Major talking points from the early stages of Afcon

We are more than a week into the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals, which have not always hit the great heights as a spectacle but have provided many talking points.

Some of the discussion points coming out of the tournament have been negative, especially the bizarre story of referee Janny Sikazwe and his poor timekeeping.

But with the knockout stages fast approaching, there is the feeling the competition is hotting up with most of the top teams tipped to progress to the next stage.

TimesLIVE picks five talking points so far:

VAR remains a contentious issue

The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) is a great tool if utilised properly, but it can be a source of great frustration when it intervenes merely to try and find the barest of reasons not to give a goal.

This was the case when Guinea-Bissau were denied an excellent late equaliser against Egypt because of a perceived foul in the build-up by scorer Mame Balde.

There was contact between the two players, but both appeared to offend and it is the view of many that the goal should have stood.

Had it been the other way round, you have to ask if VAR and the referee would have disallowed the goal for Egypt.

It is these moments that can mean the difference between success and failure in tournament football, and the integrity of the competition is devalued when the wrong outcome is reached.

This if not just an Africa Cup of Nations problem. These controversies rage in leagues around the world where VAR is implemented, not least in England where they have seemingly still not got to grips with the system.

Were it to be implemented in the Premier Soccer League (PSL), it would only be as good as the people running it, and that means it is no silver bullet to get rid of poor officiating.

Nigeria impressive

Nigeria continued to look impressive in the Cup of Nations, having won their opening two games against Egypt and Sudan.

It is not just the results but also the performance, and the Super Eagles have looked slick and classy, something we have not said about them for some time.

They appear to be thriving under caretaker coach Augustine Eguavoen and have confidence and swagger back in their play.

It makes them real contenders for the title if they can keep it up, having underperformed at international level for some time.

It will also do them wonders ahead of the final round of 2022 World Cup qualifiers in March, but the same cannot be said for some other leading contenders in Cameroon.

The home side has looked good, but Egypt, Ghana, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Algeria and, to a certain extent, Morocco, not shone in the first week.

It looks a wide open tournament at this stage.

Ghana continue to disappoint on and off the pitch

There is no love lost between SA and Ghana after that contentious final World Cup qualifier in Cape Coast, but the Black Stars are not helping their image with some petulant behaviour at the Cup of Nations.

The team lost their opener to Morocco and then conceded a late equaliser against Gabon, which leaves them with just a single point from their first two games and facing the potential of an embarrassing early exit.

Their behaviour during and after the Gabon game leaves a lot to be desired and is another stain for a country whose football image has taken a knock in recent years with match-fixing scandals that are some of the worst ever seen.

Ghana were aggrieved that Gabon did not return the ball to them after they had put it out for treatment to an injured player, but there are no rules that say you must do so, especially not in the 88th minute when you are losing at a major international competition.

In the fracas that followed, Ghana striker Benjamin Tetteh punched Gabon's Aaron Boupendza and has subsequently been banned for three games.

Dede Ayew called Gabon a “small team” in the post-match press conference and the general attitude of the Black Stars has been salty and sour.

Their real issue lies in the fact that they are an under-performing side who were in many respects let off the hook by Bafana Bafana in the World Cup qualifiers.

Covid-19 has been a big disrupter

It is perhaps hard to make a true assessment of the teams after so many have had disruptions due to the Covid-19 pandemic, not only while in Cameroon but also in the build-up to the tournament.

Training camps were cancelled and friendly games called off, meaning many teams went into the finals with little or no preparation.

Malawi, for example, were missing 13 players for their opener against Guinea and had to field two goalkeepers among their four substitutes on the bench for the game.

Many other teams have been heavily effected, not least Gabon, who have had to play their first two games without talisman Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

The hope is that as we enter the second week of the competition and head into the knockout stages, the cases will decrease as players spend more time in their bio-bubble environments.

A lot of the cases appear to have been brought to the squads from players plying their trade in Europe, but they will have spent enough time in isolation to make it less of an issue.

What long-term effect it will have on some players, which could see them below their best, is unclear, but hopefully all teams are back to just about full-strength soon.

Beware the 1-0

Eleven of the first 20 games at the Cup of Nations finished with 1-0 score lines, though this is an improvement on the fact that nine of the opening 12 had just a single goal in them.

It suggests the shackles are starting to be broken and the goals are coming after what was a cagey start to the competition by many.

The reason for that is probably among those listed above, teams a little undercooked and out of form, squads decimated by Covid-19 and a general hesitancy to their play.

Cameroon’s 4-1 thumping of Ethiopia seemed to signal a new beginning and since then there has been more incisive attacking play.

What has helped teams is the good pitches in Cameroon, no doubt prepared under the watchful eye of Fifa, who are trying to take over many aspects of running the competition.

This is one area where they should be applauded as good pitches certainly assist the football, whereas some of the shocking surfaces we have seen in past tournaments have had the opposite effect.