http://www.worldcupblog.org/africa/ World Cup South Africa 2010 en-us World Cup Blog http://tunisia.worldcupblog.org/group-h/faouzi-benzarti-the-peoples-choice.html http://tunisia.worldcupblog.org/group-h/faouzi-benzarti-the-peoples-choice.html Rami Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:50:49 -0600 Today the Tunisian Football Federation made it official: Faouzi Benzarti will replace Humberto Coelho as our coach for the African Cup and beyond. Our World Cup exit hardly gave them a choice in the matter. Lest we forget, this is the man that many Tunisians were clamoring for back in 2008 when Roger Lemerre's contract was coming to an end. Everyone knew this, but the FTF, in their infinite wisdom, turned a blind eye to the opinions of prominent retired international players and club presidents (because really, what do they know right?) Instead, after an unbelievably slow and torturous search, then FTF President Tahar Sioud decided that Humberto Coelho would be a better choice. The Portuguese manager came with a smile on his face, told Tunisians everything they want to hear, and then proceeded to defy the very principles he said he would instill. If you click the first link in the previous paragraph you'll see that my initial reaction was skepticism. Back when we hired him, I wasn't really sold on Coelho for the mere fact that I didn't know him that well and didn't see much on his CV that made him stand out or compare to Lemerre results wise. http://malawi.worldcupblog.org/team-news/africa-cup-of-nations-angola-2010-group-a.html http://malawi.worldcupblog.org/team-news/africa-cup-of-nations-angola-2010-group-a.html sscouser Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:50:42 -0600 Group A of the Africa Cup of Nations Angola 2010 has Angola, Algeria, Mali and Malawi. According to the November 2009 rankings the teams rank as follows (World, Africa): Angola (94, 20), Mali (47, 7), Algeria (28, 4), Malawi (94, 21). Malawi is the worst ranked team in the group but as we know, rankings don’t mean anything. ("FIFA’s rankings are not exactly foolproof, and it’s not at all difficult to imagine a team like Ireland or Ukraine beating a team like Portugal or France over two legs come November 14th and 18th"). Did Morroco (67, 12), Guinea (75, http://benin.worldcupblog.org/team-news/benins-african-cup-of-nations-draw.html http://benin.worldcupblog.org/team-news/benins-african-cup-of-nations-draw.html shane Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:23:49 -0600 The draw for the 2010 African Cup of Nations was made in Angola on Friday. Benin, who are participating for just the third time, though it the third time in four editions, were placed into pot 3 alongside World Cup qualifiers Algeria, Togo and Zambia. The following is a rundown of their opponents: http://cameroon.worldcupblog.org/uncategorized/african-cup-of-nations-draw.html http://cameroon.worldcupblog.org/uncategorized/african-cup-of-nations-draw.html shane Sat, 21 Nov 2009 15:54:18 -0600 The draw for the 2010 African Cup of Nations in Angola transpired yesterday. Cameroon were placed into pot 1 as one of the top seeds along with hosts Angola, Côte d'Ivoire and reigning champions Egypt. Here are the three times that Cameroon have been drawn to face: http://malawi.worldcupblog.org/team-news/africa-cup-of-nations-angola-2010-teams-and-november-2009-fifacoca-cola-world-rankings.html http://malawi.worldcupblog.org/team-news/africa-cup-of-nations-angola-2010-teams-and-november-2009-fifacoca-cola-world-rankings.html sscouser Sat, 21 Nov 2009 04:16:12 -0600 The November 2009 Fifa/Coca-Cola World Ranking Publication was released earlier today. Africa Cup of Nations Angola 2010 Teams and November 2009 FIFA Rankings (World, Africa) Group A: Angola (94, 20), Mali (47, 7), Algeria (28, 4), Malawi (94, 21). Group B: Ivory Coast (16, 2), Ghana (37, 6), Togo (70, 13), Burkina Faso (49, 9). Group C: Egypt (29, 5), Nigeria (22, 3), Benin (59, 11), Mozambique (72, 14). Group D: Cameroon (11, 1), Tunisia (53, 10), Zambia (90, 19), Gabon (48, 8). Based on November 2009 Rankings which group is the "group of death"? (World Ranking, Africa Ranking)(polls) http://malawi.worldcupblog.org/team-news/november-2009-fifacoca-cola-world-rankings.html http://malawi.worldcupblog.org/team-news/november-2009-fifacoca-cola-world-rankings.html sscouser Sat, 21 Nov 2009 03:48:24 -0600 The November FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking Publication was released today but the release was over-shadowed by the Africa Cup of Nations Angola 2010 draw and "The hand of Henry." FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking Publication Schedule Published: Monthly on Wednesdays Deadline: Thursday prior to the release date Initially, the release date for the November 2009 FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking publication was November 11, 2009. FIFA had to postpone the publication release date to November 20, 2009 so the final matches (played on November 14 and 18) could be included in the calculation for November rankings. The November rankings will be used to determine the seeds for the http://tunisia.worldcupblog.org/group-h/african-cup-of-nations-draw-completed-tunisia-in-group-d.html http://tunisia.worldcupblog.org/group-h/african-cup-of-nations-draw-completed-tunisia-in-group-d.html Rami Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:58:50 -0600 So while the fallout from our World Cup exit continues back home, the African Cup of Nations draw was completed in Luanda today and our team is set to face Zambia, Gabon, and Cameroon (in that order). Our matches will be based in Lubango where a new stadium with a 25,000 capacity has been built just for the occasion. I watched the draw live and was hoping to avoid Cote d'Ivoire and Angola so that our friendlies against them in the lead up to the tournament (Dec. 29th and Jan. 3rd) would not get canceled. It wouldn't have been the end of the world if it happened but I think the FTF has enough issues to deal with at the moment and adding another task to their plate might have yielded some poor results. Luckily when all was said and done, we were the last team left and automatically were placed in group D. http://egypt.worldcupblog.org/uncategorized/tomorrow-is-another-day.html http://egypt.worldcupblog.org/uncategorized/tomorrow-is-another-day.html Tamim Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:53:26 -0600 Deserved it or not, we lost and Algeria qualified to South Africa 2010 after a 7 months race full of highs and lows ending with a tiebreaker in Sudan; if there is anyone to blame, it is us because we weren't able to score, it is as simple as that. http://malawi.worldcupblog.org/team-news/africa-cup-of-nations-angola-2010-draw-held.html http://malawi.worldcupblog.org/team-news/africa-cup-of-nations-angola-2010-draw-held.html sscouser Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:30:11 -0600 The Confederation of African Football (CAF) is currently conducting the draw for the Africa Cup of Nations Angola 2010. P/S: Draw completed. Scroll to the bottom of this post for results. The draw generated less discussion among Angolans than an on-going spat between coach Manuel Jose and star Manucho Goncalves. Real Valladolid striker Manucho was dropped from the squad for friendlies against Congo and Ghana after arriving late for training in Portugal. Jose publicly blasted the former Manchester United player, saying he needed to learn respect. With the exception of South Africa, the rest (Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cameroon, Nigeria and Egypt Algeria) http://malawi.worldcupblog.org/team-news/fifa-world-cup-south-africa-2010-draw.html http://malawi.worldcupblog.org/team-news/fifa-world-cup-south-africa-2010-draw.html sscouser Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:44:29 -0600 Initially, the release date for the November 2009 FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking publication was November 11, 2009. FIFA had to postpone the publication release date to November 20, 2009 so the final matches (played on November 14 and 18) could be included in the calculation for November rankings. The November rankings will be used to determine the seeds for the FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010. The World Cup draw will take place on 4 December 2009 in Cape Town, South Africa. Based on the current standings (November 16, 2009), here are the pots and possible groupings: Pot 1 (seeded http://malawi.worldcupblog.org/team-news/africa-cup-of-nations-angola-2010-draw.html http://malawi.worldcupblog.org/team-news/africa-cup-of-nations-angola-2010-draw.html sscouser Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:49:36 -0600 The draw for Africa Cup of Nations Angola 2010 will take place this Friday, 20 November 2010. PROCEDURE FOR THE DRAWING OF LOTS OF THE FINAL TOURNAMENT OF THE AFRICAN CUP OF NATIONS – ANGOLA 2010 1. In conformity to the regulations of the competition (i.e. if the seeding procedures have not changed), Angola, the host country shall be the top seeded team of group A and Egypt, the trophy holder will be the top seeded team of group C. 2. Angola and Egypt will respectively have letters A1 and C1 on the board 3. According to their ranking in