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2012 Africa Cup of Nations team profiles: Focus on Niger’s AFCON history
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Coach Harouna Doula Gabde and his men, nicknamed the Menas, have been tipped to rock the stage at the 2012 AFCON with their spirit of underdogs. Let’s see how good the 97th ranked nation could turn out to perform at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.
Niger – no Cup of Nations experience
Niger’s current generation of national team players is privileged. With hard work, the Menas have managed to make a blur dream come to life. When the draw for the 2012 AFCON qualifiers was revealed, no one really thought about Niger as potential finalists.
Pundits based their analysis around South Africa and Egypt’s chances in Group G as Sierra Leone and Niger were tipped to fail. However, the Menas proved everyone wrong. Despite commencing the campaign with a 2-0 loss in the hands of Bafana Bafana, Niger found themselves with 3 points in the bag at the end of Matchday 2. They stunned reigning African champions Egypt 1-0 to achieve this feat.
2012 Africa Cup of Nations team profiles: Focus on Angola’s AFCON history
This nation ranks first in alphabetical order above the rest of the competition participants. This fact explains why our team profile coverage opens with Angola.
Angola’s nickname is “Palancas Negras” which means “Black Antelopes” in Portuguese. The 2006 World Cup participants, who operate under the control of the Federação Angolana de Futebol, are currently 83rd in the FIFA Rankings. Lito Vidigal presently serves as the country’s national team coach as defender Kali continues to assume the role of captain.
Angola's history - slowly progressing from minnows to giants
In Africa, the Palancas Negras are regarded as potentially dangerous opponents although much is left to do for them to side amongst the continent’s giants. Angola’s Nations Cup history is pretty recent.
2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup And 10 Historic Facts You Should Know
1) The United States was the first country to win the CONCACAF Gold Cup. USA emerged victorious in the first edition of the competition—then an 8-team contest—which they hosted in 1991. They defeated Honduras on July 7 that year at the Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, in front of nearly 40,000 spectators.2) Bora Milutinović and Bruce Arena are the only coaches who can boast of having won the Gold Cup more than once. Both managers have two titles in their name: Bora won his first with the USA (1991) and his second with Mexico (1996), while Bruce won both with the United States (2002 &2005).
South Africa vs USA Report
USA Coach Bob Bradley fielded a young and inexperienced team for this game, and will be delighted to have produced a victory. In the absence of Tim Howard, Brad Guzan started at goalkeeper and produced a very good performance.South Africa put the USA under early pressure and in the 14th minute was forced into a smart save when Anele Ngongca was sent free by Leeds United forward Davide Somma. Guzan was exposed to another one on one in the 20th minute but saved well at the feet of Bernard Parker.
The USA gained a foothold in the game as the first half progressed and Columbus Crew midfielder Robbie Rogers was at the heart of most of their good work. Rogers forced a save from Itumeleng Khune on a long range shot, and the crossed to the back post where Alejandro Bedoya was on hand but could only head wide.
South Africa vs USA Preview
While it is an away game, there is no doubt the USA will be in familiar territory. Thanks to the World Cup and Confederations Cup among other fixtures, this will be the USA’s 12th game in South Africa in the last three years. USA holds a 5-4-2 record in the previous 11 games, the first being a 1-0 victory over South Africa, and the most recent a 2-1 overtime defeat to Ghana in the World Cup Second Round.Since the World Cup the USA has played three home games, losing to Brazil before gaining back to back draws against Poland and Colombia. Bob Bradley will hope to gain a morale boosting win in this game, while also allowing him to explore his options on the long road to Brazil 2014.
South Africa vs USA Friendly: Coach Bradley Looks At Gold Cup From Cape Town
In an interview ahead of his team’s flight to Cape Town, USA boss Bob Bradley revealed his view of the South Africa friendly which is meant to honor the Nelson Mandela Challenge. The coach was quoted as saying on USSoccer.com:
“This game is a good opportunity to look at some different players and assess their place in the pool as we continue to build for the next cycle.
“With our immediate focus on the Gold Cup next summer, this game, in many ways, is just as much the start of 2011 as it’s the end of a great year.”
South Africa vs USA Friendly: Will The USA Suffer Under Somma’s Desire For Revenge?
He is probably unknown by the largest part of football’s public, but Davide Somma is South Africa’s new capture. The 25-year-old of Italian origins, who plays for Leeds United, has been called up by Coach Mosimane who may eventually benefit a lot from the player’s burning dream of “teaching the USA a good lesson”.Johannesburg-born Davide Somma, whose parents moved to America as he was 12, was originally keen to represent the United States at the national level. However, he never managed to achieve this dream and following his call-up for the South African national team, he has one thing in mind: to punish the USA.
“The United States didn’t show much interest in me, so I’d love to get on the field and destroy them,” Somma boldly stated in his first interview with South Africa’s media.
South Africa vs Ghana Friendly: No Michael Essien, No Sulley Muntari
The future of Ghana’s national football team is shaping itself differently with Chelsea’s Michael Essien and Inter Milan’s Sulley Muntari appearing more than irregularly for the Black Stars.
In Michael Essien’s case, where it’s been half a year since the ‘bull’ played for his country, injury worries are believed to have been the cause of his national team exclusion. The fragile Chelsea midfielder sustained a knee injury (ironically following a tackle by his Blues teammate Didier Drogba) during Ghana’s 2010 Africa Cup of Nations opener against Cote d’Ivoire earlier in January.
Doctors confirmed that Essien had to miss the remainder of the tournament where the Black Stars still went all the way to the reach the final. Since then, Michael Essien has been left on the sidelines. The player only just returned to action with Chelsea in mid-July and Ghana’s Milovan Rajevac has no intentions of risking him in Wednesday’s friendly match against South Africa.
South Africa vs Ghana – International Friendly Match Preview
The South Africa vs Ghana encounter will mark exactly a month since Spain and the Netherlands battled it out for the trophy in the World Cup final at the same venue. The Soccer City Stadium is a temple where African contingents failed to record a single victory during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. For Ghana’s national football team and supporters as well as for a multitude of football followers around the world, the Soccer City Stadium will forever be remembered best for what happened on July 2 earlier this summer.
That was when it hosted the dramatic quarter-final fixture between Ghana and Uruguay where Luis Suarez’s handball, Asamoah Gyan’s last-second penalty miss, and La Celeste Olimpica’s triumph in the eventual penalty shoot-out cruelly killed Ghana’s dream of breaking Africa’s World Cup quarter-final curse in the history of the sport. On Wednesday, the Black Stars of Ghana (who earned even more respect following their remarkable 2010 World Cup campaign) will want to get back on track as they look forward to a bright future.
2010 FIFA World Cup Third Place Final: Uruguay-Germany Predictions – Uruguay’s Campaign
The 2010 FIFA World Cup’s Third Place will consist of tones of relevant history; and now is the time to look at some of its main parts. Certainly, this couldn’t have been done in a better other than knowing the basic information on both teams, and to start, Live Soccer TV recalls how both Uruguay and Germany reached the semi-finals. Perhaps, as a reader, you might feel that recent analyses published on the site are more informative in Germany’s way; for that reason, this article is mainly dedicated to Uruguay’s campaign.
Uruguay – How they landed in the 2010 FIFA World Cup Third Place with Germany
Group A: Uruguay 0-0 France
Uruguay were placed in South Africa’s royal Group A along with France and Mexico; but with the hosts and Les Bleus earlier on regarded as the hot favorites to qualify for the Round of 16, the South American were forced to make extra efforts to conquer the mentality of their opponents and rule their table. It didn’t start in the best of ways though, as they drew their first match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup 0-0 with France. An unimpressive Diego Forlan was incapable of leading his side to triumph over France, and with the first red card of the World Cup being shown to one of his team mates, all that a 10-men Uruguayan side could go for, was holding on to a draw.
2010 World Cup: France 1-2 South Africa - Report
France vs South Africa, First Half: Bafana Bafana Destroy Les Bleus
Captained by Alou Diarra since the self-exclusion of Patrice Evra, the French were out to play for pride even if their chances of reaching the Round of 16 remained very slim. Andre-Pierre Gignac had a glorious opportunity to break France’s goalless curse in South Africa when he was sent through on goal from the left side of the penalty area. The player cruised into the box but only fired a weak shot which didn’t trouble South Africa’s goalkeeper.
You could feel France’s intention to really get something out of this game with Djibril Cissé coming close to scoring through a header. South Africa struggled to take hold of the game until after a quarter of an hour when Steven Pienaar came out from the shadows of his body pains to inject some attacking flair into the game.
Where to watch France vs South Africa Live
GROUP A match France vs South Africa kicks off at 10:00 AM EST / 4:00 PM Local. All Group A matches are played at the same time, to avoid any funny / sympathetic performances that may affect the standings.
If you are in the USA you can watch France vs South Africa Live on the following world cup tv channels:
ESPN 2 (HD), ESPN3.com...
Siphiwe Tshabalala offered a bright start to Bafana’s 2010 World Cup campaign by scoring the tournament’s first goal on the opening day. But Mexico’s Rafael Marquez and Diego Forlan’s Uruguay quickly painted anxiety and frustration on the faces of South Africans. Bafana Bafana’s hopes, after drawing their first game and emphatically losing their other one by three goals to nil, are hanging from a thread. Like the French, they must not only hope that Mexico and Uruguay don’t play out a draw, but also win big on Tuesday afternoon. SAFA President Kirsten Nematandani is optimistic about the country’s fate at the 2010 World Cup and thinks that the home fans will play a pivotal role against France. He told the press: How South Africa, Uruguay, Mexico and France all missed their chances to make history Group A, as the very first group in the 2010 World Cup competition, should have contained the first team to qualify into the last 16 stage of the tournament; but that was not possible, and a frugal Argentina side was given the opportunity to make history – which eventually, they did. 2010 FIFA World Cup hosts South Africa failed to be victorious in their opening game when they miserably drew 1-1 with Mexico, and consequently, they were unable to begin a 100% record in the contest. Snatching 3 early points is always an important mission for any team in a major football competition, considering the fact that it widens chances to get automatic places into knockout phases with 6 points on the second match-day. However, South Africa were not great enough to make such an achievement, and hence, with 10 other teams after them winning their first battles in their groups, it was almost impossible for the Bafana Bafana to seal an automatic place in the round of 16 on match-day 2. South Africa, France, Mexico, and Uruguay compose a table where there are actually no hot favorites and no defined underdogs. Still, they can be separated in sections. It’s only after some kind... Not even a year has passed since Spain lost a match for the first time since 2007. This sad moment happened on June 24 in the 2009 Confederations Cup held in South Africa, where the European title holders Spain strangely went down 2-0 against the United States in the semifinal of the tournament. That day, history was made not only for USA, but also for the South Africans, whose land had witnessed the “downfall” of Europe’s biggest team. Spain finished 3rd in that competition after beating the hosts in the third-place final on extra time; but just as they thought they could rebuild their 2007-09 unbeaten run afterward, they experienced an upset in their first 2010 FIFA World Cup encounter. Bafana Bafana may regret not to have opened their 2010 World Cup campaign with a victory at the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg last Friday. In fact, all their efforts were matched by a Mexican side that was certainly as good as they were on the day. Perhaps 1-1 was a fair result in the end; the greatest relief for South Africa is that France and Uruguay also played out a draw in the Group’s other game. So things remain the same in table as they were before the first Jabulani ball was kicked in this 2010 FIFA World Cup competition. The hosts know that they cannot afford to lose anymore points if they are to contend for a place in the last 16. After seeing Uruguay struggle to impress in their opener against France, Bafana Bafana will feel that they can get the best out of their South American counterparts come Wednesday. The 2010 FIFA World Cup’s first goal author, Siphiwe Tshabalala, gave his thought about South Africa’s crucial match against Uruguay.
France vs South Africa – 2010 World Cup Match Preview
South Africa’s Bafana Bafana Should Make Their Nation Proud2010 FIFA World Cup: Argentina, First Team To Reach Round of 16
Group A – 2010 FIFA World Cup
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Group A – the favorites at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South AfricaSouth Africa vs Uruguay - FIFA World Cup 2010 Report
Uruguay's victory over South Africa has completely changed the perspective of Maestro Tabarez's regarding their future in the competition. A loose victory 3-0 embedded the players with a new spirit that will be determinant to face their Mexican brothers next week. Reaching the stage of sixteen with their goal intact will be a second goal for the Celestes, confident this will be Uruguay's return to the most challenging football of the world. The Bafana Bafana, with one foot outside their own land will have a test of fire against the Gallic warriors.2010 World Cup: Spain 0-1 Switzerland – Spain’s Curse In South Africa Continues – Group H
Spain Loses Again In South AfricaSouth Africa And Uruguay To Write Their Future On Wednesday Night.
South Africa vs Uruguay – Ke Nako!South Africa vs Uruguay - FIFA World Cup 2010 Match Preview
Uruguay and South Africa will hold the second match of their group knowing that every single point will matter to advance to the next stage. Diego Forlan's squad had a very disappointing beginning in the competition, as their supposedly unstoppable offense had many problems making its way against France's packed back line. South Africa confirmed their strategy 4-2-3-1 can offer deadly counterattacks and for that reason most of the second half they dominated the game against Mexico. Their lack of experience against strikers of International football proved lethal against the Mexicans: something will have to change as Luis Suarez and Diego Forlan can prove deadly if given any space. Half a ticket for the Knockouts will be given to the winner, will the host stop Charrua's advance?
2010 World Cup: Are African Nations Prepared To Face The World?
Since 1934 – the first time an African nation participated in the World Cup – the Black Continent has not managed to rise up against the world. The record is mediocre with Cameroon and Senegal currently sharing the best record thanks to their quarter-final finish back in 1990 and 2002 respectively.
76 years after Africa first graced the world stage, the planet’s most prestigious sporting event will take place in Africa for the first ever time in the history of football. African nations now have a great advantage best called the home advantage. But will they make the most of it?
The world will watch as Africa will fight to gain its pride against the titans from Europe and South America and the outsiders from Asia. After multiple attempts, what have African nations learned from their failures? What kind of football will they offer to the world? Is the year 2010 going to be a turning point in the history of soccer?