Just who would have predicted that Senegal would end up with three straight defeats in their 2012 Africa Cup of Nations Group A?

After all, they came into this tournament as arguably the most talked-about team on the continent and were handed what they would have believed was a very soft draw.

But in the end they could not muster a single point and go home, if not quite in disgrace, then certainly as the big disappointment of the competition so far.

Coach Amara Traore was spoiled for choice up front with the likes of Mamadou Niang, Moussa Sow, Pappis Cisse, Demba Ba and Souleymane Camara.

And perhaps that was his problem. He didn't seem to know what his best team was and that led to uncertainty amongst his players. They just didn't look in the right head-space for this competition.

The best they can do now is to learn from this, regroup and try to qualify for the 2013 Nations Cup in South Africa.

They have immense talent in their squad, they just need to tie it all together in a team unit. In this tournament they looked like eleven individuals. And talented or not, that will get you nowhere.

Traore has so far resisted calls to resign, but he may well be pushed by the Senegalese Football Federation, who say they will do an evaluation of the team's performance in due course.

"I would like to continue, but the decision is not up to me," Traore said. "This is a young squad which is still being built and needs to mature. I have no reason to blame my players, who played well and created countless chances. The ball simply did not want to go in."

Libya can hold their heads high and will no doubt rue conceding late on against Equatorial Guinea in their opener.

Had they held on another few minutes for a 0-0 draw, they would now be in the quarter-finals of the competition and not heading home.

But they gave a good account of themselves and certainly have a lot to build on as they begin their journey as the "new Libya".