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Report: Africa Cup of Nations 2013

Côte d'Ivoire's Didier Drogba on top form against Algeria in Africa Cup of Nations

Five things we learned from Day 12.

Reuters/Mike Hutchings
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  • There’s another Frenchman wearing a white shirt in town. Just after we lost Hervé Renard’s Le Touchline Look, in saunters Togo coach Didier Six also wearing a white shirt. Le Six Appeal offers to us a white shirt with a pleat down the back. It is worn with two buttons undone and – very important this – untucked. Black trousers
  • complement a fulsome head of black hair. Et voilà. Le Six.

  • Tunisian players don’t go in for lurid haircuts. It was utterly refreshing to see a bunch of footballers with conventional hairstyles. Of course some of the Tunisians didn’t have any hair. That, of course, is a no nonsense approach of which the daily review approves.
  • Looks can be so deceptive. Emmanuel Adebayor, formerly of the parish of Arsenal and Manchester City, lollops around the field looking ever so nonchalant. But the SportVU optical tracking statistics – yes the same outfit which told me back on Day 3 that Zambia had 55 per cent of ball possession and Ethiopia 46 per cent - show that after the first 45 minutes of the match against Tunisia the Tottenham Hotspur marksman had covered 5.1 kilometres . The thing is do I believe it?
  • West Africa rules OK. This I can believe. Seven of the eight quarter finalists are from the region. South Africa are the gatecrashers but that’s a bit of a harsh evaluation since they’re actually hosting the party.
  • Captain Fantastic is back. Didier Drogba started on the bench for Côte d’Ivoire’s second game against Tunisia eventually coming on as a substitute in the second half. The 34-year-old was on from the beginning against Algeria . It was essentially a ceremonial outing in Rustenburg as the north Africans had already been eliminated and the Ivorians had won the group. Drogba headed in the first as Côte d’Ivoire came back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2. But will he be in the starting line-up for the west African (see above) blockbuster against Nigeria on Sunday in Rustenburg?

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