In the Cup of Nations it happened to Ghana superstar Abedi 'Pele' Ayew in 1992 when he missed the title decider in Dakar against the Ivory Coast, who won 13-12 on penalties after the longest final shootout in the competition.

Burkina Faso players in danger include six who began the quarter-final win over Tunisia -- goalkeeper Herve Koffi, defenders Issa Kabore and Edmond Tapsoba and midfielders Adama Guira, Blati Toure and Cyrille Bayala.

The other Stallions who could face suspension are midfielders Boureima Bande and Saidou Simpore and forwards Mohamed Konate and Abdoul Fessal Tapsoba.

- Ill afford -

Egypt, already hit by injuries to goalkeepers Mohamed Elshenawy and Mohamed Abou Gabal and centre-back Ahmed Hegazy, can ill afford to lose any more players as they seek a first title since 2010.

The five Egyptians on the tightrope are defenders Mohamed Abdelmonem, Omar Kamal and Ayman Ashraf, who can also operate in midfield, and forwards Mostafa Mohamed and Ahmed 'Zizo' Sayed.

Only 'Zizo' is unlikely to start against the Indomitable Lions in a repeat of the 2017 final in Libreville won by five-time champions Cameroon.

All the Senegal players with one yellow card -- defender Saliou Ciss and midfielders Nampalys Mendy and Pape Gueye -- started the last-eight triumph over Equatorial Guinea.

Defender Michael Ngadeu Ngadjui and midfielders Martin Hongla and Andre Franck Zambo Anguissa are the Cameroonians who have been cautioned in the past two rounds, and are probable starters against Egypt.

The most card-littered match of the 48 so far in the flagship African tournament was the last-16 battle between Burkina Faso and Gabon.

Gabonese Sidney Obissa was sent off and eight of the team yellow-carded, along with six Burkinabe, who won on penalties.

The final and third-place play-off are scheduled for Sunday.

Africa Cup of Nations disciplinary records

(including quarter-finals)

Red cards

2: Cape Verde, Ghana

1: Burkina Faso, Comoros, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tunisia

Yellow cards

14: Gabon

13: Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea

12: Gambia

10: Tunisia

9: Guinea, Malawi

8: Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Zimbabwe

7: Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Senegal, Sierra Leone

6: Comoros, Mali, Morocco

4: Cape Verde, Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau, Sudan

3: Mauritania, Nigeria

Note: Red card = two-match suspension, two yellow cards = one-match suspension

X.Blaser--NZN