Are we seeing a Rise of the "smaller" Nations in African Football?

After Ethiopia almost shocked the Eagles in their first leg playoff encounter, I was actually pleased to see the quality arise in such other nations. Before the match, naturally I was a bit nervous, but I still felt Nigeria had enough quality to see through the game, despite the altitude issue. To now see the way Ethiopia moved the ball, and how they operated when they attacked, I feared the worst for the Eagles. At the end of the day, Nigeria went through, but Ethiopia have shown a trend of the general quality of African football slowly improving.

Who would have ever thought Burkina Faso would have found themselves in a Nations Cup Final? It was a very close game that Nigeria edged out by a solitary goal, but Burkina Faso, just like Ethiopia, have shown that the next Nations Cup is going to be even closer than ever before.
  Pitropia was one of the stars of the last tournament and they were rather unlucky to have lost to Algeria in gaining a ticket to the World Cup. It takes time, you can't run before having to get on those knees and crawling. Burkina Faso will be a force at the next Nations Cup and I expect to see them represent their country at the next World Cup in Russia.


You can throw in Zambia as well who won the Nations Cup before Nigeria, and along with Ethiopia, this tournament that was mostly dominated by Cameroon and Egypt, will now be even more open. I just hope that Mister Bishaw can be kept in charge and is allowed time to build a real rapport with the team and try and get the best out of them, by trusting their individual talents and really pulling together and fighting as one as a team.
I look forward to the next Nations Cup and I know that my Eagles will find it very tough in trying to retain that trophy.


HH