A couple of years ago, they were regarded as strugglers as far as African football is concerned. At this year's African Cup of Nations which ended Sunday in Bamako, Mali, these teams proved that they can hold their own against the best in the continent NIRAN ADESANYA writes.

Mali: Les Aigles (The Eagles) of Mali as they are known, are perhaps the greatest achievers of the championship which they hosted. Prior to the championship, the young Malians, most of whom were graduates from the impressive side which won bronze medal at the 1999 World Youth Championship in Nigeria, were seen by many analysts as only making the numbers. Their performance in the opening match where they struggled to a 1-1 draw against Liberia left much to be desired.

However, as the championship progressed, the host, determined to impress their ever-supportive home fans, began to show the stuff they were made of. The coach Henri Kasperczack-tutored lads rallied back with an explosive performance against the more-experienced Super Eagles of Nigeria who fought tooth and nail to keep the scoreline goalless after 90 minutes. The young Eagles, even in the face of an earlier below par performance, showed resilience and character in their final group match. They crushed the Desert Warriors of Algeria with a resounding 2-0 victory.

That victory seemed to be the tonic for the boys whose average age is 23. Cheered on by their home crowd, the Malians rubbished the 1996 champions and bronze medalists at the 2000 edition, South Africa, with another 2-0 win in the quarter-finals which raised hope of a possible cup triumph for the first time ever.

Much as they were determined, their semi-final match against the defending champions, the Indomitable Lions of Cameroun, meant the end of that dream. They were defeated 0-3 by the far better Camerounians. It was obvious that they were not disgraced. The Eagles of Mali eventually finished fourth behind their fellow Group A team, the Super Eagles of Nigeria who beat them to the bronze via a 1-0 victory in the third place match played last Saturday.

The Malians, who paraded exciting players like the highly skilful Seydou Keita,Mamadou Bagayoko, Adama Coulibaly, Bassala Toure and a host of others equalled their fourth place finish achieved in 1994.

Congo DR: Despite being champions in 1968 and 1974 in addition to third and fourth placing in 1998 and 1972, the Congolese, known for their exciting Soukous and Makossa brand of music, were given little chance at Mali 2002. The fact that they were grouped in Group C alongside Cameroun and Cote d'Ivoire even made matters worse.

The Simba (Lion) of Congo DR were, however, undeterred by the odds against them as they came back from a much-expected loss to Cameroun in the first match to pick a surprise quarter-final ticket behind the Indomitable Lions. This was after they had played a goalless draw against Togo and grabbed a spectacular 3-0 win against a highly talented Ivorien side. A more fancied and incredibly in-form Senegalese team, however, sent them packing in the last eight.

All in all, Coach Watunda Iyolo, who has close resemblance with Congo DR's music legend, Papa Wemba, knows that his team which boasted of some talented players like Monaco of France's skipper, Shabani Nonda and Newcastle of England forward, Lomana Lua Lua have given a good account of themselves.

Liberia: Granted the Lone Star never made it to the quarter-final of the just concluded Africa Nations Cup, (they even did not win a single match), the Liberians, largely inspired by their soccer legend, George Opong Weah, can stand up and beat their chests with pride. In two of their three preliminary group games, they did not fail to pick a point. They were forced to draw twice, the first against hosts, Mali which ended 1-1 and a 2-2 scoreline against their Algerian counterparts. TheLone Star who were quite determined to give their coach/ player and motivator, Weah, a befitting retirement, could have done so but for their painful 0-1 loss to Nigeria in their last group match.

Nevertheless, the Lone Star gave the whole of Africa some exciting moments during the Mali 2002 Nations Cup with stars like Prince Daye, Frank Seator, Kevin Sebwe, defence stalwart, Zizi Roberts and goalkeeper Louis Crayton.

Ghana: The Black Stars of Ghana are definitely not minnows in African soccer. In fact, they are one of the most successful countries in the Nations Cup history with four championship victories and three silver medals under their belt.

But then, the Black Stars have skidded into lethargy since their fourth place outing in South Africa in 1996, a situation which has led to their being dubbed strugglers in the continent. It is not that they lack quality players to change their misfortunes but poor administration and rancour among players has brought Ghana's football to its lowest ebb of late.

Even as co-hosts two years ago, the best they could muster was a quarter-final finish after the Bafana Bafana of South Africa showed them the way out in the quarter-final.

However, the recent re-organisation of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and the appointment of veteran coach Fred Osam Doudu have ensured the stars could start twinkling again soon. The young team Duodu took to Mali 2002 are really growing in stature and their score sheet is a pointer to this. They did not lose any of their group matches against Morocco, South Africa and Burkina Faso.

And without their defence strongman, Sameul Osei Kuffour, the new generation of Black Stars led by Emmanuel Kuffour to Mali, have proved to be a force to reckon with in subsequent Nations Cup competitions even in spite of their 0-1 loss to Nigeria. (ACONS)