Football News

African Nations draw

African Nations draw


African Nations draw

Hosts Ghana fared better than holders Egypt when the 2008 African Nations Cup draw was made here Friday. Ghana are in Group A with poor travellers Morocco, unpredictable Guinea and minnows Namibia and a team powered by midfielders Michael Essien and Stephen Appiah look set for a top-two finish and a quarter-finals slot.

Egypt, winners of the biennial competition a record five times, are in Group C with mighty Cameroon, revitalised Zambia and dark horses Sudan, back at the Nations Cup after a 32-year absence.

Every major football tournament delivers a group of death and in Ghana it will be Group B where giants Nigeria and Ivory Coast will not relish tackling fellow west Africans Mali and Benin.

Intrigue envelopes Group D with nothing to choose between former champions Tunisia and South Africa, one-time runners-up Senegal and shock 2006 World Cup qualifiers Angola.

The tournament kicks off on January 20 with a clash between Ghana and Guinea in Accra that will offer the hosts and four-time African champions a realistic chance to make a winning start.