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

Main article: 2008 Africa Cup of Nations squads

Qualification

Main article: 2008 Africa Cup of Nations 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]

points earned in the matches between the teams concerned;
goal difference in the matches between the teams concerned;
number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned;
number of away goals scored in the matches between the teams concerned;
goal difference in all group matches;
number of goals scored in all group matches;
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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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

7 February - Accra

Nigeria

Ghana

4 February - Tamale

Cameroon

Tunisia

10 February - Accra

Cameroon

Cameroon

3 February - Sekondi

Egypt

Ivory Coast

7 February - Kumasi

Guinea

Ivory Coast

Third place

4 February - Kumasi

Egypt

Ghana

Angola

Ivory Coast

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)

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)

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)

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)

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

Main article: 2008 Africa Cup of Nations 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

Scorers

5 goals

Samuel Eto'o

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

2 goals, cont.

1 goal

1 goal, cont.

Own goals

Mohammed Ali El Khider (playing against Cameroon)

References

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

External links

Wikinews has related news: Egypt wins 2008 Africa Cup of Nations

Media related to 2008 Africa Cup of Nations at Wikimedia Commons

2008 Africa Cup of Nations finalists

Champions	Egypt

Runners-up	Cameroon

Third place	Ghana

Fourth place	Ivory Coast

Eliminated in quarter-finals	Angola Guinea Nigeria Tunisia

Eliminated in group stage	Benin Mali Morocco Namibia Senegal South Africa Sudan Zambia

Qualification Squads

Africa Cup of Nations

Tournaments	Sudan 1957 United Arab Republic 1959 Ethiopia 1962 Ghana 1963 Tunisia 1965 Ethiopia 1968 Sudan 1970 Cameroon 1972 Egypt 1974 Ethiopia 1976 Ghana 1978 Nigeria 1980 Libya 1982 Ivory Coast 1984 Egypt 1986 Morocco 1988 Algeria 1990 Senegal 1992 Tunisia 1994 South Africa 1996 Burkina Faso 1998 Ghana/Nigeria 2000 Mali 2002 Tunisia 2004 Egypt 2006 Ghana 2008 Angola 2010 Gabon/Equatorial Guinea 2012 South Africa 2013 Equatorial Guinea 2015 Gabon 2017 Cameroon 2019 Ivory Coast 2021 Guinea 2023

Qualification	1957 1959 1962 1963 1965 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2013 2015 2017

Finals	1957 1959 1962 1963 1965 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2013 2015

Squads	1957 1959 1962 1963 1965 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2013 2015

Statistics	Appearances Records and statistics

No qualification took place in 1957 and 1959 as places were given by invitation only. In 1959 and 1976, there was no final; the article is about the decisive match of the final group stage.

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