ivory coast

While the snowy weather will see many matches postponed in England throughout January, there should be no such problems in Angola, where the 27th African Cup of Nations will take place. While many Premier League managers would describe this tournament as nothing more than an inconvenience, there’s no denying that this is a vibrant competition featuring many of the world’s best footballers. It’s also an opportunity to check out several of the teams who will be lining up at the 2010 World Cup, although here are a few pointers when it comes to placing your bets on the ANC.

1)    The host nation tends to do well

Home advantage shouldn’t be underestimated in Angola, especially when you consider that every host nation has qualified for the knockout stages since 1992. Furthermore, since the biennial competition began in 1957, there have only been four occasions when the team playing on home soil hasn’t reached the semi-finals. Benfica’s Pedro Mantorras is a classy striker who can certainly help them on their way out of Group A, while former Manchester United forward Manucho should also be a force to be reckoned with. While we shouldn’t place too much pressure on a team that’s just emerged from a civil war, it’s worth noting that Tunisia (2004) and Egypt (2006) both won the competition recently as hosts.

2)    Egypt have won the last two renewals

While Egypt winning the tournament on home soil in 2006 was a great achievement, it was even more impressive when they successfully defended their crown two years later. While the Pharaohs controversially missed out on a World Cup place after losing in a play-off to Algeria, it might make them all the more determined to win this tournament and complete a hat-trick. Although Mido and Amr Zaki will not be featuring for the Egyptians this time around, the team have a quality striker in Mohamed Zidan, while former Spurs midfielder Hossam Ghaly will bring plenty of experience.

3)    There should be plenty of goals scored

While many people associate the ANC as a competition featuring low-scoring matches, this trend was bucked in 2008 and there’s every reason to suggest that the goals will be flying in this time around. Of the 32 matches played two years ago, 19 featured three goals or more, with five of the six Ivory Coast games involving Over 2.5 Goals. While Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou offer plenty in attack, the Cote D’Ivoire are also vulnerable at the back.

The Ivory Coast are currently favourites (5/2 Stan James) to win the 2010 African Cup of Nations, although the market leaders will have to cope with high expectations and their last triumph came along in 1992. Two victories and one runner-up place in the past five tournaments suggest that Cameroon (11/2 Sporting Bet) might be a better bet at twice the odds, especially with the excellent Samuel Eto’o leading the line.

The African Cup of Nations is often rife with controversy because of the timing of the tournament. The loss of top African players does have a major impact at clubs around Europe in the month of January, but the African Cup of Nations kicks off on January 10th, awash with a wealth of top talent. Group B is arguably the most interesting, as it contains Didier Drogba’s Ivory Coast, and Michael Essien’s Ghana. Both nations are tipped to provide a lot of strength at power at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, and following this tournament will give a good impression of what the rest of the world can expect.

England will have some vested interest in the tournament, as World Cup 2010 group opponents Algeria are contesting. Egypt are also involved, and England will be playing a friendly match against them at Wembley on March 3rd. But it is the big names which will grab all of the highlights, with the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Egypt and Cameroon looking amongst the strongest contenders to lift the trophy. If, for example, the Ivory Coast make it the final, then Chelsea will be without strikers Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou for pretty much the entire month of January. With other players from the Premier League such as Emaneul Adebayor, Song, Eboue, Yakuba and Toure, there is plenty of well known names to watch out for.

The tournament is being held in Angola, and all of the teams are there, ready to go. As hosts, Angola open the African Cup of Nations on January 10th, with a match against Mali. The 16 teams will be looking to make a final appearance on January 31st. January 15th could be the big day to watch out for in the group stages of the African Cup of Nations, as that is when the two power houses of the Ivory Coast and Ghana go head to head. There will no doubt be some interest in the possibility of another Egypt v Algeria clash, which was so hotly contested in World Cup Qualification. The two teams had to go to a play-off after finishing their group with identical records. Algeria, amidst scenes of crowd troubles, won the day, making it to the World Cup.

Egypt will look to do better in the quest for the African Cup of Nations trophy, which looks not too unlike the World Cup. Held every two years, the tournament has grown in stature on the world stage, and it is the Egyptians who are the current holders, after beating Cameroon 1-0 in the 2008 Final. The football played is often attack minded and open, and because of the rivalries from the continent, are very passionate. The current holders open their account against Nigeria on the 12th. The top two from each of the four groups, progress into the quarter final stage.

GROUP A: Angola, Mali, Malawi, Algeria
GROUP B: Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo
GROUP C: Egypt, Nigeria, Mozambique, Benin
GROUP D: Cameroon, Gabon, Zambia, Tunisia

African Cup of Nations Betting

Outright Winner:
Ivory Coast – 5/2 at Stan James
Ghana – 5/1 at Bet365
Cameroon – 11/2 at BetFred
Egypt – 9/1 at Paddy Power
Nigeria – 10/1 at Stan James

Top Goalscorer
Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast) – 9/2 at Paddy Power
Samuel Eto (Cameroon) – 5/1 at Blue Square
Matthew Amoah (Ghana) – 12/1 at 888Sport
Frederic Kanoute (Mali) – 14/1 at Blue Square
Emauel Adebayo (Togo) – 14/1 at 888Sport

Betting Advice: Make no mistakes, the Ivory Coast are a strong side, and should cause problems at the World Cup, despite being lumped in the Group of Death along with Brazil and Portugal. But as strong and as powerful as the Ivory Coast are, the same can be said of Ghana. They are a fluent, fast moving and free scoring team, with players from all over Europe. They may not have the big names stars much beyond Michael Essien, but they are a force to be reckoned with, both in the African Cup of Nations and the World Cup 2010. Their star striker Matthew Amoah is worth a good bet, even each way on finishing as top scorer.

We now know the 32 teams who will contest the 19th renewal of the World Cup next summer in South Africa. France’s progress to the finals was heavily controversial, although Stan James offer a best price 16/1 that Raymond Domenech’s team repeat their success of 1998. The big surprise on Wednesday evening was the exit of Russia, although the bookmakers don’t rate Slovenia’s chances in their first ever tournament. Coral make them 400/1 outsiders, although they are there on merit after finishing second in a tough qualifying group.

Portugal managed to ease through against Bosnia despite missing Cristiano Ronaldo, although they are sure to have officially the world’s best player back for the finals. Sporting Bet offer 18/1 that Carlos Queiroz steers the team to glory, although they continue to lack a cutting edge up front. Meanwhile, the dream is still alive for Euro 2004 winners Greece, who landed a 1-0 win in Ukraine to go through this week. Otto Rehhagel’s tactics worked a treat in Kiev, although the bookies are less convinced that they’ll make an impact in South Africa. Victor Chandler offer 150/1 that they are triumphant.

Some people are suggesting that the 2010 World Cup winner is going to come from a select group of two. Spain proved during Euro 2008 that they are an outstanding team and Ladbrokes make them slight favourites at 4/1 to prove that they’re the best nation on the planet. Manager Vicente del Bosque is blessed with some technically brilliant players and it’s hard to pick holes in them at the moment. Similarly, Brazil have an excellent World Cup pedigree and Paddy Power are lifting their heads above the parapet by offering 5/1. The South Americans have featured in three of the last four finals and qualified easily. Perhaps backing both of these teams will prove to be a profitable excursion.

In recent months, one of the big market movers have been the Ivory Coast, with William Hill going as short as 20/1 that they become the first African nation to win the tournament. They very nearly beat Germany in a friendly recently and have arguably the world’s best striker in Didier Drogba. The Elephants will have plenty of competitive match action in the African Nations cup and are the continent’s best chance of success. While the hosts will obviously have home advantage, they looked to be a mediocre team during the Confederations Cup and Coral are prepared to lay them at 200/1.

One of the teams that has drifted the most is Argentina and the rumour on the grapevine is that the bookmakers are out to get Diego Maradona’s team next summer. Bet Fred offer a standout 10/1 about the Albicelestes, although they were slightly fortunate to qualify and having Lionel Messi in the team does not equal success. However, firms are reporting a brisk trade on the Netherlands and England to win next summer’s competition. The Dutch blew the opposition away in qualifying and have been cut to 14/1 (bet365), while England are 13/2 (Coral), with Fabio Capello fielding a weakened team against Brazil recently. It might be worth taking this price now as there will be a flood of patriotic money coming for the Three Lions by the time next summer comes around!