2008 Africa Cup of Nations

2008 Africa Cup of Nations

MTN Africa Cup of Nations Ghana 2008
Africa Cup of Nations 2008 official logo
Tournament details
Host country	Ghana
Dates	20 January – 10 February
Teams	16 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)	4 (in 4 host cities)
Final positions
Champions	Egypt (6th title)
Runners-up	Cameroon
Third place	Ghana
Fourth place	Ivory Coast
Tournament statistics
Matches played	32
Goals scored	99 (3.09 per match)
Attendance	714,000 (22,313 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Samuel Eto'o (5 goals)
Best player	Hosny Abd Rabo
Best goalkeeper	Essam El-Hadary

The 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the MTN Africa Cup of Nations due to the competition's sponsorship by MTN, was the 26th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial football tournament for nations affiliated to the Confederation of African Football (CAF). The tournament was staged at four venues around Ghana between 20 January and 10 February 2008. Egypt won the tournament, beating Cameroon 1–0 in the final. With 99 goals, it was the highest-scoring Africa Cup of Nations ever.

Background

Ghana won the right to host the tournament after defeating Libya 9–3 in a vote among Confederation of African Football (CAF) executive committee members in Cairo. South Africa withdrew their bid after winning the right to host the 2010 World Cup.

Venues

Accra	Accra Kumasi Tamale Sekondi-Takoradi	Kumasi
Ohene Djan Stadium		Baba Yara Stadium
Capacity: 40,000[1]		Capacity: 40,528
Tamale		Sekondi-Takoradi
Tamale Stadium		Sekondi-Takoradi Stadium
Capacity: 21,017		Capacity: 20,088

Squads

Qualification

The entrants were divided into 12 groups. All group winners and the best three runners-up from groups with four teams (groups 2-11) qualified for the finals. Host Ghana qualified automatically. Qualifying took place between 2 September 2006 and 13 October 2007.

Teams

A map of Africa showing the qualified nations, highlighted by stage reached.

•  Ghana – Host, 16th appearance (4 titles)
•  Ivory Coast – Group 1 winner, 17th appearance (1 title)
•  Egypt – Group 2 winner, 21st appearance (5 titles)
•  Nigeria – Group 3 winner, 15th appearance (2 titles)
•  Sudan – Group 4 winner, 7th appearance (1 title)
•  Cameroon – Group 5 winner, 15th appearance (4 titles)
•  Angola – Group 6 winner, 4th appearance
•  Senegal – Group 7 winner, 11th appearance
•  Guinea – Group 8 winner, 9th appearance
•  Mali – Group 9 winner, 5th appearance
•  Namibia – Group 10 winner, 2nd appearance
•  Zambia – Group 11 winner, 13th appearance
•  Morocco – Group 12 winner, 13th appearance (1 title)
•  Tunisia – Group 4 runner-up, 13th appearance (1 title)
•  Benin – Group 9 runner-up, 2nd appearance
•  South Africa – Group 11 runner-up, 7th appearance (1 title)

Match officials

16 referees and 16 assistant referees were selected for the tournament, including two from Japan and one from South Korea.^[2]

Referees	Assistant Referees
Mohamed Benouza	Brahim Djezzar
Divine Evehe	Evarist Menkouande
Yuichi Nishimura	Toru Sagara
Abderrahim El Arjoun	Redouane Achik
Jerome Damon	Enock Molefe
Kokou Djaoupe	Komi Konyoh
Kacem Bennaceur	Bechir Hassani
Djamel Haimoudi	Jeong Hae-Sang
Coffi Codjia	Celestin Ntagungira
Modou Sowe	Angesom Ogbamariam
Alex Kotey	Desire Gahungu
Koman Coulibaly	Lassina Paré
Badara Diatta	Peter Edibe
Eddy Maillet	Inacio Manuel Candido
Muhmed Ssegonga	Nasser Sadek Abdel Nabi
Kenias Marange	Kenneth Chichenga

Seeding and grouping procedure

The draw for the tournament took place on 19 October 2007. The sixteen teams were divided into four pots according to their performances in past Cup of Nations tournaments. Ghana, as host, were automatically seeded as the top team in Group A. Egypt, the defending champions, were seeded as the top team in Group C.^[3] Each group consists of four teams, one drawn from each of the pots.

• Pot 1: Ghana (Group A), Egypt (Group C), Nigeria, Tunisia
• Pot 2: Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Morocco, Senegal
• Pot 3: Guinea, Mali, South Africa, Zambia
• Pot 4: Angola, Benin, Namibia, Sudan

Tournament ball

During the previous editions of the Africa Cup of Nations, the ball used was not a ball especially made for the tournament. As the tournament was held on even years, the same years big tournaments such as the UEFA European Cup of Nations or the FIFA World Cup were held, the official ball for the tournament held this year was used for the African Cup of Nations: the Adidas Roteiro in 2004, or the Adidas Teamgeist in 2006. However, for the 2008 tournament, Adidas made a special ball, clearly different from the Adidas Europass going to be used five months later for the Euro. The ball was named Wawa Aba and was designed to include host nation Ghana’s red, yellow and green. The ball was later used for the other African competitions.

For the Akan culture originating from Western Africa, the name Wawa Aba is a symbol of persistence. People there particularly believe in the strength and team spirit of a community. The Wawa Aba is the seed of the Wawa tree, one of the strongest and most processible woods of Africa. For the population, the Wawa Aba mainly has mystical significance. These are people who don’t let failure discourage them, who seize all opportunities successfully and who are thus just as strong and adaptable as the Wawa Aba.

Group stage

Key to colors in group tables
Top two placed teams advanced to the quarter-finals

Tie-breaking criteria

Where two or more teams end the group stage with the same number of points, their ranking is determined by the following criteria:^[4]

1. points earned in the matches between the teams concerned;
2. goal difference in the matches between the teams concerned;
3. number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned;
4. number of away goals scored in the matches between the teams concerned;
5. goal difference in all group matches;
6. number of goals scored in all group matches;
7. drawing of lots by the organizing committee.

All times given as local time (UTC+0)

Group A

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Ghana	3	3	0	0	5	1	+4	9
Guinea	3	1	1	1	5	5	0	4
Morocco	3	1	0	2	7	6	+1	3
Namibia	3	0	1	2	2	7	−5	1

Ghana  v  Guinea

20 January 2008 17:00

Ghana	2–1	Guinea
A. Gyan  55' (pen.) Muntari  90'	Report	Kalabane  65'

Ohene Djan Stadium, Accra Attendance: 35,000 Referee: Eddy Maillet (Seychelles)

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Namibia  v  Morocco

21 January 2008 15:00

Namibia	1–5	Morocco
Brendell  24'	Report	Alloudi  1', 5', 28' Sektioui  40' (pen.) Zerka  74'

Ohene Djan Stadium, Accra Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Divine Evehe (Cameroon)

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Guinea  v  Morocco

24 January 2008 17:00

Guinea	3–2	Morocco
Feindouno  11', 63' (pen.) Bangoura  59'	Report	Aboucherouane  60' Ouaddou  90'

Ohene Djan Stadium, Accra Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Jerome Damon (South Africa)

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Ghana  v  Namibia

24 January 2008 19:30

Ghana	1–0	Namibia
Agogo  41'	Report

Ohene Djan Stadium, Accra Attendance: 45,000 Referee: Kacem Bennaceur (Tunisia)

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Ghana  v  Morocco

28 January 2008 17:00

Ghana	2–0	Morocco
Essien  26' Muntari  45'	Report

Ohene Djan Stadium, Accra Attendance: 40,000 Referee: Modou Sowe (Gambia)

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Guinea  v  Namibia

28 January 2008 17:00

Guinea	1–1	Namibia
Youla  62'	Report	Brendell  80'

Sekondi-Takoradi Stadium, Sekondi-Takoradi Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Muhmed Ssegonga (Uganda)

Group B

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Ivory Coast	3	3	0	0	8	1	+7	9
Nigeria	3	1	1	1	2	1	+1	4
Mali	3	1	1	1	1	3	−2	4
Benin	3	0	0	3	1	7	−6	0

Nigeria  v  Ivory Coast

21 January 2008 17:00

Nigeria	0–1	Ivory Coast
	Report	Kalou  66'

Sekondi Stadium, Sekondi-Takoradi Attendance: 16,000 Referee: Mohamed Benouza (Algeria)

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Mali  v  Benin

21 January 2008 19:45[5]

Mali	1–0	Benin
Kanouté  49' (pen.)	Report

Sekondi Stadium, Sekondi-Takoradi Attendance: 11,000 Referee: Jerome Damon (South Africa)

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Ivory Coast  v  Benin

25 January 2008 17:00

Ivory Coast	4–1	Benin
Drogba  40' Y. Touré  44' Keïta  53' Dindane  63'	Report	Omotoyossi  90'

Sekondi Stadium, Sekondi-Takoradi Attendance: 13,000 Referee: Kenias Marange (Zimbabwe)

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Nigeria  v  Mali

25 January 2008 19:30

Nigeria	0–0	Mali
	Report

Sekondi Stadium, Sekondi-Takoradi Attendance: 16,000 Referee: Abderrahim El Arjoun (Morocco)

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Nigeria  v  Benin

29 January 2008 17:00

Nigeria	2–0	Benin
Mikel  53' Yakubu  86'	Report

Sekondi Stadium, Sekondi-Takoradi Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Kacem Bennaceur (Tunisia)

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Ivory Coast  v  Mali

29 January 2008 17:00

Ivory Coast	3–0	Mali
Drogba  9' Zoro  54' Sanogo  86'	Report

Ohene Djan Stadium, Accra Attendance: 20,000 Referee: Eddy Maillet (Seychelles)

Group C

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Egypt	3	2	1	0	8	3	+5	7
Cameroon	3	2	0	1	10	5	+5	6
Zambia	3	1	1	1	5	6	−1	4
Sudan	3	0	0	3	0	9	−9	0

Egypt  v  Cameroon

22 January 2008 17:00

Egypt	4–2	Cameroon
Hosny  14' (pen.), 82' Zidan  17', 45'	Report	Eto'o  51', 90' (pen.)

Baba Yara Stadium, Kumasi Attendance: 42,000 Referee: Modou Sowe (Gambia)

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Sudan  v  Zambia

22 January 2008 19:30

Sudan	0–3	Zambia
	Report	Chamanga  2' J. Mulenga  50' F. Katongo  59'

Baba Yara Stadium, Kumasi Attendance: 35,000 Referee: Badara Diatta (Senegal)

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Cameroon  v  Zambia

26 January 2008 17:00

Cameroon	5–1	Zambia
Geremi  28' Job  32', 82' Emana  44' Eto'o  66' (pen.)	Report	C. Katongo  90'

Baba Yara Stadium, Kumasi Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Yuichi Nishimura (Japan)

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Egypt  v  Sudan

26 January 2008 19:30

Egypt	3–0	Sudan
Hosny  29' (pen.) Aboutreika  78', 83'	Report

Baba Yara Stadium, Kumasi Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Coffi Codjia (Benin)

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Cameroon  v  Sudan

30 January 2008 17:00

Cameroon	3–0	Sudan
Eto'o  27' (pen.), 90' El Khider  33' (o.g.)	Report

Tamale Stadium, Tamale Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Kokou Djaoupe (Togo)

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Egypt  v  Zambia

30 January 2008 17:00

Egypt	1–1	Zambia
Zaki  15'	Report	C. Katongo  88'

Baba Yara Stadium, Kumasi Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Koman Coulibaly (Mali)

Group D

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Tunisia	3	1	2	0	5	3	+2	5
Angola	3	1	2	0	4	2	+2	5
Senegal	3	0	2	1	4	6	−2	2
South Africa	3	0	2	1	3	5	−2	2

Tunisia  v  Senegal

23 January 2008 17:00

Tunisia	2–2	Senegal
Jemâa  9' Traoui  82'	Report	Bayal Sall  45' Kamara  66'

Tamale Stadium, Tamale Attendance: 12,000 Referee: Yuichi Nishimura (Japan)

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South Africa  v  Angola

23 January 2008 19:30

South Africa	1–1	Angola
van Heerden  87'	Report	Manucho  29'

Tamale Stadium, Tamale Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Koman Coulibaly (Mali)

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Senegal  v  Angola

27 January 2008 17:00

Senegal	1–3	Angola
Diagne-Faye  20'	Report	Manucho  50', 67' Flávio  78'

Tamale Stadium, Tamale Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Modou Sowe (Gambia)

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Tunisia  v  South Africa

27 January 2008 19:30

Tunisia	3–1	South Africa
Santos  8', 34' Ben Saada  32'	Report	Mphela  87'

Tamale Stadium, Tamale Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Kokou Djaoupe (Togo)

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Senegal  v  South Africa

31 January 2008 17:00

Senegal	1–1	South Africa
H. Camara  36'	Report	van Heerden  14'

Baba Yara Stadium, Kumasi Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Alex Kotey (Ghana)

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Tunisia  v  Angola

31 January 2008 17:00

Tunisia	0–0	Angola
	Report

Tamale Stadium, Tamale Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Coffi Codjia (Benin)

Knockout stage

	Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Final
	3 February - Accra
	Ghana	2
					7 February - Accra
	Nigeria	1
					Ghana	0
	4 February - Tamale
					Cameroon	1
	Tunisia	2
									10 February - Accra
	Cameroon	3
									Cameroon	0
	3 February - Sekondi
									Egypt	1
	Ivory Coast	5
					7 February - Kumasi
	Guinea	0
					Ivory Coast	1			Third place
	4 February - Kumasi
					Egypt	4
	Egypt	2							Ghana	4
	Angola	1							Ivory Coast	2
									9 February - Kumasi

Quarter-finals

Ghana  v  Nigeria

3 February 2008 17:00

Ghana	2–1	Nigeria
Essien  45+2' Agogo  83'	Report	Yakubu  35' (pen.)

Ohene Djan Stadium, Accra Attendance: 45,000 Referee: Mohamed Benouza (Algeria)

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Ivory Coast  v  Guinea

3 February 2008 20:30

Ivory Coast	5–0	Guinea
Keïta  25' Drogba  70' Kalou  72', 81' B. Koné  85'	Report

Sekondi Stadium, Sekondi Attendance: 20,000 Referee: Djamel Haimoudi (Algeria)

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Egypt  v  Angola

4 February 2008 17:00

Egypt	2–1	Angola
Hosny  23' (pen.) Zaki  38'	Report	Manucho  27'

Baba Yara Stadium, Kumasi Attendance: 40,000 Referee: Yuichi Nishimura (Japan)

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Tunisia  v  Cameroon

4 February 2008 20:30

Tunisia	2–3 (a.e.t.)	Cameroon
Ben Saada  34' Chikhaoui  81'	Report	Mbia  18', 93' Geremi  27'

Tamale Stadium, Tamale Attendance: 20,000 Referee: Koman Coulibaly (Mali)

Semi-finals

Ghana  v  Cameroon

7 February 2008 17:00

Ghana	0–1	Cameroon
	Report	N'Kong  72'

Ohene Djan Stadium, Accra Attendance: 40,000 Referee: Abderahim El Arjoune (Morocco)

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Ivory Coast  v  Egypt

7 February 2008 20:30

Ivory Coast	1–4	Egypt
Keita  63'	Report	Fathy  12' Zaki  61', 67' Aboutrika  90+1'

Baba Yara Stadium, Kumasi Attendance: 45,000 Referee: Eddy Maillet (Seychelles)

Third place match

Ghana  v  Ivory Coast

9 February 2008 17:00

Ghana	4–2	Ivory Coast
Muntari  10' Owusu-Abeyie  70' Agogo  80' Dramani  84'	Report	Sanogo  24', 32'

Baba Yara Stadium, Kumasi Attendance: 45,000 Referee: Jerome Damon (South Africa)

Final

Cameroon  v  Egypt

10 February 2008 17:00

Cameroon	0–1	Egypt
	Report	Aboutrika  90+1'

Ohene Djan Stadium, Accra Attendance: 50,000 Referee: Coffi Codjia (Benin)

Winners

2008 Africa Cup of Nations Winners
Egypt Sixth title

Awards

Player of the tournament Hosny Abd Rabo[6]

Top scorer Samuel Eto'o - 5 goals

Best Goalkeeper

• Essam El-Hadary

Best XI

The following players were selected as the best in their respective positions, based on their performances throughout the tournament. Their performances were analysed by the tournament's Technical Study Group (TSG), who picked the team.^[7]

Goalkeepers	Defenders	Midfielders	Forwards
Essam El-Hadary	Geremi Njitap Wael Gomaa Michael Essien	Sulley Muntari Yaya Touré Alexandre Song Hosny Abd Rabo Mohamed Aboutrika	Amr Zaki Manucho

Substitutes

• Richard Kingson
• Hany Saïd
• Ahmed Fathy
• Frej Saber
• Stéphane Mbia
• Didier Drogba
• Abdul Kader Keïta

Scorers

5 goals Samuel Eto'o 4 goals Manucho Hosny Abd Rabo Mohamed Aboutrika Amr Zaki 3 goals Didier Drogba Salomon Kalou Abdul Kader Keïta Boubacar Sanogo Junior Agogo Sulley Muntari Soufiane Alloudi 2 goals Geremi Njitap Joseph-Désiré Job Stéphane Mbia Mohamed Zidan Michael Essien Pascal Feindouno

2 goals, cont. Brian Brendell Yakubu Aiyegbeni Elrio van Heerden Chaouki Ben Saada Francileudo dos Santos Chris Katongo 1 goal Flávio Razak Omotoyossi Achille Emana Alain N'Kong Aruna Dindane Bakari Koné Yaya Touré Marco Zoro Ahmed Fathy Haminu Dramani Asamoah Gyan Quincy Owusu-Abeyie Ismaël Bangoura Oumar Kalabane

1 goal, cont. Souleymane Youla Frédéric Kanouté Hicham Aboucherouane Abdeslam Ouaddou Tarik Sektioui Monsef Zerka Mikel John Obi Moustapha Bayal Sall Henri Camara Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye Diomansy Kamara Katlego Mphela Yassine Chikhaoui Issam Jemâa Mejdi Traoui James Chamanga Felix Katongo Jacob Mulenga Own goals Mohammed Ali El Khider (playing against Cameroon)

References

1. "Ohene Djan Stadium will last "forever"- Micheletti". ghananewsagency.org. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
2. Referees
3. Caf release Cup of Nations' seeds, "BBC Sport", 18 October 2007. Accessed 4 February 2008.
4. Article 5, paragraph 13 in the Regulations of the XXVth Africa Cup of Nations guide.
5. Kick-off delayed by 15 minutes due to floodlight failure
6. "Abd Rabou wins best player award". BBC Sport. 10 February 2008. Retrieved 11 February 2008.
7. "CAF names Best XI for Ghana 2008 ACN". cafonline.com. 10 February 2008. Retrieved 11 February 2008.

External links

Media related to 2008 Africa Cup of Nations at Wikimedia Commons

• 2008 African Cup of Nations at CAFonline.com
• Africa Cup of Nations on BBC 1Xtra
• African Cup of Nations 2008 coverage on Reuters.co.uk