The 2008 African Cup of Nations, hosted by Ghana, will be the 26th edition of the African Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa.
The tournament will be held between January 20 and February 10, 2008. The winner of the tournament will represent CAF at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.
He hasn’t scored in the French Ligue 1 since December 8, and in the African Cup of Nations, his performance was average at best. What on Earth seems to be the problem for Ivorian striker Aruna Dindane?
Dark magic, that’s what. At least according to some people back in Africa…
Written by Marco Pantanella. Leave a response
When the 2008 African Cup of Nations began on January 20, few would have put any serious amount of money on Egypt as tournament winners. Despite entering the competition as title holders, the Pharaohs were ranked 6th in the outright betting charts (odds 14/1), far behind big-name favorites such as Ghana (3/1), Ivory Coast (7/2), and Cameroon (6/1).
Yet despite the unfavorable pre-tournament odds, the Egyptians really surprised everyone match after match, displaying a disciplined tactical organization, a great spirit of teamwork and sacrifice, as well as a newfound glory for their iconic goalkeeper Essam Al Hadari. In the end, it doesn’t matter much if their victory in the ACN final stemmed from a tremendous defensive blunder: over the course of playoffs and the tournament as a whole, the Egyptian Pharaohs deserved their 2008 African Cup of Nations trophy, the record-breaking sixth title of their history.
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Written by Marco Pantanella. 5 comments
We often read of football-related violence that occurs in the stands/terraces, between players, against referees, and out on the streets between rival hard-core factions.
But here was an another unfortunate incident. Against a medical assistant who was assisting an injured player from Cameroon, Rigobert Song. Song had collided with his own keeper, along with Junior Ogogo of Ghana. But what followed was perhaps a novel event. I have never seen anything of this nature before.
Written by Steve Amoia. 6 comments
After 30 matches, the 2008 African Cup of Nations final is set, and two of Africa’s premier footballing powers will square off on Sunday for the title.
Hosts Ghana won’t be one of them, as their dream of lifting the cup in front of their home fans was dashed by Cameroon.
There will be a sense of familiarity to the final matchup, as the other participant, Egypt, is not only the defending champion, but the two finalists have met already in the competition, in their Group C opener, which went 4-2 in favor of the holders.
So, how did each team get their place in Sunday’s final?
Written by Eddie Griffin. Leave a response
In trying to find an answer to the eternal question “what makes a sports competition memorable?”, many have cited ‘beautiful plays’, ‘the enthusiasm of the fans’, and ’spectacular goals’. What makes a competition truly complete however, is that sometimes, against all odds, the underdog can defeat the favorite and create a surprise.
Today at the Baba Yara Stadium of Kumasi, Egypt created such a surprise: largely dominated throughout most of the match, the Pharaohs taught their Cote d’Ivoire opponents a true lesson in efficiency, capitalizing on over 75% of their scoring opportunities and putting the ball into the net for a total of 4 times! The final scoreline really doesn’t do justice to this match, because the Elephants continuously multiplied their shots on target (notably through Didier Drogba) but found the magic hands of superkeeper Essam El-Hadary parrying everything away.
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Written by Marco Pantanella. Leave a response
Cameroon is the first finalist of the 2008 African Cup of nations. Burdened by pressure, injuries, and suspensions, the Black Stars of Ghana didn’t manage to pull yet another miracle in front of their own crowd, and will be forced to compete for the lowest step of the podium on Saturday. It took the Indomitable Lions a little while, but starting from the playoff stage of this competition (the quarter-finals vs. Tunisia, and the semi-finals today vs. Ghana) they have really shown off the pride that has always been the team’s trademark and which, coupled with undeniable skill, has made Cameroon the football reference point of the African continent these past years.
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Written by Marco Pantanella. One comment
We’re down to the final four in the 2008 African Cup of Nations, and there aren’t any real surprises as to who the last four standing are.
Ghana’s got one more hurdle to climb to get to the final, but it’s a pretty big one, as they have to go up against a prolific Cameroon side. In the other semifinal, we’ve got a rematch of the 2006 final, as the Ivory Coast and Egypt get re-acquainted with one another, and there certainly won’t be any love lost there.
Written by Eddie Griffin. 3 comments
After Ghana and the Ivory Coast advanced to the semifinals with wins on Sunday, the other two spots were up for grabs on Monday, as Group C winner and reigning African Cup of Nations champion Egypt took on Group D runner-up Angola, and Group D winner Tunisia took on Group C runner-up Cameroon.
Written by Eddie Griffin. Leave a response
Sunday wasn’t a good day to be Kemoko Camara.
Well, to be more exact, a 20-minute period on Sunday wasn’t a good time to be anyone in Guinea’s defense, including goalkeeper Camara, as that’s when the Ivory Coast broke down a resilient Guinea side with four goals in the final 20 minutes to pick up a 5-0 win and advance to the semifinals of the African Cup of Nations.
The Ivorians took a 1-0 lead in the 25th minute when Abdulkader Keita finished superbly from a tight angle, with Camara trying to make a play on the ball, but missing it completely. Keita was Lyon’s record signing this summer, coming for 18 million euros, and hasn’t produced a goal for OL in 22 appearances. But, he might have needed this trip to rediscover his form, and may start validating that big fee once he gets back to France.
Guinea did a great job of holding them after Keita’s goal, but when the floodgates opened, there was no stopping it.
Two of the impressive things about the Ivory Coast’s talent are their athleticism and the chemistry between their players, which was evident in the flurry of goals, which started in the 70th minute, when Didier Drogba brushed aside a powerless Guinea defender on his way into the box, where he finished past an equally powerless Camara.
Drogba turned provider on the third goal, as he threaded a pass through to Chelsea teammate Salomon Kalou, who rounded the Camara, and had all the time in the world to finish, and he decided to take all of that time as well, tapping the ball along the goal area until he finally side-footed it in. Showboating or not? That’s a matter of individual opinion, but whatever it was, it was 3-0 in favor of the Ivory Coast on 73.
The fourth goal was made possible by Arouna Kone battling to regain possession, and after he did so, he played it to Yaya Toure, who set up Mr. Kalou for #2, who had a wide-open net before him, and this time he didn’t waste any time blasting it home from close range to make it 4-0 in the 81st minute.
Avram Grant likely can’t wait for his two Ivorian forwards to get back to England, because if they play as well down the stretch as they have in Ghana, then it’s going to be a three-horse race for the Premier League title down to the wire.
The fifth, and thankfully for Guinea, final goal may have been indefensible. In the 86th minute, Bakari Kone unleashed an absolute rocket that might have taken Camara’s head or hands off had he tried to get in the way of the shot.
It was a game effort by Guinea, but without their star attacker, and with no match for the Ivory Coast’s physically superior forwards, it wasn’t going to be their day.
The goals:
A.K. Keita in the 25th: 1-0 Ivory Coast
Didier Drogba in the 70th: 2-0
Salomon Kalou in the 73rd: 3-0
Kalou in the 81st: 4-0
Bakari Kone in the 86th: 5-0
Today’s quarterfinal matchups will see Egypt take on Angola in the early tie, with Tunisia and Cameroon going at it in the nightcap.
Written by Eddie Griffin. Leave a response
It was a very tough battle, between two countries whose rivalry extends far beyond the football field, but in the end Ghana were the first semi-finalists of the 2008 African Cup of Nations, and deservedly so. The Black Stars went through a plethora of emotions throughout tonight’s game: they stepped onto the field with half the team in non-ideal physical shape (a light injury here, a few cramps there), they were forced to concede the first goal of the match against the run of play, and after they valiantly tied the game they were forced to play for over 30 minutes with one man down (John Mensah got sent off for a last-man foul on Peter Odemwingie).
Despite all these events, Ghana relentlessly continued to play their game: short passing, strong support of the midfielders to the striking duo (when you have finishers like Gyan Asamoah and Manuel Agogo you need any help you can get), and frequent pushes down the wings by Quincy Owusu-Abeyie and Sulley Muntari. In the end, the team managed by Claude Le Roy emerged as winners with a goal in the final minutes, against a Nigerian team which will probably have a lot of regrets in the coming week, especially for not trying harder during their numerical advantage. At the end of the day: Ghana are through to the Semi-Finals, Nigeria out of the African Cup.
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Written by Marco Pantanella. 11 comments
While millions of millions of people will be watching the NFL’s Super Bowl today, the Super Bowl of African soccer has reached the quarterfinals, and as expected, host Ghana is alive, kicking, and ready to get their hands on the trophy.
But, there are seven other sides still in it, looking to pave their own way to the final and keep Ghana from the prize.
Written by Eddie Griffin. One comment
What were the the best 5 goals scored in football last month?
Inspired by this post on the best 5 freekicks ever in the Premiership, I asked the folks at ifutbal.com to put together a short compilation of the top goals from January 2008, and the result is the video below.
Written by Ahmed Bilal. Leave a response
Allegations of match-fixing approaches and resigning coaches have stole some of the headlines in the African Cup of Nations over the last several days, but while all of that’s going on, there’s a pretty entertaining football competition to turn your attention to at the same time.
The four groups are in the midst of wrapping up their final round of group stage matches, and several sides are still mathematically in the running to qualify for for the quarterfinals.
Written by Eddie Griffin. 4 comments
Senegal’s opening Group D clash against Tunisia was built up as a grudge match after the Teranga Lions’ controversial exit from 2004 African Cup of Nations by the same opponents. The revenge was seven minutes away until Mejdi Traoui had other ideas. Traoui sweetly connected a 25-yard long ranger that flew into the top left corner of the Senegalese net to earn the Carthage Eagles a valuable 2-2 draw.
Written by Sunit Kumar Thakurta. Leave a response
Egypt started the defence of the title they won two years ago at home in some style by cruising to a comfortable 4-2 victory over four-time winners and favourites Cameroon in Kumasi.
The result has come as a surprise to many given Egypt’s lacklustre qualifying campaign where they have struggled to score goals, particularly away from home. The North African country is going through a transition period to bring in new talents and the absence of star man Mido due to injury had somewhat dampened Egyptian hopes of a successful defence of the title in unfamiliar West African climatic conditions.
Written by Sunit Kumar Thakurta. One comment
The 2008 African Cup of Nations got into full swing on Monday.
In Group A, 1976 champion Morocco took on Namibia in Accra, finishing up the first round of action in Group A after Ghana defeated Guinea 2-1 on Sunday.
Group B also got underway, with 1992 champion Ivory Coast took on two-time (1980, 1994) champs Nigeria and Mali taking on Benin in Sekondi-Takoradi.
Here’s a quick rundown of the action, complete with goal highlights from each match.
Group A
Namibia 1-5 Morocco
Soufiane Alloudi was the star of the day for Morocco, as his first-half hat trick led the Atlas Lions to an easy victory over Namibia.
The 24-year old Al Ain forward opened the scoring in the 2nd minute, when he was right on the spot to smash the ball into an empty net. Marouane Chamakh was unlucky to see his point-blank effort go off of the post, but collected the loose ball and laid it off to the onrushing Alloudi, who put it away.
In the fifth minute, it was Alloudi 2, Namibia 0, and after the relative newcomers to Africa’s soccer showpiece (only their second appearance) pulled one back in the 23rd, Alloudi finished off a superb hat-trick when he collected Porto man Tarik Sektioui’s cross and headed it home past keeper Abisia Shanangayamwe.
Sektioui got on the score sheet in the 40th minute when he slotted home a penalty, and the five-goal feast was wrapped up when sub Moncef Zerka scored on a header in the 73rd.
However, it wasn’t all great news for Morocco, as hat-trick hero Alloudi was carted off just after the hour mark with a right knee injury that could see him miss the next match.
As for that next match, it will be on Thursday against Guinea, who gave hosts Ghana all they had, but succumbed to Sulley Muntari’s late strike. It doesn’t get any easier for Namibia, as their next opponent is the host side, who they will face on Thursday night in Accra following the Guinea-Morocco tie.
Namibia 1-5 Morocco - Goal Highlights
Group B
Nigeria 0-1 Ivory Coast (match report here)
Chelsea’s Salomon Kalou scored the only goal of the match - and it was a brilliant one - to hand the Ivory Coast a victory over Nigeria in the Group B opener at Sekondi Stadium in Sekondi-Takoradi.
In the 66th minute, Kalou took an attempted clearance about 25 yards out and fended off multiple Nigerian defenders as he made his way into the box, setting himself up for a shot that he deposited home to complete a astonishing individual move.
Nigeria 0-1 Ivory Coast - Kalou’s wonder goal
Mali 1-0 Benin
It was double 1-0 scorelines in Group B, as Fredi Kanoute’s 49th minute penalty was enough to give Mali the three points.
Kanoute’s opportunity was created when Dramane Traore was felled in the box, and the Sevilla star calmly put the spot kick away.
Mali 1-0 Benin - match highlights
Group B action resumes on Friday, when the Ivory Coast take on Benin in the early evening matchup, and in the nightcap, Nigeria must get a positive result against Mali to keep their qualification hopes alive heading into their final group match.
Today will see Group C favorites Egypt and Cameroon face off in the early kickoff in Kumasi, with Sudan and Zambia squaring off afterwards.
And, in case you didn’t see it already, here’s a little extra goal goodness: Muntari’s winner - Ghana 2-1 Guinea
Written by Eddie Griffin. One comment
The 2008 African Cup of Nations is truly underway and one team has already made their intentions clear at such an early stage. 2006 runners-up Ivory Coast(Cote D’Voire) are desperate to go one step further this time around. The Elephants took a firm lead in a tough Group B when a Salomon Kalou stunner left fellow West African favourites Nigeria in a spot of bother after the opening match at Sekondi in a repeat of the 2006 African Cup of Nations semi-final.
Written by Sunit Kumar Thakurta. 7 comments
If you didn’t know better, you’d think that this African Cup of Nations was a sneaky bastard. How dare it creep up on the Premier League clubs without them finding out until too late?
What? There’s an International Calendar for FIFA events? Damn…
Ok, but the sheer audacity of this tournament! How dare it disrupt the ‘Greatest League In The World’? What? 54 countries? A whole bloody continent? What the…
Written by Ahmed Bilal. 8 comments
The 2008 African Cup of Nations gets underway on Sunday, and while many managers and fans of Premier League clubs will be hoping that it’s an injury-free competition for their players, the objective there for each of the 16 clubs is to be the one hoisting the trophy at the end.
The 26th edition of the competition is being hosted by Ghana, and considering that the hosts have won the tournament on the last two occasions, with Tunisia winning it as hosts in 2004, and Egypt hosting and winning the most recent edition in 2006, the star-studded host team should feel pretty good about their chances.
But, there are several other squads looking to keep Ghana from winning a record-tying fifth title, in Didier Drogba and the Ivory Coast, Yakubu and Nigeria, and Samuel Eto‘o and Cameroon, to name a few.
Here’s the rundown of each group, along with the names to watch in each side. There are a lot of familiar names, but there are also a few that you should keep an eye out for, because one of them could be Africa’s next big import to major European football.
Written by Eddie Griffin. Leave a response
The 26th edition of the African Cup of Nations is underway in Ghana with the hosts kicking off the colourful tournament with a tense 2-1 win against Guinea in Accra. The build-up to the match saw an unusual incident with the two teams’ officials clashing over training pitches due to an apparent lack of communications on the part of the local organising committee.
Written by Sunit Kumar Thakurta. One comment
On the verge of hosting the 2008 African Cup of Nations, Ghana has uniformly adopted the green, red, and gold colours. Some have tattoed them on their backs, some are wearing them around their necks, some are leaving them on their natural medium but using that medium to decorate everything and anything: FLAGS cover buildings, stores, office bureaus, cars, taxi-cabs, lamp posts, rich houses and slums. Politicians themselves are becoming fully outfitted too: deputy director general of the Ghana Education Service, Benedicta Naana Biney, was recently photographed donning an elegant green/gold/red dress. In the city of Sekondi-Takoradi (which Monday will host the much anticipated Nigeria vs. Ivory Coast match) they have even painted the bridges. The colours of the Black Stars of Ghana are everywhere.
Written by Marco Pantanella. 3 comments
The 2008 African Cup of Nations kicks off today in Ghana with the hosts taking on Guinea for the first match of the tournament.
Complete ACN 08 fixtures are listed below:
Written by Ahmed Bilal. 180 comments
As we approach the opening ceremony of the African Cup of Nations for 2008, I thought I would give a brief synopsis on the kits the countries will be wearing. Much like I did for the Euro 2008 as well, if you want to go to the African Cup of Nations page just click here; otherwise here you go.
Written by Brad Barnett. 9 comments
Following the numerous articles written on the subject of the effect of the African Cup of Nations on the Premier League, shaping in particular the fortunes of Portsmouth and Chelsea, I would like to take a short look at the La Liga teams which might suffer most from the exodus of African players to Ghana.
Written by Hugo Steckelmacher. 3 comments
With the African Cup of Nations coming up, many teams will start counting their players, because losing some of them for a period which could range between 4 to 6 weeks is not very funny if you are a Premier League manager. Especially since most of them will return injured and exhausted.
So, in the utter boredom of my extended Christmas break, I have decided to estimate the damage that this severely misplaced, but highly entertaining competition has caused to the Premier League clubs.
SEX! Now that I have your attention, please read the following: not all squads have been confirmed as I am writing this, but most of the mentioned players are likely to go since they were included in the initial squad.
So if Utaka ends up staying with Portsmouth, do not blame me. I am only partly at fault.
Written by Andrei. 18 comments
Let’s take a detailed look at how the African Cup of Nations will affect English Premier League clubs when it takes place from January 20th to February 10th in Ghana.
Many of the Premier League’s clubs will have at least one player represented at the competition, and some will have several, a few of whom could be there for the duration of the tournament.
Written by Eddie Griffin. 15 comments
