With the 2010 FIFA World Cup being held in South Africa, the African Nations Cup in Angola has gained my attention.
Togo's tragic event, and the doubts about Africa being even prepared or capable of hosting such an event, shouldn't prevent us from enjoying the exciting matches that a Continental Cup like this has to offer.

Soccer - African Nations Cup - Group A

Mali - Algeria

Thursday 14 January, 16h00

Algeria goalkeeper Faouzi Chaouchi has promised that his team will "redeem themselves'' against Mali on Thursday following their shocking 3-0 opening loss to Malawi in the African Nations Cup this past Monday.

Rabah Saadane's side began their opening match as clear favorites, but were 2-0 down by half-time thanks to goals from Russell Mwafulirwa and Elvis Kafoteka at a near-deserted Estadio 11 de Novembro. Davi Banda added a third after 49 minutes to end any thoughts of a comeback and leave Algeria at rock bottom of Group A.

On the other hand Mali produced one of the biggest comebacks in the history of football as they managed to earn a 4:4 draw despite trailing Angola by four goals with just 13 minutes left to play, and scoring the last goal just seconds away from the final whistle. ( As you can see, if you've missed it, in this video )

Considering the amount of talent throughout the squad, Mali are one of the strongest teams at the tournament, but they showed two very different faces in their opening game against Angola.
During the first hour, the Eagles were completely outplayed by the home side and conceded no less than four goals, but their immense quality finally stood out in the final 15 minutes and helped them earn a very precious point. It is more than clear that Mali can beat any team in Africa if they just have the right mental approach to the game. Watching the Angola game served as a big wake-up call, and we expect them to show massive improvement in this next match.

My betting advice:

Mali have shown that once they have the right approach, they can beat even the strongest team in Africa, and since they have probably learned a lot from the Angola match, we expect the Eagles to show everything they’ve got in this match. Algeria is in very poor spirits after the shock defeat to Malawi and they are missing two key players, thus my advice is to go with Mali.

Mali vs Algeria head to head stats:

Last 5 Mali matches:
11.01 ACN A Angola-Mali Angola vs Mali goals 4:4 (2:0)
04.01 FRIEND Egypt-Mali Egypt vs Mali goals 1:0 (0:0)
02.01 FRIEND Qatar-Mali 0:0 (0:0)
15.11 WCQ Ghana-Mali Ghana vs Mali goals 2:2 (0:1)
11.10 WCQ Mali-Sudan 1:0 (0:0)

Last 5 Algeria matches:
11.01 ACN A Malawi - Algeria Malawi vs Algeria goals 3:0 (2:0)
18.11 WCQ Egypt - Algeria Egypt vs Algeria goals 0:1 (0:1)
14.11 WCQ Egypt - Algeria Egypt vs Algeria goals 2:0 (1:0)
11.10 WCQ Algeria - Rwanda Algeria vs Rwanda goals 3:1 (2:1)
06.09 WCQ Algeria - Zambia Algeria vs Zambia goals 1:0 (0:0)

Last 5 Mali home matches:
11.10 WCQ Mali-Sudan 1:0 (0:0)
21.06 WCQ Mali-Benin 3:1 (1:1)
07.06 WCQ Mali-Ghana 0:2 (0:0)
11.10 WCQ Mali-Chad 2:1 (1:0)

Last 5 Algeria away matches:
11.01 ACN A Malawi - Algeria Malawi vs Algeria goals 3:0 (2:0)
18.11 WCQ Egypt - Algeria Egypt vs Algeria goals 0:1 (0:1)
14.11 WCQ Egypt - Algeria Egypt vs Algeria goals 2:0 (1:0)
20.06 WCQ Zambia - Algeria 0:2 (0:1)
28.03 WCQ Rwanda - Algeria 0:0 (0:0)

Soccer - African Nations Cup - Group A

Angola - Malawi

Thursday 14 January, 18h30

Malawi will have an eye on claiming a place in the quarter-finals of the African Nations Cup on Thursday when they meet tournament hosts, Angola.

A 3-0 victory over World Cup-bound Algeria in their opening match sent the Flames to the top of Group A, with a two-point cushion over their nearest Challengers.

It was an impressive start to the tournament for Kinnah Phiri's side, and another three points could see them become the first team to progress to the last eight.

Phiri is aware a quarter-final place is there for the taking.

"Our training has been going well. We are Outsiders in this competition but we played well in our first match and I congratulate my players,'' he said.

"Our aim in the group is to get as many victories as possible, so we will fight for a win and will be very positive if we get through to the quarter-finals.'' he added.

Angola have a point to prove to their supporters after throwing away a four-goal lead in their group opener against Mali.

Two goals in stoppage time snatched an unexpected 4-4 draw for the Malians, and the Black Antelopes must cut out their defensive errors against Malawi if they are to keep alive their hopes of reaching the knockout stage.

To add to Angola's troubles, coach Manuel Jose has doubts over the fitness of central defender Dede (muscle injury) and midfielder Gilberto (knee).

Captain Kali knows the pressure is on his side to perform.

"We have to raise our heads, there's no explanation for letting go of such a big lead,'' said the defender.

My betting advice:

Malawi has demonstrated that they are capable of beating a stronger team. Angola is in worse shape mentally then Malawi after their encounter with Mali, and they'll feel their fans pressure. I'll go with Malawi in this one.

Angola vs Malawi head to head stats:

Last 5 Angola matches:
11.01 ACN A Angola-Mali Angola vs Mali goals 4:4 (2:0)
30.12 FRIEND Angola-Estonia Angola vs Estonia goals 0:1 (0:0)
18.11 FRIEND Angola-Ghana 0:0 (0:0)
14.10 FRIEND Angola-Cameroon 0:0 (0:0)
10.10 FRIEND Malta-Angola 1:2 (1:1)

Last 5 Malawi matches:
11.01 ACN A Malawi - Algeria Malawi vs Algeria goals 3:0 (2:0)
05.01 FRIEND Ghana - Malawi 0:0 (0:0)
14.11 WCQ Burkina Faso - Malawi 1:0 (0:0)
10.10 WCQ Malawi - Ivory Coast Malawi vs Ivory Coast goals 1:1 (0:0)
05.09 WCQ Malawi - Guinea 2:1 (0:1)

Last 5 Angola home matches:
11.01 ACN A Angola-Mali Angola vs Mali goals 4:4 (2:0)
30.12 FRIEND Angola-Estonia Angola vs Estonia goals 0:1 (0:0)
18.11 FRIEND Angola-Ghana 0:0 (0:0)
14.10 FRIEND Angola-Cameroon 0:0 (0:0)
10.10 FRIEND Angola-Malta 2:1 (1:1)

Last 5 Malawi away matches:
05.01 FRIEND Ghana - Malawi 0:0 (0:0)
14.11 WCQ Burkina Faso - Malawi 1:0 (0:0)
21.06 WCQ Guinea - Malawi 2:1 (2:0)
28.03 WCQ Ivory Coast - Malawi 5:0 (3:0)
05.09 WCQ Djibouti - Malawi 0:3 (0:1)

Soccer - African Nations Cup - Group B
Ivory Coast - Ghana

Friday 15 January, 18h30

With the exit of Togo from the Africa Nations Cup, the match against Ghana is do or die for Ivory Coast. Having failed to beat Burkina Faso in the opening match of the Group, the Elephants have got to take at least one point from this match or face elimination from the competition. Ghana, on the other hand is not under pressure since they will have another chance to make things right if they mess up in this game.

It is no wonder that Ivory Coast fans were not too optimistic about their side’s chances at this year’s competition since they have had too many disappointments in the past when the national team had been tipped as favorites for the title. On paper, the Elephants have the quality to match even the best teams in the world but the situation is totally different on the pitch.

The hosts are again set to line-up in 4-3-3 formation, although we are likely to see some changes from the team that started against Burkina Faso.
Didier Drogba will keep his place in attack, but Gervinho and Bakary Kone could be dropped with Aruna Dindane and Kader Keita pushing for the starting places. Nonetheless, Vahid Halilhodzic is probably aware that individual players are not the problem, but rather lack of fighting spirit in the team, and that is something that cannot be sorted out in just few days.

Ghana is also one of the favorites of this African Nations Cup and they intend to use it as the final test before the World Cup in South Africa.
The Black Stars coach Milovan Rajevac faced major selection problems before this tournament, but he is confident that players from the under-20 side that have won the last U-20 World Cup will be able to step up the plate.
Stephen Appiah, John Mensah and John Paintsil didn’t even make the squad because of injuries, while Sulley Muntari was dropped for disciplinary reasons. From the players that are in Angola, Anthony Annan has been ruled out of this match because of injury, while Michael Essien and Asamoah Gyan are injury doubts and they could be left to recuperate in order to be fully fit for the Burkina Faso match.
Hence, the boss is set to field a very young line-up but that doesn’t necessarily have to be a disadvantage in this match.

My betting advice:

The Ivorians are under tremendous pressure since they can be out of the competition after this match and we have already seen that they do not play well under pressure. Ghana is missing a couple of important players but they have very good replacements and unlike their opponents, the Black Stars do look like a team. Therefore, I'll give Ghana a small advantage here.

Ivory Coast vs Ghana head to head stats:

Last 5 Ivory Coast matches:
11.01 ACN B Ivory Coast-Burkina Faso Ivory Coast vs Burkina Faso goals 0:0 (0:0)
18.11 FRIEND Germany-Ivory Coast Germany vs Ivory Coast goals 2:2 (1:0)
14.11 WCQ Ivory Coast-Guinea 3:0 (2:0)
10.10 WCQ Malawi-Ivory Coast Malawi vs Ivory Coast goals 1:1 (0:0)
05.09 WCQ Ivory Coast-Burkina Faso 5:0 (1:0)

Last 5 Ghana matches:
05.01 FRIEND Ghana - Malawi 0:0 (0:0)
18.11 FRIEND Angola - Ghana 0:0 (0:0)
15.11 WCQ Ghana - Mali Ghana vs Mali goals 2:2 (0:1)
11.10 WCQ Benin - Ghana 1:0 (0:0)
01.10 FRIEND Argentina - Ghana Argentina vs Ghana goals 2:0 (2:0)

Last 5 Ivory Coast home matches:
11.01 ACN B Ivory Coast-Burkina Faso Ivory Coast vs Burkina Faso goals 0:0 (0:0)
14.11 WCQ Ivory Coast-Guinea 3:0 (2:0)
05.09 WCQ Ivory Coast-Burkina Faso 5:0 (1:0)
28.03 WCQ Ivory Coast-Malawi 5:0 (3:0)
11.09 WCQ Ivory Coast-Madagascar 3:0 (1:0)

Last 5 Ghana away matches:
18.11 FRIEND Angola - Ghana 0:0 (0:0)
11.10 WCQ Benin - Ghana 1:0 (0:0)
01.10 FRIEND Argentina - Ghana Argentina vs Ghana goals 2:0 (2:0)
09.09 FRIEND Japan - Ghana Japan vs Ghana goals 4:3 (0:1)
20.06 WCQ Sudan - Ghana 0:2 (0:1)

Hope we'll enjoy great matches; See You next week!