adminIn their absence, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal are the favourites to lift the trophy after the final in the Gabonese capital of Libreville. The 2002 World Cup quarter-finalists Senegal take on co-host Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Senegal and Zambia in group A and will expect a smooth ride into the quarter-finals.
First-timers Equatorial Guinea are the lowest ranked team in the competition (150) and their preparations suffered a serious set-back in December when former French coach Henri Michel resigned. He has since been replaced by Brazilian Gilson Paulo, who had only a week of training with the team before announcing the squad.
The line-up of the tournament was only finalised last week, when the Court of Arbitration for Sport turned down Namibia’s appeal to have Burkina Faso thrown out of the competition over the usage of an improperly registered player.
Having been given the go-ahead to compete, the Stallions face a daunting task in group B of the competition against Cote d’Ivoire, Angola and Sudan.
Burkinabe coach Paulo Duarte surprisingly included 16-year-old Bertrand Traore, who last year still played in the African under-17 championships in Rwanda. The younger brother of Auxerre midfielder Alain, who was also included in Duarte’s final squad of 23, could become the third-youngest player to feature at the finals if he plays.
The only players younger than Traore to have appeared in the finals were Shiva Star Nzigou, who was 16 years two months and 30 days when he played for Gabon in 2000. Mohamed Kallon was less than two weeks older when he played at the 1996 finals for Sierra Leone.
African Footballer of the Year Yaya Toure heads a Cote d’Ivoire squad filled with stars like his brother Kolo, Didier Drogba, Gervinho and Salomon Kalou.
Angola coach Lito Vidigal surprisingly called up uncapped former Germany youth international Nando Rafael, who plays his club football in the Bundesliga for Augsburg, but has not yet received permission to play for Angola.
Football’s world controlling body Fifa confirmed that they had not yet received an application to change nationalities from the striker, whose parents fled from Angola’s civil war as a child.
Ghana’s Black Stars will be competing in group D with a virtually all Europe-based squad, the only exceptions being goalkeepers Ernest Sowah and Daniel Adjei. Their Serbian coach Goran Stevanovic has taken a gamble by including Asamoah Gyan in the 23-man squad as the striker is still in the process of recovering from an injury.
“Gyan is an important player in our squad and he has made good progress. We need him at the tournament,” Stevanovic said.
The West Africans, who were losing finalists two years ago in Angola, take on rookies Botswana, Mali and Guinea in the Franceville-based group.—Supersport
Online Reporter