The Group of Death…Is there more than one?

So, one of the most common discussions in any major International football tournament is one with a morbid distinction. I’m sure we would feel like we are missing out on something if we didn’t figure out exactly which group is the one that should get the honour of being the dreaded “Group of Death.” This of course being the Mali blog you can guess what my conclusion will be but let’s make a case for the other groups anyways.

Let’s start with Group A.
Here we find the hosts Ghana, the always dangerous Morocco, and the little guys, Guinea and Namibia. Group of death? Maybe for Guinea and Namibia but the results here would seem to be pretty cut and dry, right? Namibia is in the big show for only the second time and the Brave Warriors draw their players from a total population of less than 2 million people. As far as Guinea is concerned, they have the potential to do great things, they are even the 3rd highest ranked African team as far as FIFA is concerned…that must mean something, eh? Hmmm. But they have reached the quarter finals the last two editions of this tournament and with players like Pascal Feindouno and Bobo Balde and one of the better defensive sides on the continent, Ghana and Morocco should be a little concerned. Claude Le Roy, Ghana’s head man, even went so far as to say that Guinea “must be considered one of the favourites for Ghana 2008.” So, maybe not as easy as I once thought.

Group B I’ll save for last so lets go right to Group C.
Defending champs Egypt are here, as are the always dangerous Indomitable Lions of Cameroon, and strangers to a lot of us, Zambia and Sudan. If we call the toughest group the “Group of Death” then I guess we would call the easiest one the “Group of Life”…makes sense eh? I would nominate this group for that particular designation. However, Sudan did qualify ahead of Tunisia and Zambia have been looking more and more impressive so I guess we can’t write them off altogether. But yeah, they should have a spirited battle for third place in the group. Oh, and by the way, I think Cameroon should start the group with a bonus point simply for having the best nickname on the continent. But I digress…

Group D.
The aforementioned Carthage Eagles of Tunisia are a strong presence, as are the African surprise of the ‘02 World Cup Senegal, the ‘06 World Cup qualifiers from Angola, and Bafana Bafana. This is definitely a challenging group. To start with, Tunisia has done what no other African nation can boast of and that is qualify for 3 successive World Cups. They are seemingly always strong and this years edition should be no different. Then we have Senegal, who of course we all fell in love with in 2002. But the Teranga Lions (little brothers to the Indomitable Lions perhaps?) seem to be the team that is loaded with talent that can’t quite get it done when it comes to the continental championship. They again bring a strong side to the tournament and are not to be taken lightly. Angola is represented by virtually the exact same team that went to the World Cup less than 2 years ago. They will however, still be looking to get past the group stage in the Cup of Nations for the first time. Last but certainly not least are the next World Cup hosts, South Africa. The have had a dramatic fall from success and starting from when they won the Cup of Nations in 1996 have had a steady decline. They followed up the ‘96 win with second place in ‘98, third place in 2000, knocked out in the quarter-finals in 2002, didn’t get out of the group stage in 2004, and the final straw- they didn’t even score a goal in losing all three games in 2006. So, they can’t go any lower, can they? I guess they could if they start to put goals into their own net. Bafana Bafana however need to use this tournament as a springboard to continued improvement in preparation for being the hosts in 2010. The jury is still out though as far as if they can do that in the next few weeks.

So there are snapshots of groups A, C, and D. You could make a case for Group D and maybe even Group A being the ever-popular “Group of Death.” With all due respect, I think it’s safe to drop Group C right out of the question. Agree? Vehemently disagree? Unfortunately blogging doesn’t pay the bills so I gotta go to work but my argument for Group B is still to come.