المجموعة الثالثة : مصر - نيجيريا - بنين - موزمبيق

History On The Side Of Pharaohs

Egypt captain Ahmed Hassan


January 15, 2009
If history and current form are anything to go by, one would be inclined to feel that Egypt would be the favourites to win their second consecutive game of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations when they face Mozambique in a Group C encounter in Benguela on Saturday evening.
Egypt and Mozambique have previously met on two occasions at Nations Cups, in 1986 and 1998, and on both occasions Egypt won 2-0 and eventually went on to win the competition.
The current defending champions won their opening game in convincing fashion this year, downing Nigeria 3-1, a victory that demonstrated a lot of Egypt’s character and resilience as they fought from a goal down to storm back to win the match.
Perhaps it was a case of stage fright as Egypt took time to settle in the opener, but once they did they were unstoppable. They did not look like a team who were missing key players in Amr Zaki and Mohamed Aboutrika.
What would please coach Hassan Shehata is that his captain, Ahmed Hassan, who contributed by netting Egypt’s second goal against the Super Eagles, led from the front with a real captain's performance which helped propel his side to victory.
Egypt have looked potentially dangerous when in attack as Emad Metaeb and the skipper Hassan have linked up well together. Shehata has also shown that his team have a strong back-up core as one of the subs he brought on against Nigeria, Mohamed Nagui, scored their third goal.
Overall the Pharaohs are looking strong. It could be too early to say whether they can win a third consecutive, or seventh overall, Nations Cup title, but the indications early on are that they can go far in this competition.
So what are the chances of Mozambique halting the Egyptian’s charge? When the draw was made, Mozambique must have been thinking that by the time they face Egypt, they could have had a win under their belt. Unfortunately though for them, Benin ran them ragged and they could only play to a 2-2 draw with a team they would have otherwise expect to beat.
Dropping vital points against Benin now means that the Mozambicans need to win at least one of their next two matches against either Egypt or Nigeria. Mozambique’s Dutch Coach Mart Nooij will concern himself with the fact that his team were at one point trailing Benin 2-0 in the game, while one of the Benin goals was an own goal scored by Mozambican defender Dario Khan.
Fortunately for them, they do have a point, which means that should they avoid defeat against Egypt, they could well be in with a strong chance of progressing to the next round. Nooij though will be asking for a better performance from his team.
Mozambique’s more senior personnel, such as veteran striker Tico-Tico and Mamelodi Sundowns winger Elias Pelembe, need to support the enterprising midfielder Goncalves, who was at the heart of Mozambique’s comeback against Benin.
Egypt will take it as a good omen to have Mozambique in their group, given that on the two previous occasions in 1986 and 1998, when they met and defeated them in the group stages of the competition, they went on to win the tournament.

Amodu To Ring The Changes

Osaze Odemwingie is in line start after returning from injury


January 15, 2010
Coach Shuaibu Amodu will make several changes in the Super Eagles for Saturday's Nations Cup Group C match against Benin here in Benguela, according to the official website of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
Nigeria fell 3-1 to Egypt on Tuesday and now have to get their Angola 2010 campaign back on track with victory against the Squirrels of Benin at the weekend.
According to www.nigeriaff.com, Amodu will most likely start fit-again Osaze Odemwingie on the right side of attack with Chinedu Obasi, lone goal scorer against Egypt, moving to the left while Yakubu Aiyegbeni retains his place in the heart of the attack.
And in defence, Bolton Wanderers ace Danny Shittu is a likely replacement for Obinna Nwaneri and young Rennes left fullback Elderson Echiejile will start ahead of Taye Taiwo from Olympique Marseille.
"The players are serious and I notice that they have the spirit to go in there and do the job. They are all sweating hard and concentrating and all we need is that we win against Benin to bring the confidence back, and then we can look ahead," said Amodu.
Emphasis at Thursday's training was on goal scoring as the Eagles trained twice.
Nigeria are hard pressed to beat Benin and then Mozambique in Lubango on Wednesday to guarantee a place in the last eight of the competition. The Eagles have not failed to reach the quarter-finals of the Nations Cup since 1982

Aoudou Partners Omotoyossi In Benin Attack


January 15, 2009
Benin will go for goals against Nigeria Super Eagles on Saturday in Benguela with young striker Mohamed Aoudou playing alongside leading scorer Razak Omotoyossi.
Aoudou, who stars for Evian TG in the French lower league, became a national hero when his goal proved to be the match winner against visiting Ghana in a World Cup qualifier in Cotonou. He was also on target in Cotonou against star- studded Mali.
However, the promising youngster was not considered for selection in his team's opening Group C tie against Mozambique on Tuesday.
Last year, the 20-year-old striker started only a game for Benin as he was used mostly as a substitute in the six games he played.
Omotoyossi and Muri Ogunbiyi, formerly of Enyimba, are the two known Nigerians on the Benin team, but MTNfootball.com has since learnt that big Aspac defender Salomon Junior also has Nigerian roots. He was on the bench for the Mozambique match.