CCC in the African Cup of Nations
By: Matt | January 22nd, 2008
As you all know by now, due to the magnificent coverage so far on this site, the African Cup of Nations is in full swing in Ghana.
So far the host nation was saved by a Sulley Muntari thunderbolt in the opener, Morocco hammered Namibia 5-1, and the Ivory Coast ran out 1-0 winners over a less than impressive Nigeria side.
Much has been made of the exodus of African players plying their trade in England, but most of this attention has been focused on Africa heavy EPL squads like Chelsea and Portsmouth. There are, however, a fair amount of players in the lower leagues of old blighty who made the journey to Ghana to wear their nations colors proudly. Here they are:
Nigeria
Sefi Olofinjana, Wolves
The tall midfielder has made 25 starts so far this season for the Molineaux club, and went the distance for the Super Eagles in the 1-0 loss to the Ivory Coast.
Danny Shittu, Watford
The massive defender also went a full 90 in the loss to Ivory Coast, and will be expected to up his performance if the Super Eagles want to escape the group stages.
Morocco
Youssef Safri, Southampton
The ex-Coventry and Norwich midfielder adds depth and European experience to the Atlas Lions lineup, and went 90 minutes in their 5-1 romp over Namibia.
The massive Watford defender also went a full 90 in the loss to Ivory Coast, and will be expected to up his performance if the Super Eagles want to escape the group stages.
In addition to the three players from the CCC, a number of players also can be found on pitches in the lower leagues:
Angola: Rui Marques, Leeds United
Benin: Romauld Boco, Accrington Stanley
Ghana: Junior Agogo, Nottingham Forest
In terms of the play itself I was impressed by Ghana in the opening match, despite the fact that the pitch had longer grass then the Serengeti, the Black Stars were still able to ping the ball around with relative ease and hit the woodwork three times before breaking through.
Morocco also did well to pound minnows Namibia, and it could have been much worse than 5-1.
Egypt has also just finished up a 4-2 rout of tourney favorites Cameroon, which was certainly unexpected.
Personally, I am going with Senegal to sneak a tournament victory, the golden generation that took out France and went to the quarterfinals in the 2002 WC mixing with the new blood just in time to take the cup!
Senegal stuns France in Match 1 of 2002 Copa Mundial
Category: Team News
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