SOUTH AFRICA: FOOTBALL / SOCCER - Ivory Coast handed double threat in Nations Cup draw

Record ID: 342924

  • Title: SOUTH AFRICA: FOOTBALL / SOCCER - Ivory Coast handed double threat in Nations Cup draw
  • Date: 25th October 2012
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF MUSICAL ENTERTAINMENT ZOOM OUT OF SCULPTURE
  • Embargoed: 9th November 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: South Africa
  • Country: South Africa
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVABKPGFHZ3HJWVO6R6TUUM0L8AN
  • Story Text: Ivory Coast's mantle as favourites for next year's African Nations Cup was placed under early threat when they were drawn with two former winners in their opening round group.
    The Ivorians, whose golden generation missed out on 2012 success when they lost to Zambia in a penalty shootout, will meet Algeria and Tunisia in Group D of the 16-team tournament next Jan.19-Feb.10.
    Zambia were also handed a nasty surprise when they were paired with Nigeria, the team universally regarded as the one to avoid by coaches present at Wednesday's draw in Durban.
    Hosts South Africa have a potentially tricky start in the opening match against the Cape Verde Islands, the only first time participants at the continental championship.
    The match at Soccer City in Johannesburg kicks off the tournament.
    Cape Verde, with a population of just over 500,000, shocked Cameroon in the qualifiers earlier this month.
    South Africa also meet Morocco, whose potential is widely acknowledged but who crashed out early at the last finals and have recently changed their coach. Angola are the fourth team in Group A.
    The Bafana Bafana coach Gordon Igesund said:
    "There is a lot of work to be done. I still have got to finalise the squad and once we do that I'll have three months to prepare the team. Being a new coach and new players coming in, we're playing a whole a new system, a whole new style of football but come the (January) 19th we will be ready."
    Zambia, despite having to play the Nigerians, will still be confident of progress to the quarter-finals ahead of Group C's other two sides Burkina Faso and Ethiopia, who return to the finals after an absence of three decades.
    "My hope was to be part of the tournament, that means we are very happy to be in South Africa...and I'm sure we can have a very good tournament," said Zambia coach Hevre Renard.
    "You need to be a bit lucky and to be very consistent to be strong and at the end you will have won something, if you are not strong you can't win anything."
    The Ivorians start with a match against Togo but then play the two dangerous north African sides in Group D, to be based in Port Elizabeth.
    Algeria knocked out their team at the 2010 finals when the Ivorians were also regarded as favourites.
    Ghana were drawn as top seeds in Group B and meet Mali, Niger and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
    Ghana beat Mali in the group phase at the last finals but then lost to them in the third place playoff.
    The Nations Cup is being held 12 months after the last tournament as the Confederation of African Football has switched the hosting of the bi-annual tournament from every even to every odd year.
    The chairman of the tournament's organising committee, Adv. Chief Mwelo Nonkonyana, said:
    "We feel that in the true spirit of being an African let us have an African Cup of Nations where we're going celebrate," he said. "Judging by the outcome of the elimination (qualifiers) we have giants of Africa that are actually coming here."
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