Africa Cup 2008

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Africa Cup 2008
MTN Africa Cup of Nations 2008
Ghana 2008 logo.gif
Number of nations 16  (of 48 applicants)
African champions EgyptEgypt Egypt (6th title)
venue GhanaGhana Ghana
Opening game January 20, 2008
Endgame February 10, 2008
Games 32
Gates 99  (⌀: 3.09 per game)
spectator 634,000  (⌀: 19,813 per game)
Top scorer CameroonCameroon Samuel Eto'o (5 goals)
Best player EgyptEgypt Hosni Abd-Rabou
Yellow card yellow cards 102  (⌀: 3.19 per game)
Yellow-red card Yellow-red cards 0
Red card Red cards (⌀: 0.09 per game)
Senegalese fans during the group game of Tunisia against Senegal in Tamale
Ghana versus Namibia in Accra

The Africa Cup 2008 ( English African Cup of Nations , French Coupe d'Afrique des Nations ) was the 26th edition of the African continental football championship and took place from January 20 to February 10 for the fourth time after 1963 , 1978 and 2000 (together with Nigeria) in Ghana . On June 8, 2004, the 13-member Executive Committee of the CAF announced at a press conference in the Egyptian capital Cairo that the Africa Cup 2008 would be awarded to Ghana. In the vote, the West African country prevailed with 9: 3 votes against the competitor from Libya .

As before, there was a qualification to reduce the field of participants from 47 applicants to the sixteen finalists. 46 national teams took part in the 132 qualifying matches, in which 15 places were awarded in the finals, with hosts Ghana automatically qualifying. For the first time with Egypt the defending champion had to compete in the qualification. Ultimately, the following teams qualified: Egypt , Angola , Benin , Ivory Coast , Ghanaian national soccer team , Guinea , Cameroon , Malian national soccer team , Morocco , Namibia , Nigeria , Zambia , Senegal , South Africa , Sudan , Tunisia .

see main article: Africa Cup 2008 / qualification

The game was played with four groups of four teams each. In the event of a tie between two teams, the table position and progression were decided in the following order: the goal difference and the higher number of goals scored from all group matches, the direct encounters between the teams concerned (higher number of points, goal difference, goals scored), and finally the fair play list (which results from the lower number of yellow and red cards) or the lot. The two best teams in each group then played the tournament winner from the quarter-finals in the knockout system as usual . If the games in the final round were tied after the regular playing time of 90 minutes, there was an extension of 15 minutes twice and possibly (if there is still no winner) a penalty shoot-out .

Egypt defended their 2006 title and became African champions in football for the sixth time. Egypt thus qualified for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa.

Venues

Kumasi
Africa Cup 2008 (Ghana)
Accra
Accra
Kumasi
Kumasi
Tamale
Tamale
Sekondi-Takoradi
Sekondi-Takoradi
2008 venues in Ghana
Tamale
Baba Yara Stadium Tamale Stadium
Capacity: 40,500 Capacity: 21,000
Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi.jpg Stadium tamale2.jpg
Sekondi-Takoradi Accra
Sekondi Takoradi Stadium Ohene Djan Stadium
Capacity: 20,000 Capacity: 40,000
Sekondi-Takoradi Stadium 2008.jpg Ohene Djan stadium, Accra.jpg

Squad

Main article: 2008 Africa Cup of Nations squad

referee

A total of 16 referees were nominated for the tournament.

Group stage

The group drawing took place on October 19, 2007 in Accra . With the exception of the opening in Group A and the last day of the match, the group games were held as part of double events.

Group A

Pl. country Sp. S. U N Gates Diff. Points
 1. GhanaGhana Ghana  3  3  0  0 005: 100  +4 09
 2. Guinea-aGuinea Guinea  3  1  1  1 005: 500  ± 0 04th
 3. MoroccoMorocco Morocco  3  1  0  2 007: 600  +1 03
 4th NamibiaNamibia Namibia  3  0  1  2 002: 700  −5 01
January 20 at 6:00 p.m. in Accra
Ghana - Guinea 2: 1 (0: 0)
January 21 at 4:00 p.m. in Accra
Namibia - Morocco 1: 5 (1: 4)
January 24th at 6:00 p.m. in Accra
Guinea - Morocco 3: 2 (1: 0)
January 24th at 8:30 p.m. in Accra
Ghana - Namibia 1: 0 (1: 0)
January 28 at 6:00 p.m. in Accra
Ghana - Morocco 2: 0 (2: 0)
January 28 at 6:00 p.m. in Sekondi-Takoradi
Guinea - Namibia 1: 1 (0: 0)

Group B

Pl. country Sp. S. U N Gates Diff. Points
 1. Ivory CoastIvory Coast Ivory Coast  3  3  0  0 008: 100  +7 09
 2. NigeriaNigeria Nigeria  3  1  1  1 002: 100  +1 04th
 3. MaliMali Mali  3  1  1  1 001: 300  −2 04th
 4th BeninBenin Benin  3  0  0  3 001: 700  −6 00
January 21 at 6:00 p.m. in Sekondi-Takoradi
Nigeria - Ivory Coast 0: 1 (0: 0)
January 21 at 8:30 p.m. in Sekondi-Takoradi
Mali - Benin 1: 0 (0: 0)
January 25 at 6:00 p.m. in Sekondi-Takoradi
Ivory Coast - Benin 4: 1 (2: 0)
January 25th at 8:30 p.m. in Sekondi-Takoradi
Nigeria - Mali 0-0
January 29th at 6:00 p.m. in Sekondi-Takoradi
Nigeria - Benin 2: 0 (0: 0)
January 29th at 6:00 p.m. in Accra
Ivory Coast - Mali 3: 0 (1: 0)

Group C

Pl. country Sp. S. U N Gates Diff. Points
 1. EgyptEgypt Egypt  3  2  1  0 008: 300  +5 07th
 2. CameroonCameroon Cameroon  3  2  0  1 010: 500  +5 06th
 3. ZambiaZambia Zambia  3  1  1  1 005: 600  −1 04th
 4th SudanSudan Sudan  3  0  0  3 000: 900  −9 00
January 22nd at 6:00 p.m. in Kumasi
Egypt - Cameroon 4: 2 (3: 0)
January 22nd at 8:30 p.m. in Kumasi
Sudan - Zambia 0: 3 (0: 1)
January 26 at 6:00 p.m. in Kumasi
Cameroon - Zambia 5: 1 (3: 0)
January 26th at 8:30 p.m. in Kumasi
Egypt - Sudan 3: 0 (1: 0)
January 30th at 6:00 p.m. in Kumasi
Egypt - Zambia 1: 1 (1: 0)
January 30th at 6:00 p.m. in Tamale
Cameroon - Sudan 3: 0 (2: 0)

Group D

Pl. country Sp. S. U N Gates Diff. Points
 1. TunisiaTunisia Tunisia  3  1  2  0 005: 300  +2 05
 2. AngolaAngola Angola  3  1  2  0 004: 200  +2 05
 3. SenegalSenegal Senegal  3  0  2  1 004: 600  −2 02
 4th South AfricaSouth Africa South Africa  3  0  2  1 003: 500  −2 02
January 23 at 6:00 p.m. in Tamale
Tunisia - Senegal 2: 2 (1: 1)
January 23 at 8:30 p.m. in Tamale
South Africa - Angola 1: 1 (0: 1)
January 27 at 6:00 p.m. in Tamale
Senegal - Angola 1: 3 (1: 0)
January 27th at 8:30 p.m. in Tamale
Tunisia - South Africa 3: 1 (3: 0)
January 31 at 6:00 p.m. in Tamale
Tunisia - Angola 0-0
January 31 at 6:00 p.m. in Kumasi
Senegal - South Africa 1: 1 (1: 1)

Final round

In the quarter and semi-finals, in the game for third place and in the final, the knockout system is used . If the games in the final round are tied after the regular playing time of 90 minutes, there will be two extra times of 15 minutes and, if there is still no winner after the end of extra time, there will be a penalty shoot-out .

Quarter finals Semifinals final
                   
February 3, 6:00 p.m. in Accra        
 GhanaGhana Ghana  2
February 7, 6:00 p.m. in Accra
 NigeriaNigeria Nigeria  1  
 GhanaGhana Ghana  0
February 4th, 9:30 p.m. in Tamale
   CameroonCameroon Cameroon  1  
 TunisiaTunisia Tunisia  2
February 10, 6:00 p.m. in Accra
 CameroonCameroon Cameroon  3  
 CameroonCameroon Cameroon  0
February 3, 9:30 p.m. in Sekondi
   EgyptEgypt Egypt  1
 Ivory CoastIvory Coast Ivory Coast  5
February 7, 9:30 p.m. in Kumasi
 Guinea-aGuinea Guinea  0  
 Ivory CoastIvory Coast Ivory Coast  1 Game for third place
February 4th, 6:00 p.m. in Kumasi
   EgyptEgypt Egypt  4th  
 EgyptEgypt Egypt  2  GhanaGhana Ghana  4th
 AngolaAngola Angola  1    Ivory CoastIvory Coast Ivory Coast  2
February 9, 6:00 p.m. in Kumasi

Quarter finals

February 3 at 6:00 p.m. in Accra
GhanaGhana Ghana - NigeriaNigeria Nigeria 2: 1 (1: 1)
February 3rd at 9:30 p.m. in Sekondi-Takoradi
Ivory CoastIvory Coast Ivory Coast - Guinea-aGuinea Guinea 5: 0 (1: 0)
February 4th at 6:00 p.m. in Kumasi
EgyptEgypt Egypt - AngolaAngola Angola 2: 1 (2: 1)
February 4th at 9:30 p.m. in Tamale
TunisiaTunisia Tunisia - CameroonCameroon Cameroon 2: 3 n.V. (2: 2, 1: 2)

Semifinals

February 7 at 6:00 p.m. in Accra
GhanaGhana Ghana - CameroonCameroon Cameroon 0: 1 (0: 0)
February 7th at 9:30 p.m. in Kumasi
Ivory CoastIvory Coast Ivory Coast - EgyptEgypt Egypt 1: 4 (0: 1)

3rd place match

February 9 at 6:00 p.m. in Kumasi
GhanaGhana Ghana - Ivory CoastIvory Coast Ivory Coast 4: 2 (1: 2)

final

February 10 at 6:00 p.m. in Accra
CameroonCameroon Cameroon - EgyptEgypt Egypt 0: 1 (0: 0)

Awards

The Egyptian Hosni Abd-Rabou was chosen as the best player of the tournament, and Alexandre Song from Cameroon was chosen as the best young player . The top scorer was the Cameroonian striker Samuel Eto'o with five goals .

In addition, the Technical Study Group of the CAF put together a team of the eleven best players in the tournament (reserve in brackets):

Goal: Essam El-Hadary
( Richard Kingson )

Defense: Geremi Njitap , Wael Gomaa , Michael Essien , Sulley Muntari
( Hani Zaid , Ahmed Faty )

Midfield: Yaya Touré , Alexandre Song , Hosni Abd-Rabou , Mohamed Abo Treka
( Saber Ben Frej , Stéphane Mbia )

Attack: Amr Zaki , Manucho
( Didier Drogba , Abdul Kader Keïta )

List of goalscorers

With five goals, Samuel Eto'o was the top scorer for the second time since 2006 . 56 players scored 98 goals, plus an own goal. They are sorted alphabetically according to the number of hits or if the number of goals is the same.

rank player Gates
1 CameroonCameroon Samuel Eto'o 5
2 EgyptEgypt Hosni Abd-Rabou 4th
EgyptEgypt Mohamed Abo Treka 4th
AngolaAngola Manucho 4th
EgyptEgypt Amr Zaki 4th
6th GhanaGhana Junior Agogo 3
MoroccoMorocco Soufiane Alloudi 3
Ivory CoastIvory Coast Didier Drogba 3
Ivory CoastIvory Coast Salomon Kalou 3
Ivory CoastIvory Coast Abdul Kader Keïta 3
GhanaGhana Sulley Muntari 3
Ivory CoastIvory Coast Boubacar Sanogo 3
13 NigeriaNigeria Yakubu Aiyegbeni 2
TunisiaTunisia Chaouki Ben Saada 2
NamibiaNamibia Brian Brendell 2
GhanaGhana Michael Essien 2
Guinea-aGuinea Pascal Feindouno 2
CameroonCameroon Joseph-Désiré job 2
ZambiaZambia Chris Katongo 2
rank player Gates
13 CameroonCameroon Stéphane Mbia 2
CameroonCameroon Geremi Njitap 2
TunisiaTunisia Francileudo Silva dos Santos 2
South AfricaSouth Africa Elrio van Heerden 2
EgyptEgypt Mohamed Zidan 2
25th MoroccoMorocco Hicham Aboucherouane 1
Guinea-aGuinea Ismaël Bangoura 1
SenegalSenegal Henri Camara 1
ZambiaZambia James Chamanga 1
TunisiaTunisia Yassine Chikhaoui 1
Ivory CoastIvory Coast Aruna Dindane 1
GhanaGhana Haminu Dramani 1
CameroonCameroon Achille Emana 1
EgyptEgypt Ahmed Fathy 1
SenegalSenegal Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye 1
AngolaAngola Flávio da Silva Amado 1
GhanaGhana Asamoah Gyan 1
TunisiaTunisia Issam Jemâa 1
Guinea-aGuinea Oumar calabans 1
rank player Gates
25th SenegalSenegal Diomansy Kamara 1
MaliMali Frédéric Kanouté 1
ZambiaZambia Felix Katongo 1
Ivory CoastIvory Coast Bakari Koné 1
NigeriaNigeria John Obi Mikel 1
South AfricaSouth Africa Katlego Mphela 1
ZambiaZambia Jacob Mulenga 1
CameroonCameroon Alain N'Kong 1
BeninBenin Razak Omotoyossi 1
MoroccoMorocco Abdeslam Ouaddou 1
GhanaGhana Quincy Owusu-Abeyie 1
SenegalSenegal Moustapha Bayal Sall 1
MoroccoMorocco Tarik Sektioui 1
Ivory CoastIvory Coast Yaya Touré 1
TunisiaTunisia Mejdi Traoui 1
Guinea-aGuinea Souleymane Youla 1
MoroccoMorocco Moncef Zerka 1
Ivory CoastIvory Coast Marco Zoro 1
SudanSudan Mohamed Ali El Khider ET

Official match ball

Adidas wawa aba

The game ball of the Africa Cup of 2008 is the wawa aba from adidas . It is the first game ball specially designed for an Africa Cup and includes classic African elements in its design. In terms of color, it is held in red, yellow, green and black, the national colors of Ghana , and visually differs greatly from the classic color scheme with white as the basic tone. The name translates as "seeds of the abachi tree " and stands for strength and flexibility. Apart from the coloring, the ball corresponds to the EUROPASS for the European Championship 2008 and also has the fine structure of the surface, which the manufacturer calls "goose bumps", which should help the ball to improve flight characteristics and control.

Web links