This year’s Africa Cup of Nations (ACN) promises to be one of the most open competitions for many years. With some of the continent’s biggest football forces absent from the 2012 tournament, we may witness a surprise victor.
However, as with every football, competition there has to be a favourite and this year is no exception with many of the major betting agencies tipping the Ivory Coast as the team to beat in Gabon-Equatorial Guinea, the hosts of the 2012 ACN.
Many football fans also believe Ghana has a great opportunity to win their first Africa Nations Cup since 1982. With the likes of the tournaments seven time champions and current holders of the trophy, Egypt, not involved in this year’s competition, along with the 2010 World Cup hosts South Africa, Cameroon and Nigeria, the field is definitely open for a first time winner. The lack of reputable football nations could provide Ghana’s Black Stars with the perfect opportunity to go one-step further than in 2010 by being crowned the tournament champions in 2012. It also creates a platform for smaller nations to make a name for themselves.
Ghana’s biggest national football star, Michel Essien, who will miss this year’s competition through injury, is backing the Black Stars to come out on top in Gabon-Equatorial Guinea. There is a strong possibility of witnessing an enthralling final between Ghana and the Ivory Coast (if both the respective teams play to their full potential), though there is undoubtedly great pressure and expectation on the shoulders of the Black Star’s Serbian coach, GoranStevanovic. Stevanovic believes, however, that he has the right combination of experience and youth in his squad to satisfy the hopes of the Ghanaian people.
Despite the fact that Michel Essien will not be around to contribute to the ventures of the Black Stars in this year’s Africa Cup of Nations, the side has enough big names to give themselves every opportunity of winning. Many of these players will be remembered for their heroic efforts in the 2010 World Cup, which saw Ghana cruelly knocked out of the tournament, by Uruguay at the quarter final stage. One of the tournament’s players to watch will be the BBC’s African Player of the Year for 2011, Ghana’s very own Andre Ayew. The Marseille winger scored eleven times for his country last season and he will surely continue to add to his national goal tally over the coming weeks.
Ayew will also have to try to shine in a competition, which will display many other big football names particularly within the star-studded line-up of the Ivory Coast, which has seven English based players available including, Chelsea’s Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou and Manchester City’s Yaya and KoloToure. The Ivory Coast team also had an impressive qualifying campaign, which saw them win every single match. This is one reason why many football anoraks have them slightly ahead of Ghana as favourites to win this year. Even though Ghana went through the qualifying process undefeated, they were held to a draw on both occasions by Sudan, a team they could possibly face in the quarter-finals.
Besides these two favourites to claim the 2012 title, there are also a handful of nations on the periphery that have the potential formula to win this year’s competition. They include Senegal and Mali. It will not be a complete surprise if Senegal turn out to be tough opposition this year, particularly when one considers the Senegalese strike force of Demba Ba and Musa Sow Both. Both these players currently stand as the top goal scorers in the English and French premier leagues so far this season. This partnership is likely to leave its mark on this year’s ACN as it will surely cause defences many problems.
Mali feature in Ghana’s group stage and they will prove to be tough opponents. Another challenge in the early stages for the Black Stars will be the tournament’s newcomers, Botswana. This will be the Zebra’s first African Cup of Nations and they will undoubtedly want to make it memorable by causing an upset or two against the tournament’s heavyweights.
There will be upsets and shock results without question but each team in this tournament claim to be in Gabon-Equatorial Guinea to win. They have all proved their weight and worthiness of being part of this year’s competition by qualifying in a tough qualification process. Nevertheless, one should focus its attention on the West African countries, as it is likely that the winner of the 2012 African Cup of Nations will come from this area of the continent. Could this be the year for Ghana?
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