2012 Africa Cup of Nations Draw Held

With qualification for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations all wrapped up, the group stage draw was held over the weekend to determine the layout of the 16-team field.

Here's how things shook out in Malabo:

Group A:

Equatorial Guinea
Libya
Senegal
Zambia


Group B:

Cote d'Ivoire
Sudan
Angola
Burkina Faso


Group C:

Gabon
Niger
Morocco
Tunisia


Group D:

Ghana
Botswana
Mali
Guinea


Some quick thoughts on the draw:

Equatorial Guinea fans likely won't get to see the home team past the group stage; odds are they will finish at the foot of Group A, with Libya, Zambia, and Senegal battling it out for two spots in the quarterfinals. Senegal were impressive in qualification, going undefeated and knocking out Cameroon along the way, so they are more than capable of making some serious noise early on.

Cote d'Ivoire are the class of Group B and will be favorites to win the whole thing.

Group C, meanwhile, is a tighter cluster of teams without much between them. Co-hosts Gabon will have the crowd behind them, with all of the group's matches taking place in Libreville and Franceville. Debutantes Niger put together a very respectable qualifying campaign, navigating a group that included Egypt, South Africa, and Sierra Leone. But they did so without a single positive result away from home. We'll see if they're able to overcome that with two of there three matches on neutral turf.

Group D is the toughest of the four, in my opinion, with Ghana (another tournament favorite) joined by Guinea, who knocked off Nigeria for a spot in the field. First timers Botswana, meanwhile, are putting forth arguably their strongest side ever after finishing on top of a qualifying group that included Tunisia, Togo, and Malawi. Something to note is that none of the Zebras' qualifying matches were decided by more than a single goal; they'll be hoping that that run of success in close games carries on into January.

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For the heck of it, my predictions for the eight quarterfinalists:

Group A: Senegal, Libya

Group B: Cote d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso

Group C: Gabon, Morocco

Group D: Ghana, Guinea



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The tournament will kick off on January 21st in Bata, Equatorial Guinea with a match between Libya and Equatorial Guinea. The final will take place on February 12th, in Libreville, Gabon. Stay tuned for more coverage as the tournament draws near.