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.