The count down to the Orange/CAN 2010 started Friday, November 20, 2009 at the Talatona Convention Center of Luanda.
Some 51 days to the kick off of the tournament, CAF President, Issa Hayatou accompanied by the Angolan President, Jose Eduardo dos Santos were the privileged witnesses to the draws which categorised the 16 finalists in four pools of four teams each.
For the records, the groups are as follows:
Group A (matches in Luanda and Cabinda):
Angola, Mali, Malawi, Algeria
Group B (matches in Cabinda and Luanda):
Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo
Group C (matches in Benguela and Lobango):
Egypt, Nigeria, Mozambique, Benin
Group D (matches in Lobango and Benguela):
Cameroon, Gabon, Zambia, Tunisia
On the whole, these groups seem to be equitably distributed. Of course, West Africans would realise that Group B was theirs, a hundred percent, especially the Ivory Coast-Ghana pairing, and that Burkina Faso finds itself in the same group with Ivory Coast like in the eliminatory phase.
Egypt and Nigeria would be favourites of Group C, but who knows what Mozambique is capable of considering that it eliminated Tunisia on its road to South Africa in favour of Nigeria.
Group D will also be that of Cameroonians and Gabonese, the only Central African representatives that have met twice already in order to qualify.
The two would have a hard nut to crack with the Tunisians that will be coming to seek compensation after its huge disappointment on November 14.
The host country, Angola will certainly not be on a safari trip with the future World Cup contender, Algeria, Mali that has always played well in the Africa Cup of Nations and the big unknown, Malawi.
The draws will apparently create surprises.
The teams� present hierarchical positions will propel the qualification of Angola and Algeria in Group A, Ivory Coast and Ghana in Group B, Egypt and Nigeria in Group C and Cameroon and Tunisia in Group D.
There is a whole difference between logic and result. And Angola promises some surprises, probably big ones.
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