Lodged in Group C alongside Senegal, Cameroon and Gambia, Guinea is moving forward with fewer certainties. Their attack is lacking in inspiration. With nine goals scored during the qualifiers, Naby Kéita was the top scorer with three strikes. This raises the question of whether a dynamo needs to be brought in on the front line to help one of the best strikers in the game.
With less than a month to go before the start of the AFCON in Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea's Syli National are still struggling to convince. Despite some impressive names on the forward line, it is struggling to perform and score goals. The statistics bear witness to this. The top scorer in the AFCON 2023 qualifiers was Naby Kéita. The captain scored three of the Syli National's 9 goals during the campaign. Far from fans' expectations. For many, it's the team's attacking style that's been singled out for criticism. The coach alternates between 4-3-3 and the classic 4-4-2, which is struggling to bear fruit.
It's a situation that sports journalist Mohamed Max Camara takes issue with. "For the past two AFCONs, and practically since the departures of Razzagui and Ibrahima Traoré, Guinea have been approaching the competition without any professional wingers apart from Seydouba Soumah.Arrows that the Syli used to beat their opponents," explains the specialist. And he continues."At the last AFCON, no striker scored a single goal. And this continues to be the case, since the top scorer in the qualifiers was Naby Kéita, with three goals", laments the journalist.
At the AFCON 2021 in Cameroon, coach Kaba Diawara went so far as to implement an unprecedented 3-5-2 formation. Questioned at a press conference during the competition, he didn't hesitate to attack journalists who made the remark. "Guinea don't have any hard-hitting players at the moment, as was the case when I was playing with players like Fodé Mansaré...", Kaba Diawara defended himself. A situation which the Guinean coach has not found a remedy for.Since then, the Syli National has been operating without a real professional winger. The likes of Morgan Guilavogui and Aguibou Camara, a midfielder by training, have failed to provide any real satisfaction in this respect.
The former, however, is struggling to establish himself at RC Lens (Ligue 1-France), whom he joined last June.Only two goals in seventeen matches for the club Sang et Or. The second, Aguibou Camara, is a trained attacking midfielder. A fine performer in midfield, the Olympiacos (D1 Greece) player, on loan to Atromitos, has struggled with the national team despite a few flashes of brilliance, as was the case during the 2026 World Cup qualifiers with a goal against Malawi. Banished before being reinstated a few months ago, François Kamano is also struggling. Since joining Saudi Arabia and Al Abbha, the Guinean winger has been suffering. Indeed, the former Bastia player has only provided two assists in 24 matches across all competitions. A far cry from expectations for a player of his calibre.
Since the departure of former captain Ibrahima Traoré and Abdoul Razzagui Camara in particular, Guinea have struggled to find their dynamiters.According to Mohamed Max Camara, this situation is penalizing the team."For the past few years, corridor players have not been well used in the national team. We still have in mind the dazzling performances that enabled Guinea to qualify for the AFCON. We put them in a system that's not suited to them and it's not working," explains the journalist.
Despite an impressive start to the season with VFB Stuttgart (D1 Germany), scoring 17 goals in the Bundesliga, Sehrou Guirassy finds himself mostly on his own up front.
According to sports journalist Amadou Béla Barry, "the absence of his side players always penalizes the Syli. We have a striker, one of the best in the world at the moment, Sehrou Guirassy, who's in good form, but can't score.And that's the consequence of the lack of a gas pedal. Players capable of overrunning and serving him. At one point, Naby Kéita could have been that detonator. But with his current form, it's worrying.It's not enough just to have a world-class striker, you have to put him in the best possible position to perform," he analyzed.
Seydouba Soumah a unique profile, but...
With the publication of an extended list of 40 players, a number of absences have been reported, notably those of long-banned Mady Camara and Seydouba Soumah "Konkolet". In good form with their respective clubs, these two players are not on the extended list. The former has been banned from the Syli squad for years, while the latter has been sidelined since the African Cup of Nations in Cameroon. A situation analyzed by sports journalist Mohamed Max Camara."It was a good opportunity to call up Seydouba Soumah.And to put an end to ego squabbles. With his experience and his dribbling and percussive qualities, he can do this Syli a world of good. Especially as he has a unique profile. With his current form, it's an opportunity to call on a player of this level to help the Syli at the AFCON," lamented the journalist.
What was once the Syli's strength has become its weakness over the years. The absence of powerful wingers. With just a few weeks to go before the start of the African Cup of Nations, Guinea have never been so shaky on the flanks. With just a few days to go before the start of the Syli training camp, Kaba Diawara would be well advised to find a solution to this problem, which has persisted for years now.
