With 72 goals recorded from 28 matches– an average of 2.5 per game — the 2014 African Nations Championship (CHAN) has already surpassed last year’s AFCON in terms of goals.
The 2013 AFCON– also in South Africa– produced 69 goals from 32 matches at an average of 2.16 per game, a moderate return for a top grade tournament.
CHAN is already taking the shine off the AFCON, which usually paraded the best of the continent’s footballers plying their trade in various leagues across the globe.
The Super Eagles’ 12 goals from the four matches they have played, have been the most prolific side in the attack.
They have been adjudged as the most entertaining side in the tournament, and their must-win match against the Black Stars of Ghana would determine their fate in the tournament.
The superlative display of the Super Eagles was commended by Eric Nwankwo, a Nigerian entrepreneur residing in Bloemfontein, who said that the team had displayed the-never-say-die Nigerian spirit.
“We congratulate the players for reaching the semifinals and for the number of goals they have scored so far.
“It is a record Stephen Keshi should be proud of; they have the ability to go all the way to the finals,’’ he added.
On a positive point for the South African fans, the tournament’s top scorer is still Bernard Parker whose four strikes against Mozambique, Mali and Nigeria put him ahead of the other goal scorers.
However, Nigeria’s Ejike Uzoenyi and Rabiu Ali, alongside Libyan attacker Abdusalam Omar, have three goals each, and Wednesday’s semifinals matches would determine the eventual highest scorer.
