Group C: African Cup of Nations 2010 Preview (Benin, Egypt, Mozambique, Nigeria)

Group C

Benin – Egypt – Mozambique – Nigeria

Benin

Ever since Benin qualified for the Under-20 World Cup back in 2005, the national team has been on a steady upward spiral. Back then The Squirrels were ranked 125th in the world and had only ever qualified for one African Cup of Nations in which they fell at the group stage. Fast forward to 2010 though and Benin now head to Angola for their second consecutive Cup of Nations having narrowly missed out on qualifying for the World Cup. And all that with under 8,000 registered footballers.

Currently, Benin are riding a crest of a wave in terms of national progress in football. A 66-place leap in under 5 years sees the West African country now ranked 59th in the world, an all-time best. And with the aforementioned 2005 U-20 squad grown to full maturity and in many cases starring for the senior team, coach Michel Dussuyer has arguably the most talented squad in Beninese history to choose from.

Group C is a very tricky one to predict and if we were dropping into cliche territory I’d be very tempted to pull out the ‘Group of Death’ card here. Benin found themselves in a similarly difficult group last time around and ended up losing all three games; again this time they face neighbours Nigeria, and champions Egypt and dark horses Mozambique must also be conquered. Key men for Benin are Razak Omotoyossi (FC Metz) and Stephane Sessegnon (Paris-Saint-Germain). According to goalkeeper Yoann Djidonou Omotoyossi does ‘next to nothing in training’ but nevertheless the Nigerian-born striker is electric when playing for the Squirrels and was Africa’s joint third highest scorer in World Cup 2010 qualifying alongside Fredi Kanoute with 8 goals.

Sessegnon too is a wonderful player. Already a star at PSG and one of French Ligue Un’s brightest talents, the playmaker has been linked with several Premier League clubs including Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City and I’m sure he will be heading either to England or Spain before long. Angola offers him another chance to shine on the international stage. Benin may not have quite enough in their squad to qualify, but if Sessegnon and Omotoyossi are on form they will cause teams real problems.

Egypt

Ahh, Egypt. The mighty Egypt. Champions of Africa, there from the start and winners of both the first ever and most recent African Cup of Nations. The Pharaohs have a long and storied history in this competiton having appeared 21 times previously, more than any other nation, and they have qualified for the last 14 consecutive Cup of Nations. This tournament is a dynasty for Egypt. They are the team to beat.

Or at least, they were the team to beat. But all is not well with the Pharaohs right now. Defeat to fierce rivals Algeria in a playoff denied Egypt a trip to Africa’s first World Cup finals prompting anger, foot-stomping and a whole lot of soul-searching. Egyptian football’s ego has taken an almighty bruising over the last few months and coach Hassan Shehata and his squad head to Angola looking desperately to restore pride to the nation. They may have won the last two Cup of Nations in a row, but they almost need to win this one too.

Unfortunately preparation has not gone well. In my opinion the worst piece of news in terms of the competition as a spectacle is that Mohamed Aboutreika (Al-Ahly), Egypt’s own Zinedine Zidane, has been ruled out completely because of injury. This is a devastating blow for Egypt – Aboutreika is the heartbeat of the team, the creative fulcrum through which everything goes and not only that but a real personality and great calming influence within the squad. Players look up to the ‘Smiling Assassin’ and his presence will be badly missed. Not only that, but Amr Zaki one of the 2008 Cup of Nations star players is also out injured. Focus turns to Mohamed Zidan (Borussia Dortmund), Hosni Abd Rabou (Ahli Dubai) and Emad Moteab (Al-Ahly) for guile and goals.

Egypt are the most successful team in African Cup of Nations history with 6 titles to their name. But this time around I just cannot see them overcoming the injuries, the psychological damage from World Cup failure and the pressure to go on and register a third consecutive trophy. Will the Pharaohs prove me wrong?

Mozambique

Football in Mozambique, like the Bible, is split into two distinctive eras – before Portuguese colonial rule and after. Portuguese rule came to an end in 1975. Before it all the top football talents in Mozambique played not for their country of origin but for Portugal, Eusebio being the most famous among them. After Portuguese rule came a bloody civil war that lasted from 1977 to 1992. This decimated resources and infrastructure in M
ozambique and set the country’s national development in terms of football back years.

In the last 20-25 years however, football in Mozambique has grown and the country is now beginning to compete on the international stage. Passion for the sport has always been there, but now the platform for a competitive national team is emerging. The Mambas will participate in their 4th Cup of Nations in Angola, and while qualifying from a troublesome group will be difficult, Mozambique are no pushovers. They were assigned a highly challenging World Cup qualifying group alongside Nigeria and Tunisia, yet remained competitive throughout and did not lose or concede a single goal at home. The Mambas did lose all 3 away games however, so how they cope on the road in Angola will go a long way towards determining their progress.

Key players to look out for are Dominguez, a technically gifted, pacy winger named the best player in the South African Premier League 2 years ago and defenders Simao Junior (Panathinaikos) and Mexer, who has just secured a move to Sporting Lisbon. Mart Nooij’s team is strong and difficult to beat, but there are weaknesses. Mozambique face Benin and a potentially vulnerable Egypt in their first two games before concluding with a match against Nigeria, who they drew with in qualifying in Maputo. How they fare against Benin will be crucial to their progress – a must win game if the Mambas are to qualify you feel.

Nigeria

If the Nigerian national team was a film it would probably be Speed – not the best despite it’s popularity, but a guaranteed emotional rollercoaster ride, full of ups and downs, followed eventually by disappointment. After a meek exit from the 2002 World Cup and failure to qualify for Germany 2006, Nigeria provided enough heart-stopping moments to fill a cardiac arrest ward in their 2010 qualifying campaign before winning 3-2 in Kenya to dramatically sneak a place in South Africa at Tunisia’s expense.

Pressure is now on the Super Eagles to do something about a record that has seen the most populous country in Africa and the 8th most populous nation on Earth qualify for 15 African Cup of Nations and only register 2 tournament victories. Coach Shaibu Amodu has been set a minimum task of getting the team to the semi-finals, but common consensus within Nigeria is that only winning the competition outright will save Amodu from the sack.

Nigeria were mockingly given the derisory nickname the ‘Super Chickens’ (probably by cheeky Ghanaians) after a damp squib of a ACoNs in 2008 saw them narrowly qualify past the group stage before succumbing to neighbours and rivals Ghana in the last eight. The current squad has players of skill and grace - Peter Odemwingie (Lokomotiv Moscow), John Obi Mikel (Chelsea), Kanu (Portsmouth) and Yakubu (Everton) to name but a few, but lacks the togetherness and cohesion that turns decent teams into very good teams. Lapses in concentration cost the Super Eagles all too often.

With a tough start against holders Egypt Nigeria will have to be right at it from the get go in Angola. Otherwise Nigeria’s hugely passionate supporters will be in for yet more heartbreak.

Prediction: Egypt and Nigeria to just about qualify, pushed all the way by Benin.

This way for our Group C roundup.

African Cup of Nations 2010, African Football, Benin, Egypt, Mozambique, Nigeria