Kolo & Eboue out but not home; Song in the final
36 comments February 8th, 2008
Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue crashed out of the African Nations last night in a 4-1 defeat for the Ivory Coast against Egypt. Toure in particular put in a less than satisfactory performance, criminally turning his back for the critical fourth goal. Hopefully he’s got all his mistakes out of his system whilst away from the club.
However, neither Toure nor Eboue will be returning to the squad just yet: they have to play out a fairly meaningless 3rd/3th play-off with hosts Ghana on Saturday. It is therefore very unlikely they will be fit and available to face Blackburn on Monday.
Alex Song will take part in Sunday’s final, after a Man of the Match performance in Cameroon’s victory over Ghana. Since being introduced as a half-time susbtitute during Cameroon’s insipid first performance of the tournament, he has gone on to become a vital cog in the side, playing in the holding midfield role. His coach Otto Pfister was moved to say:
“Alex Song – the way he plays is amazing. He is a wonder.”
It’s very good news for the club – the tournament could well prove to be a coming-of-age for the young midfielder. The player we get back next week could be significantly more assured than the one that departed in January.
Finally today, Mathieu Flamini has moved to calm any injury fears, saying he could be available by Monday’s game with Blackburn. Let’s hope so.
