Ger McCarthy
1. Will either of the co-hosts make an impact?
CO-HOSTS Gabon are back in the spotlight having failed to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations between 2002 and 2008 and exiting at the first round of the 2010 edition. Gabon’s best result was back in 1996 when the Panthers reached the quarter final stages (before losing to Tunisia on penalties) but a repeat performance is highly unlikely this time around.
The co-hosts will contest Group C with Morocco and Tunisia who each have plenty of African Nations experience while Niger caused a major upset in reaching the tournament at the expense of South Africa, a strong Sierra-Leone side plus 2010 winners Egypt. Experienced midfielders Cédric Moubamba and Bruno Mbanangoyé Zita will bolster an otherwise young attacking division but Gabon’s hopes of progressing to the knockout stages will depend on a favourable result in their opening fixture with Niger in the Stade d’Angondjé in Libreville.
Equatorial Guinea make their debut in the biannual tournament as co-hosts but have been handed a tough draw alongside Senegal, Zambia and Libya in Group A. Manager Henri Michel has a major task on his hands in keeping the expectations of an expectant Equatorial Guinea public in check but an early exit still looks likely despite an encouraging 0-0 draw with South Africa in a recent warm-up game.
2. Which of the Premier League stars is likely to have the biggest impact?
THE 2012 edition of the African Cup of Nations will see a paltry 12 individuals currently plying their trade in the English Premier League taking part in a tournament made up of well over 360 players. The Ivory Coast contains Yaya and Kolo Toure from Manchester City and Chelsea’s duo of Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou. Add to that the name of Arsenal’s Gervinho plus Newcastle’s Cheick Tiote and the Ivorians look to have — on paper at least — the strongest first 11 of any of the competing nations.
Another Gunner, Marouane Chamakh, should feature prominently for Morocco while fellow London club QPR will miss the influence of Abdel Taarabt (also Morocco) and Armand Traore (Senegal). Wigan’s’ Mohamed Diame will represent Senegal along with the Newcastle duo of Papiss Demba Cisse and Demba Ba.
Chelsea hitman Didier Drogba should make the biggest impact of the competing Premier League stars for two specific reasons. 1) A talented midfield should provide plenty of quality service for the big Ivorian. 2) this could well be Drogba’s final African Cup of Nations appearance. The Chelsea striker will be anxious to help his country improve on their 2010 quarter final placing and emulate the success of their 1992 tournament winning squad.
3. Will a lack of established African footballing countries affect the overall quality of the tournament?
NIGERIA, South Africa, Egypt and Cameroon are just some of the established powerhouses of African football that have failed to qualify for the 2012 tournament. The omission of Egypt is most surprising with the Pharaohs boasting the most successful African Cup of Nations record on the continent having lifted the trophy seven times including a three in a row between 2006, 2008 and 2010. Egypt and South Africa lost out to debutantes Niger in qualification while Cameroon finished runners-up behind Senegal in Group E.
Another former giant of African football, Nigeria, lost to an up and coming Guinea outfit in Group B of qualifying following an indifferent campaign that also included a disappointing 2-2 draw away to Ethiopia. Nigeria eventually finished second in the table and missed out on the finals.
The Gabon-Equatorial Guinea based tournament will be all the poorer without some of the more established names of African football but there are still plenty of quality sides ready to make an impact in the competition such as Senegal, Ivory Coast and Ghana. First time qualifiers Niger, Botswana and Equatorial Guinea have an opportunity to make a name for themselves while Libya’s progress should attract plenty of headlines considering the recent political upheavals in the war-torn country. The bottom line is that despite the lack of established countries there are enough quality sides at the 2012 African Cup of Nations to make the tournament a memorable one.
4. Will the Black Stars rise to the challenge?
NEWS that the Ghanaian national squad stands to gain a bonus of e780,000, per player, has intensified the hype surrounding ‘the Black Stars’ in the run-up to the tournament. Ghana lost to Egypt in the 2010 decider put are tipped by many as one of the favourites for this year’s title along with Ivory Coast and Senegal. Coach Goran Stevanovic leads his side into battle in Group D of the opening phase of the competition against Botswana, Mali and Guinea.
The meeting with rivals Mali should be one to savour but Ghana are already under intense pressure to reach the final of a tournament they last won in 1982 so anything less than top position in the initial group would be seen as a failure. The Black Stars will be without the services of Chelsea’s Michael Essien (injury) and AC Milan’s Kevin Prince Boateng (retired) and much of their hopes will rest on the young shoulders of Marseille’s Andre Ayew.
Tough tackling central defender John Mensah will anchor the back four while former Premier League striker and dancing goal celebrator Asamoah Gyan is battling a hamstring injury but could yet take some part in the tournament. Ghana possess a strong squad and barring disaster should make the final on February 12th in Libreville with the Ivory Coast their most likely opponents.
5. Can the Newcastle United strike-force lead Senegal to glory?
ALAN Pardew has spent £10m on Senegalese striker Papiss Demba Cisse this past week to join forces with his fellow international Demba Ba at Newcastle United. The former Freiburg striker has netted 37 times in the Bundesliga.
Cisse and Ba will no doubt form a potent partnership at the Africa Cup of Nations while the recent form of Moussa Sow and Mamadou Niang should ensure safe passage for the ‘Terenga Lions’ to the knockout stages. Senegal look set to emerge from a tricky Group A that also contains Equitorial Guinea, Zambia and Libya and are a good bet to make the semi-finals. Demba Ba’s recent goal scoring feats in the Premier League mark the Newcastle forward down as the breakout star of the tournament and if Papiss Demba Cisse also hits form then Senegal certainly have the attacking ability to go all the way to the final.
Follow Ger on Twitter: @offcentrecircle
Source: http://feeds.examiner.ie/~r/iesportsblog/~3/Hxbko3KcvDY/post.aspx
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