African Nations Cup: Egypt defends title!

EGYPT 1, CAMEROON 0

If you want a play-by-play recap – visit Greg Lalas’ live-blog over at the New York Times blog “GOAL”. It was a tight one to the very end, but Mohamed Aboutraika found an opening thanks to a scrum in Cameroon’s box to slot one past Kameni and put Cameroon on the backtrack. The biggest surprise of the game was Samuel Eto’o being left alone up front as Egypt effectively closed down the wings and no real game was being created in the middle. Eto’o was kept quiet tactically and Egypt created several chances on the counter-attack. Mohamed Zidan was the unsung hero for the Pharaohs – doing all the work in the box before he was able to poke it Aboutraika who was left open amidst all the confusion. Zidan’s work throughout the game created several chances for Egypt. It was veteran centreback Rigobert Song that helped Zidan create that chance as Song – former Liverpool defender – attempted a clearance not once, but twice!, and failed to get it out. Zidan came rushing in, tangled Song up, and found Aboutraika open on the near flank. Song had an event in the 70th minute that was just as embarassing, but it didn’t lead to much. Either way, the signs were there…and Egypt pounced.

Throughout, Egypt opted for the team approach – no real stars, just concerted, effective play. Mohamed Zidan – their biggest scoring threat – was kept to only 2 goals for the tournament but he created a hell of a lot more. Hosny Abd Rabo, Mohamed Aboutreika, and Amr Zaky all tied for second on the African Nations Cup scoring leaderboard with 4. Ghana took third place with a 4-2 win over the Ivory Coast. One of Steve Goff’s loyal Soccer Insider reader’s was in Cairo for the game viewing and festivities afterward – read his account here.

It is Egypt’s 6th African Nations Cup title and the first to repeat since Cameroon in 2000/2002 (before that, there wasn’t a repeat since Ghana in 1963/1965). With the win, the Pharaohs will fill the CAF slot at the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa along with Italy (2006 World Cup champ), South Africa (HOST), the United States (Gold Cup champ), Iraq (Asian Cup winner), and Brazil (2007 Copa America winner). There are two slot left to be filled – the winner of the 2008 EURO Championship and the 2008 OFC Nations Cup both which will take place soon.

African Nations Cup: The Final is Set! Egypt vs. Cameroon.

And believe it or not, it’s a surprise to many. That’s odd considering it is the defending champions – Egypt – vs. Cameroon, a common participant in the African Cup of Nations final.

Think about the strength and consistency of both Ivory Coast and Ghana this tournament. Ghana had the host nation effect working for it, while Ivory Coast seemed to pick apart each defense it went up against with a blend of established attacking defenders in Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue, a big target man in Didier Drogba, defensive strength in the midfield – Yaya Toure and Dider Zokora, and a creative force in the middle – Salomon Kalou. A 4-1 loss to Egypt is not what people expected…

EGYPT 4, IVORY COAST 1 – ANC Semifinal

The Pharaohs took advantage of a 12th minute strike from Ahmed Fathi to effectively cancel out any momentum the Ivory Coast might have had coming into this game. It looked to anger Drogba and his teammates as they started pouring on the pressure, but Egyptian goalkeeper Essam El Hadari kept the game 1-0 by stopping Drogba on three separate occasions. Egypt then took control after half-time – playing a frustrating perimeter game – which would allow the wing midfielders to crack shots from the outside testing sub goalkeeper Stephan Loboue who came on for injured starting keeper Boubacar Barry before halftime. El Hadari continued to hold Drogba and company at bay, until Egypt – led by Amr Zaki – finally broke through. Zaki put one in off the crossbar after yet another poorly defender corner kick. Lyon’s Kader Keita pulled one back less than a minute later to briefly surprise the Egyptian defense. But Zaki stood tall and this time finished an individual effort off yet another post to give Egypt that 2 goal lead again and in the process frustrate Ivory Coast’s attempts to get back in the game. The game was clinched when Mohamed Zidan – otherwise quiet all game – broke free and found Mohamed Aboutriaka wide open enough to put the ball in the back of the net and put Egypt back in the finals.

ANC: Another former MLS player outshines Junior Agogo to give Cameroon win

Alain Nkong has been journeyman his whole career (a still young one at that, only 28 years old). He was in his native Cameroon for a while, then Portugal, Spain, Portugal again, then Uruguay, and then the Colorado Rapids. While with the Rapids, he played well enough to be kept around for a couple years (5 goals in 33 appearances) but the tall attacking midfielder was finally waived heading into the 2007 season. From there he linked up with Atlante (MEX), where he helped them to the 2007 Apertura Title. And what many people forget is that Nkong is the unsung hero of the Cameroonian national team. He has struck for 9 goals in 21 games before today…

CAMEROON 1, GHANA 0 – ANC SEMIFINAL

The Indomitable Lions didn’t need Samuel Eto’o to pull them through this time as Alain Nkong did his best, striking late in the game (71st minute) after coming in the 62nd to provide Cameroon with their first shot at a African Cup of Nations championship since 2002. In doing so, the former Rapid knocked out a Ghanaian host squad that many thought were locked favorites at least for the final. As I say often, you can’t argue with Essien and Muntari in the middle, but Ghana was lacking a true target man today (yes, even Junior Agogo couldn’t pull off continued heroics). Unfortunately, the Lions – despite the victory – will be missing Reading centreback Andre Bikey after he was sent off in the 90th minute for – and listen to this – pushing over a FIRST-AID ASSISTANT while he/she was attending to his own teammate. He can’t be that dumb – please tell me it was accidental and the ref just jumped the gun????

Now we await the score of Egypt vs. Ivory Coast, which is set to kick off at 3:30 EST.

Can’t watch the game? African Nations Cup Semi-Finals Reading Material

GHANA vs. CAMEROON (Feb 7 2008)

Host nation led by Essien against the ANC’s all-time goal scoring champion Samuel Eto’o and the Indomitable Lions.

FIFA.com’s “fans in a frenzy”

BBC Sport – Home Advantage?

“Goal”/New York Times – In Africa, the Goal is the Thing (Greg Lalas)

Cameroon manager Otto Pfister locked out – ESPN SoccerNet

Goal.com- LeRoy Promises Warrior-Like Performance

A Tale of Two Coaches – ModernGhana.com

SkySports – Interest Grows in hot Agogo

IVORY COAST vs. EGYPT (Feb 7 2008)

Didier Drogba, Solomon Kalou, and Kolo Toure against the defending champions. It is a rematch of the 2006 African Nations Cup final (Egypt won on penalties).

Eurosport – Revenge for Ivory Coast?

Drogba, Eto’o – Why African Dictators Fear Football (Charles Onyango Obbo)

Drogba Saga Just Another Example of CAF Bungling (Johannesburg Business Day)

Final Four Promise Exciting Contests – International Herald Tribune (Greg Lalas)

African Cup of Nations: Agogo strikes again, puts Ghana in the semis

Today’s games: Egypt vs. Angola, Tunisia vs. Cameroon 

Ghana 2, Nigeria 1

Yakubu put the Nigerians up after a harsh Eric Addo tackle at the 35 minute mark. The starpower of Ghana took over after that – starting with Michael Essien’s equalizer at the stroke of half-time. Then in the 60th minute, Ghana’s captain John Mensah gave Nigeria exactly what they needed, a stroke of good fortune. The big Rennes defender was ejected after a last-man foul on Peter Odemwingie. The fortune wasn’t about to last as former MLS player Junior Agogo took over, tapping in a Sulley Muntari effort to push Ghana through to the semis.

Ivory Coast 5, Guinea 0

It was a reality check for the Guineans as Didier Drogba, Kader Keita, and Solomon Kalou took turns knifing through the Guinean defense. All three combined for 4 of the 5 goals. Bakary Kone added the fifth. It was clearly a disappointing end to a decent tournament for the Guineans but ultimately Ivory Coast proved they deserve the finals.

African Nations Cup Quarterfinals Set: Some EPL Clubs Sigh with Relief

A couple big absences in the second round – Morocco, Mali, and Senegal. This means good things for some EPL clubs. Senegal’s Diomansy Kamara is going to be returning to a very different Fulham as his the whole frontline – which he is a part of – has been transformed. Kamara will now face off with Eddie Johnson, David Healy, Clint Dempsey, Shefki Kuqi, Erik Nevland, and Jari Litmanen for the two striker positions. Portsmouth will get their midfield talisman Papa Bouba Diop back, a necessity as Chelsea faces Pompey next.

The biggest winner will be La Liga’s Sevilla as they regain the services of their second most potent striker option in Frederic Kanoute (as Luis Fabiano remains on fire) and also Seydou Keita. Mohamed Sissoko, on the other hand, will report to his new club Juventus.

And yet the African Nation’s Cup trucks on with some great match-ups coming up this weekend. See below…

Sunday, February 3rd

Ghana vs. Nigeria
Ivory Coast vs. Guinea

Monday, February 4th

Egypt vs. Angola
Tunisia vs. Cameroon

African Cup of Nations: Second Round of Games done with Ghana and the Ivory Coast moving on

Today’s Matches (first batch of Round Three match-ups):

Ghana 2, Morocco 0

Starpower took over as both Michael Essien and Sulley Ali Muntari scored to dispatch of Morocco, who will be kicking themselves for the loss to Guinea. Both goals were scored in the first half and booked the host nation in the second round with a perfect 3-0-0 record. In no way was it dominant round-robin performance, but Ghana is certainly a heavy favorite.

Guinea 1, Namibia 1

After their showings against Morocco and Ghana, one would almost expect against Namibia but one point was enough to get the Guineans through. For those seeing Guinea as a complete dark horse, they have made the quarterfinals of the ANC for the third consecutive time. Souleymane Youla scored Guinea’s goal in the 61st minute, while Brian Brendell came back 20 minutes later to tie it up.

FULL STANDINGS

Quick Round Up of Game Twos

GROUP D 

Angola 3, Senegal 1

One word: Manucho. Angola’s striker has made it three in two games and really warranted a big European transfer. There is still a lot of tournament to go, however, and Angola is in no way safe. Their cause was helped by Manucho’s brace…

Tunisia 3, South Africa 1

Pretty embarassing defeat for the Bafana Bafana. Then again, they’re playing with a very young team…and playing against an established striker like Santos of Ligue 1’s Toulouse. The Tunisian scored two of his nation’s three goals and put the North African squad tied at the top with Angola.

GROUP C

Cameroon 5, Zambia 1

Samuel Eto’o equaled the record for most goals scored overall in the African Nation’s Cup, but the Barca striker was overshadowed by his teammates who put on a show for the crowd. Joseph Job scored a brace while Newcastle fullback Geremi found the net as well. Toulouse’s Achille Emana added one as well, putting Cameroon back in the mix for qualification.

Egypt 3, Sudan 0

Mohamed Zidan was dangerous yet again and with the attention he was getting, his teammates found the openings they needed to put one the Pharoahs’ feet into the next round. Mohamed Aboutraika struck for two and Hosni Abd Rabou converted the first of the night (his third of the tournament).

GROUP B

Ivory Coast 4, Benin 1

The only outright quarterfinal qualifier came on the backs of Didier Drogba, Yaya Toure, Kader Keita, and Aruna Dindane. All four scored to put the Ivory Coast through in authoritative fashion. The win puts them as my favorites to win.

Nigeria 0, Mali 0

In a hard-fought deadlock, Nigeria will be wondering why their star-studed strike force is sputtering at the moment. Obafemi Martins and John Utaka haven’t been able to find one goal as of yet and Nigeria sits in third with only 1 point out of two games. Mali sits in second with 4 and looks the favorite to go through as Benin is their last opponent.

GROUP A

See earlier post…

African Cup of Nations: THE Junior Agogo wins one for Ghana

Today’s Games: Nigeria vs. Mali, Ivory Coast vs. Benin

Ghana 1, Namibia 0

It was a hard fought game for the Ghanaians, but they were rescued from disappointment by former Colorado and San Jose striker Junior Agogo. Agogo is now plying his trade with League One side Nottingham Forest after capitalizing on a decent couple seasons with League Two side (and recent Fulham destroyer) Bristol Rovers. More importantly, Agogo saved fellow teammate Asamoah Gyan from a very disappointing night after Gyan missed a wide open chance to put the Ghanaians in front. Agogo did it with class, backheeling a Sulley Muntari free kick into the side netting and demoralizing the tough Namibian defense.

Guinea 3, Morocco 2

The Guineans continue to surprise the hell out of every pundit, coach, and player at the tournament. What many don’t understand is that their underdog status is a bit questionable with the likes of Ismael Bangoura (Dynamo Kiev), Pascal Feinduono (Saint Etienne), Souleymane Youla (Lille), and Bobo Balde (Celtic – soon to be somewhere else) on their squad. Feinduono started the show with a left footed blast in the 11th minute putting Morocco on the back pedal. That result stuck until 10 minutes after the break when Guinea’s other star Bangoura knocked one home, leaving the Moroccans at a crossroads. Morocco fought back, however, less than 60 seconds later – making it 2-1, but Feinduono countered the goal with one of his own, 3-1 Guinea. Then, the Saint Etienne star made the biggest mistake of the young tournament – lashing out at Elamin Erbate with a kick and getting a straight red. It will be interesting to see what Guinea can do against Ghana without him, but my guess is that it’ll be an uphill climb.

Standings

A Lot Going on in 2008: International Competitions

Save the World Cup, you couldn’t ask for a more action-packed year in waiting.

1. African Nations Cup (January 20-February 10) – As many European clubs try and hold on to their African stars for as long as possible, 16 teams will focus on Ghana, the host, and their chance at a place in the 2009 Confederations Cup. A couple favorites exist in Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Egypt (2006 Champions), and Ghana, but the real problem is due to the influx of African talent to European teams, how will these Euro powerhouses deal without potentially three or four of their best players? Here’s a quick breakdown as not only Euro teams are affected…

Etoile Sahel (Tunisia) – could lose up to 10 players
Chelsea (ENG) – Michael Essien (Ghana), Salomon Kalou, Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast), Jon Obi Mikel (Nigeria)
Marseille (FRA) – Andre Ayew (Ghana), Mamadou Niang (Senegal), Modeste M’Bami (Cameroon), Taye Tiawo (Nigeria)
Sevilla (ESP) – Frederic Kanoute, Seydou Keita (Mali), Arouna Kone (Ivory Coast)
Portsmouth (ENG) – Sulley Muntari (Ghana), Papa Bouba Diop (Senegal), Nwankwo Kanu, John Utaka (Nigeria)
Sochaux (FRA) – Omar Daf, Boukhary Drame, Badera Sene, Guirane N’Daw (Senegal), Rabili Afolabi (Nigeria)
Arsenal (ENG) – Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Eboue (Ivory Coast), Alexandre Song (Cameroon)
Lille (FRA) – Tony Sylva (Senegal), Jean Makoun (Cameroon), Souleymane Youla, Larsen Toure (Guinea), Adil Rami (Morocco)
Everton (ENG) – Steven Pienaar (South Africa), Joseph Yobo, Yakubu (Nigeria)
Barcelona (ESP) – Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon), Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast)
Newcastle (ENG) – Obafemi Martins (Newcastle), Amdy Faye, Habib Beye (Senegal), Geremi (Cameroon)

That’s a lot of talent missing – at least we know that the MLS isn’t the only league that goes through this sort of talent drain. You will see many clubs make transfer moves based on who they are losing for the whole month. Held every two years, 2008’s version pits newcomers Benin and Namibia (only 2 appearances) versus stalwarts Ghana (4 titles), Egypt (5 titles), and Cameroon (4 titles).

2. World Cup Qualifiers (ALL YEAR) – The first CONCACAF Prelim matches start on February 6, 2008 but the USA won’t play their first match until June of 2008. South America has gotten under way with the first 4 matches played and the rest not slated to be contested until the summer as well. Paraguay along with Colombia, Argentina, and Brazil have come out in form. Oceania is already well into Phase Two of their qualifying with New Zealand in firm control of the chance at that half a spot that the OFC gets. If New Zealand wins, they will play an Asian team to get through. If you are wondering where Australia is, let’s remember that due to competitive reasons they have moved on over to the Asian qualifying zone. Speaking of Asia, through to the last round of three stages – the AFC’s qualifying campaign will begin in early February. Africa also has all their groups set and ready to go at the end of May with 5 spots to be contested for.

3. Men’s and Women’s Olympic Tournament in China (August 6-August 23) – Argentina and Carlos Tevez hoisted the trophy at the Athens 2004 Games, while Iraq stole the spotlight making it to the bronze medal game before bowing out to Italy, 1-0. The 2008 Games will feature 16 teams that go through varying degrees of qualifying (CONCACAF has yet to play theirs). Argentina, Brazil, Holland, Italy, and Australia are just some of the few who have already qualified. There are three spots left and two of those belong to the CONCACAF region, whose qualifiers will be borne out of a Championship Tournament held in the USA from March 11-20, 2008. The Americans have drawn Panama, Cuba, and Honduras. As it stands, the Olympic roster must consist of players born AFTER January 1, 1985 with the exception of three senior players who can be of any age. For a look at who you should expect to see on the 18-person roster come August, here is who Nowak has recently called up. On the Women’s side, the USA have a tough track record to follow as they have won 2 out of the 3 Olympic tournaments. Their qualifying campaign has yet begin, but it is rapidly approaching as they prepare for the Final Round in Mexico this April. The tourney will feature 12 teams with 6 of the slots already taken.

4. EURO 2008 (June 7-June 29) – Held in Austria and Switzerland, we all know there is one very noticeable absence. England. The draw was made recently with one group standing out – Netherlands, Italy, France, and Romania. The others aren’t much easier, but for many, Romania is the dark horse drawing the most parallels to a Greek squad that won four years ago (well maybe not). There will be four venues in Austria (Vienna, Salzburg, Klagenfurt, and Innsbruck) and four in Switzerland (Bern, Zurich, Basel, Geneva). Both host squads, however, are looked at as pushovers. Throughout qualifiers, it was Croatian and Arsenal striker Eduardo da Silva that led the scoring charts for those qualfied, but da Silva finds himself in a group full of scorers. Both runner-up and third place on the score charts are in his group, Lukas Podolski of Germany and Ebi Smolarek of Poland. If you can’t get over to Central Europe for this one, no worries as it will be broadcast fully on ESPN in the States. There will be a full break-down of this as we get closer…

5. FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup (October 28-November 16) and FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup (November 19-December 7) – For the U-17s, it is the inaugural competition and a breaktrough in women’s soccer. It will be held in New Zealand, while the U-20 tournament has been in existence since 2002 and this year, it will be held in Chile. The U-17 tourney will host 16 teams with qualifying still in the running. The U-20s qualifying is in full motion as well, all vying for the 8 spots left. Last time out, Korea DPR overcame China in the final. The US U-2os will look to improve upon their 4th place finish and repeat their performance from Canada 2002 where they took home the gold.

As you can see, there’s almost too much to look forward to…but that is the world of soccer for us. This is just on the international level…and it’s enough to keep any soccer blogger busy and/or fired from his day job. What are you looking forward to the most? Any figures in soccer world that we should be watching out for in 2008?