African disappointment

Having now watched all of the African team, who will playing at the World Cup, in action in Angola at the Africa Cup of Nations, I have to say i'm very unimpressed.

Hopes were high regarding Ivory Coast, but they still seem to lack something. The Elephants tend to play overly tactical football with too many defensive minded midfielders in their line-up. Also the wings seem to be somewhat disappointing and not able to support Didier Drogba. Not to mention some lapses of concentration in the defense and their main goalkeeper isn't even a regular at his club Beveren, which is near the bottom end of the Belgian league. I'm not very confident they can surpass their group G opponents at the World Cup if there isn't a major improvement in their game.

Algeria need even more improvement. Today's 0-0 draw with hosts Angola, was one of the worst performances by a team I've seen in recent history. They do have potential with Wolfsburg's Karim Ziani offering creativity from midfield, but they just don't seem to want to capitalize this. But today's result at least was a improvement from the opening match 3-0 embarrassment in the hands of the mighty Malawi. Luckily for Algeria Mali again underachieved and so the got through from their group in Angola, but there's no chance in hell they'll do it in South Africa with England and USA being favorites in group C.

A shock defeat by Gabon started Cameroon's campaign and a narrow 3-2 over Zambia followed. No team with Samuel Eto'o on their side shouldn't struggle like this. Begs a question if Paul Le Guen really is the right man for the job. There's every chance the team might even end up being the bottom side in South Africa as all other teams in group E are capable of beating this disjointed side.

And I don't even want to talk about Ghana. Injury troubles, bad atmosphere in the dressing room, uninspiring characters on the field. It's a disaster waiting to happen. Germany, Australia and Serbia are no doubt rubbing their hands as just like with Cameroon in group E, this Ghana team will find it very tough to handle any of them in group D.

Nigeria, with all their attacking talent, are finding it very tough to put the ball into the back of the net. The defence also isn't rock solid, with Egypt easily putting 3 goals past them and Benin getting near with numerous shots, that hit the post and the crossbar. To the Flying Eagles' luck, their opponents in group B, aren't the most stable ones with Argentina and Greece constantly struggling to put together a number of good performances in a row.

Could it be that it will be the hosts, South Africa, who'll offer the most threat to European and South-American teams at the World Cup?

Bafana-Bafana have the luxury of not having to concentrate on two major competitions in a year. It's doing wonders for Egypt, who look very likely to go on and pick up their historic third consecutive Africa Cup of Nations title. Group A also looks a very nice prospect for them considering the fixtures list.

And what's the story with African goalkeepers? Are they the worst ones in the entire world or are they just making fun? You decide. Here's Mozambique's Joao Rafael Kapango.

Ivory Coast start 2010 with a win

Ivory Coast kicked off their World Cup 2010 year with a win over Tanzania. Star striker Didier Drogba's single goal was enough to seal the win.

The Elepahants are training in Tanzania before the African Cup of Nations 2010 and have found a good opportunity to also play a few test matches against the local side. It's interesting to note that the initiative to set up the training camp and the matches, came from Tanzania, which the Ivory Coast officials gladly accepted. It's also interesting to note that Tanzania also offered Brazil a chance to train there before this summer's World Cup in South Africa, but the 5-times World Champions turned down the offer.

Tanzania and Ivory Coast will again lock heads on Thursday, after which Ivory Coast will travel to Luanda, Angola.

It will be interesting to see how manager Vahid Halihodžic will set up his side in Angola. The squad is very strong through out, with a number of options for almost all the positions on the field. There's also some negative issues in the dressing room I've heard, this could possibly cause a head ache trying to pick a right side, who will work together not against each other. One thing that is certain, is that Yaya Toure will be played as a midfield play maker. At least Halihodžic has said that before the tournament. That might of course raise a few questions, as Toure plays as a defensive midfielder at his club Barcelona.

------------------ Barry -------------------

- Eboue ---- Bamba ---- K.Toure ---- Boka -

-------- Gosso ---------- Zokora -----------

---------------- Y.Toure -------------------

-- Gervinho ----- Drogba ----- Kalou ------

So, it looks like this would be the preferred starting XI. Everybody knows the quality of Drogba and Kalou, but I recommend to look out for Gervinho. I follow the French Ligue 1 very closely and the Lille player has been in great form. Especially in recent weeks and has rocketed near the top scorers list.

Ivory Coast and Cameroon squads for African Cup of Nations

Ivory Coast

Goalkeepers: Boubacar Barry (Lokeren, Belgium), Aristide Zogbo (Maccabi Netanya/Israel), Vincent De Paul Angban (Asec Mimosas)

Defenders: Kolo Toure (Manchester City, England), Emmanuel Eboue (Arsenal, England), Guy Demel (SV Hamburg, Germany), Souleman Bamba (Hibernian, Scotland), Benjamin Angoua Brou (Kispest Honved, Hungary), Arthur Boka (VfB Stuttgart, Germany), Abdoulaye Meite (West Bromwich Albion, England), Siaka Tiene (Valenciennes, France)

Midfielders: Yaya Toure (Barcelona, Spain), Didier Zokora (Sevilla, Spain), Emmanuel Kouamatien Kone (International Curtea of Arges, Romania), Cheik Ismael Tiote (FC Twente, Holland), Emerse Fae (Nice, France), Jean-Jacques Gosso Gosso (AS Monaco, France)

Forwards: Didier Drogba (Chelsea, France), Salomon Kalou (Chelsea, England), Bakari Kone (Marseille, France), Kader Keita (Galatasaray, Turkey), Aruna Dindane (Portsmouth, England), Gervinho (Lille, France)

A really stong side and there's no surprise the Elephants are also seen as potential favorites for the World Cup 2010 in South Africa. The only weak point might be the goalkeeping department with no well known players. Sevilla's Koffi Ndri Romaric is dropped because of diciplinary reasons, other wise it's a full strenght squad.

Cameroon

Goalkeepers: Carlos Kameni (Espanyol, Spain), Hamidou Souleymanou (Kayserispor, Turkey), Guy N'Dy Assembe (Valenciennes, France)

Defenders: Rigobert Song (Trabzonspor, Turkey), Geremi (Newcastle United, England), Henri Bedimo (Chateauroux, France), Andre Bikey (Burnley, England), Benoit Assou-Ekotto (Tottenham Hotspur, England) Aurelien Chedjou (Lille, France), Nicolas Nkoulou (AS Monaco, France)

Midfielders: Alex Song (Arsenal, England), Jean Makoun (Lyon, France), Stephane Mbia (Marseille, France), Georges Mandjeck (Kaiserslautern, Germany), Joel Matip (Shalke 04, Germany), Enoh Eyong (Ajax Amsterdam, Holland), Landry Nguemo (Celtic, Scotland), Achille Emana (Real Betis, Spain)

Forwards: Somen A Tchoyi (Red Bull Salzburg, Austria), Paul Alo'o Efloulou (AS Nancy, France), Achille Webo (Mallorca, Spain), Mohamadou Idrissou (SC Freiburg, Germany), Samuel Eto'o (Inter Milan, Italy)

Only one who's missed out from Paul Le Guen's selection is Tottenham's Sebastien Bassong. The French-born midfielder, recently decided to start representing his parents country, but misses out on this tournament. Cameroon are probably the only African team with a good class goalkeeper and I think they'll be the only one's who might have a chance of stopping Ivory Coast from winning the continent's most prestigous tournament.

Ivory Coast are big favorites to get past their group, where they are with Ghana, Togo and Burkina Faso. Cameroon are in a group with Tunisia, Zambia and co-hosts of the next African Cup of Nations, Gabon.

Group G overview

Ivory Coast
Portugal
Brazil
Korea DPR

Fixtures:

15/06/2010, Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth, Ivory Coast vs Portugal
15/06/2010, Johannesburg - JEP, Brazil vs Korea DPR

20/06/2010, Johannesburg - JSC, Brazil vs Ivory Coast
21/06/2010, Cape Town, Portugal vs Korea DPR

25/06/2010, Durban, Portugal vs Brazil
25/06/2010, Nelspruit, Korea DPR vs Ivory Coast

Korea DPR are no doubt cursing their luck regarding the draw. The mighty Brazilians already in the first match! While Didier Drogba's teammates are probably cursing him for jinxing their draw. But to their luck Portugal aren't the side they used to be, so a win in the first match would give a big boost to their qualifying chances. "Brazilian derby", as Dunga cleverly noted, in the last set of fixtures.

Second team will have the joy of facing European Champions Spain in the next round. Brazil will take on the 2nd team from group H.

Drogba fears the draw

With the World Cup draw only 2 days away, Ivory Coast star-striker Didier Drogba has come out and said that he hopes his side will get a better draw compared to the one they had for Germany 2006.

Of course, as we all remember, Ivory Coast was part of the tournament's "Group of Death" with Argentina, the Netherlands and Serbia & Montenegro.

Drogba said: "I hope we'll be in a better group than in 2006 when we tried to fight but had no chance to go through. Hopefully we will be more lucky this time. We want to avoid the big teams like Brazil, Germany and England"

Will be interesting to see how far the Elephants will manage to go with Chelsea stars Drogba and Kalou leading the team. The squad definitely has talent and on paper look to be one of the better teams. From Africa at least. Think a lot will depend on how manager Bosnian Vahid Halilhodžić manages to mix the talent with tactics. Start under him was rough, but since taking over in May 2008, the team has only lost 1 match. The very first one under Halilhodžić against Japan 1:0. But recent matches have seen a great performance versus three-times World Champions Germany (2:2) and a draw away in Turkey (1:1).

Africa has been talked about as the potential new continent to take the World Cup title and for me Ivory Coast looks the most likely to challenge. As we all remember, when the tournament was first played in Asia, then the host nation South Korea surprised the World with their 4th place.

There will be no doubt a big part being played by Lady Luck, starting with the draw on Friday.

African Cup of Nations 2010 groups drawn

The draw for the African Nations Cup 2010 was made last night in Angola. All of the teams, who made it to South Africa 2010 are involved, except the host themselves.

Group A: Angola, Mali, Algeria, Malawi.

Group B: Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Burkina Faso.

Group C: Egypt, Nigeria, Benin, Mozambique.

Group D: Cameroon, Tunisia, Zambia, Gabon.

Group B looks like the most competitive group with two of African powerhouses, Ivory Coast and Ghana, involved along side Germany 2006 debutant's Togo and an ever improving Burkina Faso. But all groups should be tight and there's no doubt a lot of mouthwatering matches installed.

The tournament will take place 10-31 January.

It's interesting to note that Egypt, who have won this competition a record 6 times (currently two times defending Champions), haven't managed to carry that form over to World Cup qualifying, as they haven't made it to the finals since 1990.