‘I haven’t retired yet’

KICK OFF: What were your impressions of the Afcon in Cameroon?

Asamoah Gyan: It was a very impressive event. The performances were worthy of the continent’s premier competition. There were naturally a lot of surprises; a lot of upsets which made the tournament very interesting and unpredictable. You certainly could not predict who was going to win and in addition, the score margins were very small. Prior to the start of the tournament, experts were tipping this and that particular nations as favourites but the so-called underdogs threw those predictions out of the window.

You are probably referring to nations like Comoros, Gambia, Equatorial Guinea and to a certain extend Malawi, how would you describe their performances?

Solid. They were all excellent. They were a credit to their countries and although everybody thought they were coming to make up the numbers, they dished out attractive and appreciative football. Everybody stood up and applauded Gambia when they qualified for the last eight. If you have followed the AFCON qualifiers, you will recall that they topped their group to qualify and during the group stages, they conceded a single goal which should indicate that defensively they are very sound. They deserve what they have achieved. They played to their strengths and on many occasions, controlled the games with precision passing, while playing without fear and were lethal when breaking out.

You also mentioned Comoros, who were also making