Six years ago, I watched out of my youthful eyes as the buildup for the World Cup was upon us. ESPN launched an advertising campaign to attract new fans. One such ad captivated my attention and imagination and catapulted my sports fandom into the beautiful world of soccer.
The ad featured the Cote d'Ivoire national team and how qualification for their first world cup set off a lengthy period of peace in an internally torn country.
From that moment on, I became an avid Elephants supporter as well as a fan, student, and dreamer of the beautiful game. I don't just mean I liked some of their players or thought they had cool jerseys. I mean I bled orange and green, I cried and cheered with the people of a nation on a continent that I had never visited. And so the ACN is very special to me. It brings together some of my favorite styles of football on the planet and gives my elephants a chance to reclaim the glory of 1992 when they won the tournament. So without further ado, let's take a look at this year's cup.
Predictions
Group A
1. Senegal
2. Zambia
3. Equatorial Guinea
4. Libya
Zambia impressed in qualifiers but at the end of the day, this group belongs to Senegal. The West African nation has long been overshadowed on the football pitch by the likes of Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana but this might be their strongest roster yet led by talisman Demba Ba and his recently added Newcastle team mate Papiss Cissé. Libya is constantly on the rise but for the sake of the hopeless romantic, I'll venture to put the co-hosts, ranked 151st in the world in third.
Group B
1. Cote d'Ivoire
2. Angola
3. Burkina Faso
4. Sudan
A pretty interesting group involving local rivals Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso, a team that has gotten infinitely better since the Portuguese coach Paolo Duarte took over in 2008. The Sudanese were the folks that Cote d'Ivoire beat to qualify for the 2006 world cup, while the Angolans are desperate to return as one of Africa's greats. Really no weak links in this group.
Group C
1. Gabon
2. Tunisia
3 Morocco
4. Niger
Niger has qualified for its first ever ACN, a feat that will remain impressive despite what should end up being a poor display for the Mena. Gabon might be ranked 91st in the FIFA rankings but their strong performance in 2010's cup leads me to believe that these lads can win this group. It will be up to the two North African sides in the group to battle it out for third, a fight that should ultimately yield Tunisia as victors.
Group D
1. Ghana
2. Mali
3. Guinea
4. Botswana
Ghana became the darling of the 2010 World Cup for those who constantly root for Africa like me until it all ended with Asomoah Gyan's epic penalty shot miss in the waning minutes. This is the Black Stars first major competition since, so their star-studded squad will be looking for vengeance. It could be a very good fight for second, but ultimately, behind Barcelona star Seydou Keita, Mali should be able to move on. As for Botswana? Don't count them out completely. Despite making their first appearance in the cup, the Zebras won their qualification group behind some incredible results. Among them, they went to Tunisia and won, as well as beating the long powerful Togo at home. They don't have much international experience with all of their players competing for Botswanan or South African clubs. But if they can come close to replicating their games in qualifying. They just may have a chance.
Champions?
Should be a fun tournament. What do you guys think? No matter what, let's hope for safe events and great football!
Vive l'Afrique
-twil
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