African Cup of Nations kicks off

[Babak500]

We have lost a great team for the worldcup. They had a hard group, Ivory Coast (probaly best African team at moment) and Cameroon. Egypt shold be instead of Angola. I hope they do it 2010 in South Africa.

[Arashi_Washi]

LOL At Angola and Togo,,,,

They showed that they dont deserve to be in the world cup at all,,,

Togo is gonna get smashed soo badly in the world cup its not even funny

[Babak500]

I think Ivory Coast kicks Argentine out. They are like Senegal 2002 for me.

[Darvish11]

I think Ivory Coast kicks Argentine out. They are like Senegal 2002 for me.

That would be great because it will increase our chances of making it to the quarterfinals!

[Babak500]

That would be great because it will increase our chances of making it to the quarterfinals!

Maybe, but for my part Holland, Argentina, Ivory Coast AND Serbia are all worldclass teams.

[Arashi_Washi]

You guys underestimate Serbia,

Serbia will be 1 of the teams qualifying from Group D,,belive me,
They are very very strong, probably 1 of the strongest defences in europe

[Babak500]

You guys underestimate Serbia,
Serbia will be 1 of the teams qualifying from Group D,,belive me,
They are very very strong, probably 1 of the strongest defences in europe

Yes. We had this experience 1998.

[Arashi_Washi]

Yes. We had this experience 1998.

Thats was Yugoslavia this is Yugoslavia and Serbia gotten together,even stronger as they were,,

Its s000000000 hot in Australia for me to make long posts But if you just saw the squad of Serbia, its pretty strong,,

[Crooked I]

I want Egypt or Tunisia to win this tournament,I like these 2 teams very much

[ird28]

I hate tunesia (NT) because they are only good because of their brazilians (playmaker and goal-getter)

[Shahin K]

the African teams who will join the WC have been poor to rlly poor so far
Ivory Coast (played an ugly game, with slow football)
Togo(defence was terible, attack was nothing, they lost 2-0 to Congo!)
Angola(the defence is also very weak, midfield is the best they got but still a poor attack, lost 3-1 against the lions that had total control of the match)

next team to play is Tunisia , wich I think will do best..but only because their good friendly games results..then Ghana ,I don't think Ghana will do a good job after losing many friendly matches.

[Pharaoh]

you should see the African forums. We're worried sick about Angola and Togo in paritcular. You guys should be licking your chops right now.

Those two don't even deserve to be in the Nations Cup. And some thought I was joking when I said Africa's World Cup qualifying system was flawed. There are some teams in Africa that didn't qualify for the WC that would beat Togo by a clean 2 or 3 goals.

This is worrisome.

[Crooked I]

Yes Nigeria,Cameroon,Morocco and Egypt for example

[Pharaoh]

Yes Nigeria,Cameroon,Morocco and Egypt for example

yup.

So far (and we have not seen Ghana or Nigeria yet), this is what the big names in the tournament have looked like:

Tunisia - well-balanced, structured side with the management and organization to go very far in this tournament. Roger Lemeirre has built a cohesive unit with no real weaknesses (the only African team I think we can say that about). They have to be the favorites still. They're going to surprise some folks at the World Cup. Of course, it doesn't hurt to have a couple of Brazilians on your team

Cameroon - they look an improved side under Jorge. Eto'o is on fire. Strong defense, strong strikeforce, but a suspect midfield

Egypt - hosts... which is a big advantage. Still an attacking, possession side that can score goals (but also miss easy chances). The strength, by far, is the midfield. The strikers are pretty good too, particularly Mido. The defense is the big question mark; very inconsistant there. We've swtiched back to our conventional 3-5-2 which has definitely helped. We just weren't cutting it in the 4-4-2.

DR Congo - yes, DR Congo! You'd be surpsided how much of an experienced side they are in this tournament. They've been to major international competitions and done decently well (when they were called Zaire). Very athletic, attacking side. They play an attractive 4-3-3.

Ivory Coast - they're never that attractive, but these guys just always know how to score in a flash. And they do it over and over again. They build up VERY quickly from defense to attack. So much so that it makes you think their midfield is weak, as if the buildup skipped the midfield. Their defense is their strength. It's consistant and organized. They'll get even better when striker Aruna Dindane comes back. He flew back to Europe because of the death of his daughter.

Morocco - definitely not the strongest they've been. Their strength is in their attack/strikers. With Hadji, Zairi, and Chamakh, who all play in Europe, the have real talent up front and were unlucky not to at least draw with Ivory Coast.

South Africa - they're just plain over-hyped and they suck. They've been given a free ride to the World Cup for too long and now it's caught up with them.

Guinea - the surprise team along with DR Congo. Most West African teams are pretty powerful. They're no spectacular anywher on the field (strikers, midfield, defense) but they have no weaknesses either. An organized team that's very athletic and plays hard.

Angola and Togo we've already discussed.


In no particular order, these have been the best teams: Tunisia, Cameroon, Egypt... I have a feeling Ghana or Nigeria, or both, will be added to that list tomorrow.

[Shamim]

Big suprise guys guinea beats south Africa 2-0.