Newcastle United fans may be either happy or frustrated to know that a few of their own are off to a good start in the Africa Cup of Nations.
The Africa Cup of Nations is always something of a double edged sword for European football fans. While they want their players who are out on duty there to do well and come back with some confidence, they also want them to return early in order to fully utilise their talents and cut down the amount of games they will miss.
Whichever camp you fall into, it has been a solid start for Newcastle United stars Chancel Mbemba and Christian Atsu, who both turned out for 90 minutes in their nation’s opening games in Gabon.
With only a few group stage games to impress before the knockouts, they needed to make an immediate impact.
That they did as Atsu actually put in a man of the match performance for Ghana, who toppled Uganda in order to move top of Group D.
Meanwhile for Mbemba things were a little more hard fought, but he still helped the DR of Congo on their way towards a slender 1-0 triumph over Morocco. Considering they are up against Ivory Coast next, that seems like a pretty big win.
Henri Saivet, who is currently out on loan, was a second-half substitute during Senegal’s 2-0 victory over Tunisia.
With wins on the board early, who knows how far these sides can go as Magpies fans watch on while simultaneously biting their fingernails.
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