Meschak ELIA must catch up in shining with Ravens
HE WON’T BE IN GABON
ELIA the big absent to AFCON according to RFI
January 11, 2017
Despite a few calls to Meschak ELIA, his favorite of CHAN Rwanda 2016, Florent IBENGE has not selected him among the 23 who will be in Gabon. Rfi.fr has drawn portraits of Anis Ben HATIRA (Tunisia), Benik AFOBE (DR Congo), Sofiane BOUFAL (Morocco), Younouss SANKHARE (Senegal) and Meschak ELIA (DR Congo) who could miss this competition.
Here is what the editor of the article, Ndiassa SAMBE, wrote about our nugget Meschak ELIA who dreamed of playing his first AFCON.
“Nearly a year ago, Elia Meschak overthrew everything in his path, finishing top scorer and best player of CHAN 2016 in Rwanda. The young striker, with the confusing dribble, seemed to have the right track to discover a European championship and settle in the national team. In the run-up to the CHAN, Meschak showed himself in Team A in March 2016, scoring a goal in the DRC-Angola (2-1) match counting for the AFCON 2017 qualifiers.
But the result was less flashy with a try missed in Turkey at Bursaspor and especially this non-call up in final for AFCON 2017. The young Leopard believed in it very strongly yet and could think of being the ideal substitute of Yannick BOLASIE, forfeit on injury.
« I look forward to playing my first AFCON », he said, some days back on the Congolese website leopards.com. « I have a lot of respect for BOLASIE. It is disappointing that he misses the AFCON, yet he is among the great artisans of the country qualification. In my opinion, there is no real substitute for Yannick on the wings. He has always been the best at his post. I will do my best to earn the confidence of the coach to honor BOLASIE by winning this African Cup of Nations».
The disappointment must be great for the TPM's folly. But the coach had many candidates in attack and took his responsibilities. Let's bet that more than one supporter of ELIA will blame him if the Gabonese adventure runs short...
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