African Nations Cup 2008

Ax

GROUP A

GHANA

All eyes will be on tournament hosts Ghana after they shot toprominence by beating the Czech Republic at the 2006 World Cup.Boasting the likes of Chelsea's Michael Essien and West Ham defenderJohn Paintsil, Ghana should be favourites for the whole competition.Although, strangely, coach Claude LeRoy has opted to use up one of hissquad places on injured captain Stephen Appiah who will 'act as aninspiration' to the rest of the team.
PLAYER TO WATCH: Sulley Muntari. The Portsmouth midfielderhas impressed in the Premier League after a great World Cup campaignwith the Black Stars. Expect some crunching tackles and powerfullong-distance shots.

NAMIBIA

Drawnin one of the toughest groups, few expect Namibia to stand any chanceof qualifying. Only their second Nations Cup appearance, the BraveWarriors are certainly underdogs and have also had to deal with thetragic death of former coach Ben Bamfuchile from a mystery illness.They scored a dramatic last-minute win away in Ethiopia to top theirqualifying group and now Dutchman Aries Schans has the unenviable jobof leading the cup campaign, made harder by the absence of any qualityplayers.
PLAYER TO WATCH: Pineas Jacob. The Ramblers striker is topof the goalscoring charts in the Namibian league, but may struggle toassert himself physically against more experienced defenders

.GUINEA

Frenchcoach Robert Nouzaret has left out Sambegou Bangoura, Ibrahima Yattaraand former Arsenal striker Kaba Diawara from his squad. Interestinglyback-up goalkeeper Naby Diarso is the only player to come from a clubwithin the west African country, but Nouzaret is adament that Guineaare not just there to make up the numbers. Having reached thequarter-finals two years ago, they'd do well to progress again thisyear.
PLAYER TO WATCH: Pascal Feindouno. The captain scored ninegoals for St Etienne in Ligue 1 last season and has started this year'scampaign well. He has attracted the attention of Liverpool in the past.

MOROCCO

Withthe players at their disposal, Morocco should be favourites to qualifyfrom Group A, but they have a poor record in the Cup in recent years(barring a win in 1976 and second place in 2004). The Atlas Lions havesurprisingly recalled veteran goalkeeper Khalid Fouhami, despite atwo-year exile, and have also dropped the Spanish-based MohamedYaacoubi and former Ajax striker Nourdin Boukhari. Walking throughqualifying, coach Henri Michel has high expectations of hisunder-achieving side.
PLAYER TO WATCH: Youssef Hadji. Rejoining the club where hebegan his career, Hadji has helped AS Nancy to second in Ligue 1 withfour goals and will be looking to have a similar impact in Ghana.

[ Last edited by  Ax at 18-1-2008 12:06 PM ]

Ax

GROUP B

NIGERIA

Winners of the African Nations Cup in 1980 and 1994, Nigeria are amongthe favourites again as their team is made up of established andwell-known names. Nigeria's German coach Berti Vogts is able to call onthe Premier League likes of John Obi Mikel, Obafemi Martins, NwankwoKanu and Joseph Yobo to stabilise his side and the Super Eagles will bea force in the competition if they can put their off-field problemsbehind them.
PLAYER TO WATCH: John Utaka. The 25-year-old Portsmouthstriker has pace to burn and is in decent form as well. Playingalongside Yakubu or Kanu could get the best out of him after impressingin the 2006 competition.

BENIN

NewBenin coach Reinhard Fabisch has a lot of work to do if his side are toqualify from this tough group. Having beaten Togo 4-1 to get into thecompetition, the minnows also drew with Mali in qualification whichsuggests that they have the potential to cause an upset, but have nobig name players. In fact, they had to call 37 year-old, Swiss-borndefender Alain Gaspoz, out of retirement for defensive cover and arefavourites to go out.
PLAYER TO WATCH: Romuald Boco. Benin's inspirationalmidfielder and skipper, known as the 'King of Benin', currently playsfor Accrington Stanley and is still just 22-years-old.

MALI

TheMali squad may be dominated by Frederic Kanoute, Seydou Keita andMahamadou Diarra, who all play in Spain, but midfielder Momo Sissoko isalso worth a mention despite not being in the best form for Liverpool.Looking to reach their first final since 1972, Mali boast an excitingcrop of players and will push Nigeria and the Ivory Coast all the wayfor qualification under the leadership of coach Jean Francois Jodar.
PLAYER TO WATCH: Seydou Keita. The Sevilla midfielder hasbeen in impressive form in La Liga and has been an ever-present for theAndalusians this year.

IVORY COAST

TheElephants have one of the strongest squads in the competition but havebeen hit by tragedy as German coach Ulrich Stielike's son fell into acoma and Frenchman Gerard Gili was forced to take over with only twoweeks to spare. Boasting a line-up which includes Didier Drogba, KoloToure, Didier Zokora and Aruna Dindane, they are one of the favouritesafter losing in the final in 2006, although they may have to copewithout Drogba if his knee injury resurfaces.
PLAYER TO WATCH: Bakari Kone. At only 5'4'', Kone is easilymissed but has made a reputation for himself as a tough midfielder withelusive dribbling skill. The Nice man should play behind Drogba andDindane after netting eight goals in 16 starts for the French club thisseason.

[ Last edited by  Ax at 18-1-2008 12:06 PM ]

Ax

GROUP C

EGYPT

With a decent record in the Nations Cup, having won it twice since1998, the defending Champions should qualify easily from this group,despite being forced to play without star striker Mido. Spurs flopHossam Ghaly will also miss the tournament as he looks to seal a moveto Derby, and coach Hassan Shehata is also without veteran midfielderMohamed Barakat. They should progress, but will struggle to retaintheir title.
PLAYER TO WATCH: Amr Zaki. Without Mido, the onus will beon the Al Zamalek striker to net Egypt's goals. Zaki scored two intheir warm-up match against Namibia; he has good strength, energy andtechnical ability and is still just 24.

SUDAN

Competingin the Nations Cup for the first time in three decades, Sudan will belooking to cause an upset in this group. Coach Mohamed Abdallah claimsthat the 'experience' will be vital for their development and hasfilled his squad with home-based players. Al Hilal and Al Merrikh arethe local clubs which make up the whole side, and there's been are-call for 37-year-old striker Faisal Agab, who played an integralrole in the team's qualification by netting five goals.
PLAYER TO WATCH: Faisal Agab. Initially dropped, the Al Merrikh striker will bear the burden of goalscoring for the Sudanese.

ZAMBIA

Although not known as one of the continent's great footballing powers,Zambia's nearly-men have qualified for eight out of the last ninetournaments, and have been runners-up twice (1974, 1994). Coach PatrickPhiri has high hopes of his players and so do the Zambian fans.Midfielder Andrew Sinkala is out with a chest infection, while theyhave dropped unfit striker Collins Mbesuma and veteran defender ElijahTana.
PLAYER TO WATCH: Chris Katongo. Brother Felix scored twotheir warm-up game in Tunis, but the Br鴑dby striker will provide muchof the Chipolopolo's attacking dynamism.

CAMEROON

Newcoach Otto Pfister wants as much time as possible to prepare his sideand has been understandably angered by Barcelona's refusal to let go ofstar striker Samuel Eto'o early. He has plenty of other European basedplayers though, including Jean Makoun, Geremi, Idriss Carlos Kameni andAndre Bikey. The Indomitable Lions have a strong squad and a goodrecord in the tournament, although may rely too much on theinjury-prone Eto'o for inspiration.
PLAYER TO WATCH: Carlos Idriss Kameni. With all eyes onSamuel Eto'o, the young goalkeeper, who is highly rated in Europehaving won the African Goalkeeper of the Year award in 2006/07, reallyhas a chance to impress between the sticks.

[ Last edited by  Ax at 18-1-2008 12:06 PM ]

Ax

GROUP D

TUNISIA

Scarred by injuries, the Tunisians have not impressed in warm-ups andhave to do without key duo, striker Ali Zitouni and defender DavidJemmali, who have been ruled out. Coach Roger Lemerre was booed afterdefeat to Zambia, and will look towards Birmingham pair Mehdi Nafti andRadhi Jaidi to boost his side for the competition. Tunisian Champions蓆oile du Sahel are well represented, although Lemerre will have toring the changes if they are to avoid an upset.
PLAYER TO WATCH: Yassine Chikhaoui. Currently lighting upthe Swiss league with a run of goalscoring form for FC Zurich, theyoung forward looks a real prospect and is reportedly being tracked byDutch giants Ajax.

ANGOLA

Withtheir first World Cup appearance in 2006 now behind them, Angola areexpected to struggle in this group, despite being well-organised andhard-working. Under Lu韘 Oliveira Gon鏰lves, the most successful coachin their history, the side will look to midfielder Figueiredo forattacking impetus after their inspirational captain Akwa retired frominternational football after the World Cup. They'll want to make animpression as the 2010 African Nations Cup will be held in Angola.
PLAYER TO WATCH: Manucho. If only because he's due to signfor Manchester United in January. Fergie isn't often wrong aboutplayers and the pacey striker has clearly caught the Scot's eye.

SOUTH AFRICA

Witha young squad under the guidance of former Brazil coach Carlos AlbertoParreira, the South Africans will be looking to the experience of AaronMokoena and Steven Pienaar (their only recognised players) forinspiration. No Bennie McCarthy, which will be a big miss, but inDjurg錼dens' Lance Davids, Parreira has an exciting winger who has beenattracting plenty of interest. The coach's experience from 40-years ofmanagement will be invaluable.
PLAYER TO WATCH: Steven Pienaar. The Everton winger hasalready made headlines with his club delaying his departure to Ghana,but is the shining light of South African soccer.

SENEGAL

Senegalhave recalled West Ham United striker Henri Camara, while Bolton's ElHadji Diouf appears to have come out of international retirement inorder to play in the Nations Cup. The squad have a lot of potential andtheir recent record in the competition is good, despite never havinglifted the trophy. They'll be looking to a large contingent of Frenchand English based players, such as Habib Beye, Souleymane Diawara, PapeBouba Diop and the recalled Ibrahima Sonko to impress, but don't haveenough to go all the way.
PLAYER TO WATCH: Mamadou Niang. Ten goals in 17 starts forMarseille has seen the big frontman keep Djibril Cisse out of the side.He'll look to use his power and strength to wreck some solid defences.

[ Last edited by  Ax at 18-1-2008 12:07 PM ]

tuan_hakim

ada ff cup tak???

Pak_Jen

boleh layan tido tgk game neh...

Ax

Fixtures
Sunday, 20 January 2008
Ghana v Guinea, A, 17:00

Monday, 21 January 2008
Mali v Benin, B, 19:30
Namibia v Morocco, A, 15:00
Nigeria v Ivory Coast, B, 17:00

Tuesday, 22 January 2008
Egypt v Cameroon, C, 17:00
Sudan v Zambia, C, 19:30

Wednesday, 23 January 2008
South Africa v Angola, D, 19:30
Tunisia v Senegal, D, 17:00

Thursday, 24 January 2008
Ghana v Namibia, A, 19:30
Guinea v Morocco, A, 17:00

Friday, 25 January 2008
Ivory Coast v Benin, B, 17:00
Nigeria v Mali, B, 19:30

Saturday, 26 January 2008
Cameroon v Zambia, C, 17:00
Egypt v Sudan, C, 19:30

Sunday, 27 January 2008
Senegal v Angola, D, 17:00
Tunisia v South Africa, D, 19:30

Monday, 28 January 2008
Ghana v Morocco, A, 17:00
Guinea v Namibia, A, 17:00

Tuesday, 29 January 2008
Ivory Coast v Mali, B, 17:00
Nigeria v Benin, B, 17:00

Wednesday, 30 January 2008
Cameroon v Sudan, C, 17:00
Egypt v Zambia, C, 17:00

Thursday, 31 January 2008
Senegal v South Africa, D, 17:00
Tunisia v Angola, D, 17:00

Sunday, 03 February 2008

Winner Group A v Runner-up Gp B, Quarter Final,
Winner Group B v Runner-up Gp A, Quarter Final,

Monday, 04 February 2008
Winner Gp C v Runner-up Gp D, Quarter Final,
Winner Gp D v Runner-up Gp C, Quarter Final,

Thursday, 07 February 2008
Winner Q/F 1 v Winner Q/F 4, Semi-Final,
Winner Q/F 2 v Winner Q/F 3, Semi-Final,

Saturday, 09 February 2008
Loser SF1 v Loser SF2, 3rd and 4th Place Play-Offs,

Sunday, 10 February 2008
Winner SF1 v Winner SF2, Final,

Ax

Originally posted by Pak_Jen at 18-1-2008 12:04 PM
boleh layan tido tgk game neh...

tamo tgk manucho ko ..? hahahaha .. kt angola lg .. kekekeke

totally

mane poll nye abe ax?

Pak_Jen

nak tgk abg Ba..hebak tak dia nanti menitik defence2 cap ayam..

Pak_Jen

poll apa ko neh..abg ax kaki poll ka? main pool pun tak reti..

Ax

grup b plg rmai player trname kot ... arap2 ivory coast ngan nigeria kalah hahahha .. bleh abg ba blk awal ..

kompom sizen dpn rmai gagak2 itam ni join bpl

Ax

Originally posted by Pak_Jen at 18-1-2008 12:10 PM
nak tgk abg Ba..hebak tak dia nanti menitik defence2 cap ayam..

pahtu def ivori coast lak kene titik ngn kanoute,keita,yakubu,utaka,kanu

totally

oo....snooker reti x? ..

sorry teroff topic...

Ax

  brani yahu pul jom

cak!

Razak Pimpong xde ke?? dia team mane ha..??

Ax

die mrajuk thn ni .. hahaha .. msk worldcup kene gelak ... trus die majok tau ..

tuan_hakim

Nara_Gaara

wat la prediksyen sape bakal jore anc ni. momods kasik arr penampar

adorascal

nigeria ka ivory cost??