2008 Africa Cup of Nations

26th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations November 2020 2008 2008 Africa Cup of Nations logo.svg 150px Africa Cup of Nations 2008 official logo Ghana 20 January – 10 February 16 4 4 Egypt 6 Cameroon Ghana Ivory Coast 32 99 714000 CMR Samuel Eto'o (5 goals) EGY Hosny Abd Rabo EGY Essam El Hadary 2006 2010 The 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the MTN Africa Cup of Nations due to the competition's sponsorship by MTN, was the 26th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial football tournament for nations affiliated with the Confederation of African Football (CAF). The tournament was staged at four venues around Ghana between 20 January and 10 February 2008. This was the last Africa Cup of Nations to use the old CAF logo. Egypt won the tournament, beating Cameroon 1–0 in the final. As winners, they qualified for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup as the CAF representatives. Host selection Bids: Ghana (selected as hosts) Libya South Africa (withdrew) The organization of the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations was awarded to Ghana on 8 July 2004 by the CAF Executive Committee members which are 12 in Cairo, Egypt. Voters had a choice between Ghana and Libya which was disadvantaged by the fact that two countries in the North Africa region had already hosted the last two editions (Tunisia in 2004, and Egypt in 2006). South Africa, also a candidate at the start, eventually withdrew in May 2004 after being nominated for the organization of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. This was the fourth time that Ghana hosted the African Cup after 1963, 1978 and 2000 (jointly with Nigeria). Results Nation Votes GHA Ghana 9 LBY 1977 Libya 3 RSA South Africa Withdrew Total votes 12 Qualification 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification The entrants were divided into 12 groups. All group winners and the best three runners-up from groups with four teams (groups 2-11) qualified for the finals. Host Ghana qualified automatically. Qualifying took place between 2 September 2006 and 13 October 2007. Teams thumb|300px|A map of Africa showing the qualified nations, highlighted by stage reached. GHA – Host, 16th appearance (4 titles) CIV – Group 1 winner, 17th appearance (1 title) EGY – Group 2 winner, 21st appearance (5 titles) NGA – Group 3 winner, 15th appearance (2 titles) SUD – Group 4 winner, 7th appearance (1 title) CMR – Group 5 winner, 15th appearance (4 titles) ANG – Group 6 winner, 4th appearance SEN – Group 7 winner, 11th appearance GUI – Group 8 winner, 9th appearance MLI – Group 9 winner, 5th appearance NAM – Group 10 winner, 2nd appearance ZAM – Group 11 winner, 13th appearance MAR – Group 12 winner, 14th appearance (1 title) TUN – Group 4 runner-up, 13th appearance (1 title) BEN – Group 9 runner-up, 2nd appearance RSA – Group 11 runner-up, 7th appearance (1 title) Venues AccraGhana center 310 Ghana 5.55 -0.2 Accra low Ghana 6.67 -1.62 Kumasi left Ghana 9.41 -0.85 Tamale left Ghana 4.92 -1.77 Sekondi-Takoradi low Kumasi Ohene Djan Stadium Baba Yara Stadium Capacity: 40,000Ohene Djan Stadium will last "forever"- Micheletti http://www.ghananewsagency.org/details/Sports/Ohene-Djan-Stadium-will-last-forever--Micheletti/?ci=5&ai=3148 4 December 2013 ghananewsagency.org Capacity: 40,528 150px 150px Tamale Sekondi-Takoradi Tamale Stadium Sekondi-Takoradi Stadium Capacity: 21,017 Capacity: 20,088 150px 150px Tournament ball thumb|The tournament ball "Wawa Aba"thumb|Wawa aba, an Adinkra symbol of hardiness, toughness, and perseverance During the previous editions of the Africa Cup of Nations, the ball used was not a ball especially made for the tournament. As the tournament was held on even years, the same years big tournaments such as the UEFA European Championships or the FIFA World Cup were held, the official ball for the tournament held this year was used for the African Cup of Nations: the Adidas Roteiro in 2004, or the Adidas Teamgeist in 2006. However, for the 2008 tournament, Adidas made a special ball, clearly different from the Adidas Europass going to be used five months later for UEFA Euro 2008. The ball was named Wawa Aba and was designed to include host nation Ghana's red, yellow and green. The ball was later used for the other African competitions. For the Akan culture originating from Western Africa, one of the Adinkra symbols named Wawa Aba is a symbol of hardiness, toughness, and perseverance.Willis W. Bruce 1998 The Adinkra Dictionary: A Visual Primer on the Language of Adinkra Washington, DC The Pyramid Complex 196–7 People there particularly believe in the strength and team spirit of a community. The Wawa Aba literally means "seed(s) of Wawa tree (Triplochiton scleroxylon)”,Azindow Yakubu M. 1999 Philosophical Reflections of Adinkra Symbols https://books.google.com/books?id=tx0OAQAAMAAJ&q=wawa+aba+Triplochiton 29 Accra, Ghana 9988-0-0130-4 one of the strongest and most processible woods of Africa and whose seeds are very hard. For the population, the Wawa Aba mainly has mystical significance. These are people who don't let failure discourage them, who seize all opportunities successfully and who are thus just as strong and adaptable as the Wawa Aba. Match officials 16 referees and 16 assistant referees were selected for the tournament, including two from Japan and one from South Korea.Referees Referees Assistant Referees ALG Mohamed Benouza ALG Brahim Djezzar CMR Divine Evehe CMR Evarist Menkouande JPN Yuichi Nishimura JPN Toru Sagara MAR Abderrahim El Arjoun MAR Redouane Achik RSA Jerome Damon RSA Enock Molefe TOG Kokou Djaoupe TOG Komi Konyoh TUN Kacem Bennaceur TUN Bechir Hassani ALG Djamel Haimoudi KOR 1997 Jeong Hae-sang BEN Coffi Codjia RWA Celestin Ntagungira GAM Modou Sowe ERI Angesom Ogbamariam GHA Alex Kotey BDI Desire Gahungu MLI Koman Coulibaly BFA Lassina Paré SEN Badara Diatta NGA Peter Edibe SEY Eddy Maillet ANG Inácio Manuel Cândido UGA Muhmed Ssegonga EGY Nasser Sadek Abdel Nabi ZIM Kenias Marange ZAM Kenneth Chichenga Squads 2008 Africa Cup of Nations squads Draw The draw for the tournament took place on 19 October 2007 in Accra. The sixteen teams were divided into four pots according to their performances in past Cup of Nations tournaments. Ghana, as hosts, were automatically seeded as the top team in Group A. Egypt, the defending champions, were seeded as the top team in Group C.Caf release Cup of Nations' seeds, "BBC Sport", 18 October 2007. Retrieved 4 February 2008. Tunisia and Nigeria had the two strongest records and so completed the top seeded Pot 1. Each group consists of four teams, one drawn from each of the pots. Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4 GHA (hosts)EGY (title holders)TUNNGA CIVCMRMARSEN RSAGUIMLIZAM ANGBENNAMSDN Group stage Tie-breaking criteria Where two or more teams end the group stage with the same number of points, their ranking is determined by the following criteria:Article 5, paragraph 13 in the Regulations of the XXVth Africa Cup of Nations guide. points earned in the matches between the teams concerned; goal difference in the matches between the teams concerned; number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned; goal difference in all group matches; number of goals scored in all group matches; drawing of lots by the organizing committee. All times given as local time (UTC+0) Group A main WDL Group A CAF GHA GHA GUI GUI MAR MAR NAM NAM complete 3 0 0 5 1 H 1 1 1 5 5 1 0 2 7 6 0 1 2 2 7 Q KO KO green1 Advance to knockout stage 20 January 2008 17:00 GHA 2–1 Report GUI A. Gyan 55 pen. Muntari 90 Kalabane 65 Ohene Djan Stadium, Accra 35,000 Eddy Maillet (Seychelles) 21 January 2008 15:00 NAM 1–5 Report MAR Brendell 24 Alloudi 1 5 28 Sektioui 40 pen. Zerka 74 Ohene Djan Stadium, Accra 2,000 Divine Evehe (Cameroon) 24 January 2008 17:00 GUI 3–2 Report MAR Feindouno 11 63 pen. Bangoura 59 Aboucherouane 60 Ouaddou 90 Ohene Djan Stadium, Accra 15,000 Jerome Damon (South Africa) 24 January 2008 19:30 GHA 1–0 Report NAM Agogo 41 Ohene Djan Stadium, Accra 40,000 Kacem Bennaceur (Tunisia) 28 January 2008 17:00 GHA 2–0 Report MAR Essien 26 Muntari 45 Ohene Djan Stadium, Accra 40,000 Modou Sowe (Gambia) 28 January 2008 17:00 GUI 1–1 Report NAM Youla 62 Brendell 80 Sekondi-Takoradi Stadium, Sekondi-Takoradi 1,000 Muhmed Ssegonga (Uganda) Group B main WDL Group B CAF CIV CIV NGR NGR MLI MLI BEN BEN complete 3 0 0 8 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 3 0 0 3 1 7 Q KO KO green1 Advance to knockout stage 21 January 2008 17:00 NGR 0–1 Report CIV Kalou 66 Sekondi Stadium, Sekondi-Takoradi 20,088 Mohamed Benouza (Algeria) 21 January 2008 19:45Kick-off delayed by 15 minutes due to floodlight failure MLI 1–0 Report BEN Kanouté 49 pen. Sekondi Stadium, Sekondi-Takoradi 11,000 Jerome Damon (South Africa) 25 January 2008 17:00 CIV 4–1 Report BEN Drogba 40 Y. Touré 44 Keïta 53 Dindane 63 Omotoyossi 90 Sekondi Stadium, Sekondi-Takoradi 13,000 Kenias Marange (Zimbabwe) 25 January 2008 19:30 NGR 0–0 Report MLI Sekondi Stadium, Sekondi-Takoradi 16,000 Abderrahim El Arjoun (Morocco) 29 January 2008 17:00 NGR 2–0 Report BEN Mikel 53 Yakubu 86 Sekondi Stadium, Sekondi-Takoradi 4,000 Kacem Bennaceur (Tunisia) 29 January 2008 17:00 CIV 3–0 Report MLI Drogba 9 Zoro 54 Sanogo 86 Ohene Djan Stadium, Accra 20,000 Eddy Maillet (Seychelles) Group C main WDL Group C CAF EGY EGY CMR CMR ZAM ZAM SUD SUD complete 2 1 0 8 3 2 0 1 10 5 1 1 1 5 6 0 0 3 0 9 Q KO KO green1 Advance to knockout stage 22 January 2008 17:00 EGY 4–2 Report CMR Hosny 14 pen. 82 Zidan 17 45 Eto'o 51 90 pen. Baba Yara Stadium, Kumasi 42,000 Modou Sowe (Gambia) 22 January 2008 19:30 SUD 0–3 Report ZAM Chamanga 2 J. Mulenga 50 F. Katongo 59 Baba Yara Stadium, Kumasi 35,000 Badara Diatta (Senegal) 26 January 2008 17:00 CMR 5–1 Report ZAM Geremi 28 Job 32 82 Emana 44 Eto'o 66 pen. C. Katongo 90 Baba Yara Stadium, Kumasi 10,000 Yuichi Nishimura (Japan) 26 January 2008 19:30 EGY 3–0 Report SUD Hosny 29 pen. Aboutrika 78 83 Baba Yara Stadium, Kumasi 15,000 Coffi Codjia (Benin) 30 January 2008 17:00 CMR 3–0 Report SUD Eto'o 27 pen. 90 El Khider 33 o.g. Tamale Stadium, Tamale 10,000 Kokou Djaoupe (Togo) 30 January 2008 17:00 EGY 1–1 Report ZAM Zaki 15 C. Katongo 88 Baba Yara Stadium, Kumasi 2,000 Koman Coulibaly (Mali) Group D main WDL Group D CAF TUN TUN ANG ANG SEN SEN RSA RSA complete 1 2 0 5 3 1 2 0 4 2 0 2 1 4 6 0 2 1 3 5 Q KO KO green1 Advance to knockout stage 23 January 2008 17:00 TUN 2–2 Report SEN Jemâa 9 Traoui 82 Sall 45 D. Kamara 66 Tamale Stadium, Tamale 12,000 Yuichi Nishimura (Japan) 23 January 2008 19:30 RSA 1–1 Report ANG Van Heerden 87 Manucho 29 Tamale Stadium, Tamale 15,000 Koman Coulibaly (Mali) 27 January 2008 17:00 SEN 1–3 Report ANG A. Faye 20 Manucho 50 67 Flávio 78 Tamale Stadium, Tamale 10,000 Modou Sowe (Gambia) 27 January 2008 19:30 TUN 3–1 Report RSA Santos 8 34 Ben Saada 32 Mphela 87 Tamale Stadium, Tamale 15,000 Kokou Djaoupe (Togo) 31 January 2008 17:00 SEN 1–1 Report RSA H. Camara 36 Van Heerden 14 Baba Yara Stadium, Kumasi 15,000 Alex Kotey (Ghana) 31 January 2008 17:00 TUN 0–0 Report ANG Tamale Stadium, Tamale 10,000 Coffi Codjia (Benin) Knockout stage N8 white-space:nowrap yes high yes 3 February – Accra GHA 2 NGA 1 4 February – Tamale TUN 2 CMR 3 3 February – Sekondi CIV 5 GUI 0 4 February – Kumasi EGY 2 ANG 1 7 February – Accra GHA 0 CMR 1 7 February – Kumasi CIV 1 EGY 4 10 February – Accra CMR 0 EGY 1 9 February – Kumasi GHA 4 CIV 2 Quarter-finals 3 February 2008 17:00 GHA 2–1 Report NGA Essien 45+2 Agogo 83 Yakubu 35 pen. Ohene Djan Stadium, Accra 45,000 Mohamed Benouza (Algeria) 3 February 2008 20:30 CIV 5–0 Report GUI Keïta 25 Drogba 70 Kalou 72 81 B. Koné 85 Sekondi Stadium, Sekondi 14,000 Djamel Haimoudi (Algeria) 4 February 2008 17:00 EGY 2–1 Report ANG Hosny 23 pen. Zaki 38 Manucho 27 Baba Yara Stadium, Kumasi 6,000 Yuichi Nishimura (Japan) 4 February 2008 20:30 TUN 2–3 yes Report CMR Ben Saada 34 Chikhaoui 81 Mbia 18 93 Geremi 27 Tamale Stadium, Tamale 15,000 Koman Coulibaly (Mali) Semi-finals 7 February 2008 17:00 GHA 0–1 Report CMR N'Kong 72 Ohene Djan Stadium, Accra 40,000 Abderahim El Arjoune (Morocco) 7 February 2008 20:30 CIV 1–4 Report EGY Keita 63 Fathy 12 Zaki 61 67 Aboutrika 90+1 Baba Yara Stadium, Kumasi 30,000 Eddy Maillet (Seychelles) Third place match 9 February 2008 17:00 GHA 4–2 Report CIV Muntari 10 Owusu-Abeyie 70 Agogo 80 Draman 84 Sanogo 24 32 Baba Yara Stadium, Kumasi 40,000 Jerome Damon (South Africa) Final 2008 Africa Cup of Nations Final 10 February 2008 17:00 CMR 0–1 September 2025 EGY Aboutrika 76 Ohene Djan Stadium, Accra 35,500 Coffi Codjia (Benin) Awards Player of the tournament EGY Hosny Abd Rabo Abd Rabou wins best player award https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/7238058.stm BBC Sport 10 February 2008 11 February 2008 Top scorer CMR Samuel Eto'o – 5 goals Best Goalkeeper EGY Essam El Hadary Best XI The following players were selected as the best in their respective positions, based on their performances throughout the tournament. Their performances were analysed by the tournament's Technical Study Group (TSG), who picked the team.CAF names Best XI for Ghana 2008 ACN http://www.cafonline50.com/?lng=1&cmpt=0&module=media&ANC=&TNews=1&idrub=96375&idnews=82854 cafonline.com 10 February 2008 11 February 2008 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20080213103432/http://www.cafonline50.com/?lng=1&cmpt=0&module=media&ANC=&TNews=1&idrub=96375&idnews=82854 13 February 2008 Goalkeepers Defenders Midfielders ForwardsEGY Essam El Hadary CMR Geremi EGY Wael Gomaa GHA Michael Essien GHA Sulley Muntari CIV Yaya Touré CMR Alex Song EGY Hosny Abd Rabo EGY Mohamed Aboutrika EGY Amr Zaki ANG Manucho Substitutes GHA Richard Kingson EGY Hany Said EGY Ahmed Fathy TUN Saber Ben Frej CMR Stéphane Mbia CMR Samuel Eto'o CIV Didier Drogba CIV Kader Keïta Goalscorers 99 32 CMR Samuel Eto'o ANG Manucho EGY Hosny Abd Rabo EGY Mohamed Aboutrika EGY Amr Zaki CIV Didier Drogba CIV Salomon Kalou CIV Kader Keïta CIV Boubacar Sanogo GHA Junior Agogo GHA Sulley Muntari MAR Soufiane Alloudi CMR Geremi CMR Joseph-Désiré Job CMR Stéphane Mbia EGY Mohamed Zidan GHA Michael Essien GUI Pascal Feindouno NAM Brian Brendell NGA Yakubu RSA Elrio van Heerden TUN Chaouki Ben Saada TUN Francileudo dos Santos ZAM Chris Katongo ANG Flávio BEN Razak Omotoyossi CMR Achille Emana CMR Alain N'Kong CIV Aruna Dindane CIV Bakari Koné CIV Yaya Touré CIV Marco Zoro EGY Ahmed Fathy GHA Haminu Dramani GHA Asamoah Gyan GHA Quincy Owusu-Abeyie GUI Ismaël Bangoura GUI Oumar Kalabane GUI Souleymane Youla MLI Frédéric Kanouté MAR Hicham Aboucherouane MAR Abdeslam Ouaddou MAR Tarik Sektioui MAR Monsef Zerka NGA Mikel John Obi SEN Moustapha Bayal Sall SEN Henri Camara SEN Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye SEN Diomansy Kamara RSA Katlego Mphela TUN Yassine Chikhaoui TUN Issam Jemâa TUN Mejdi Traoui ZAM James Chamanga ZAM Felix Katongo ZAM Jacob Mulenga SUD Mohammed Ali El Khider (against Cameroon) Tournament rankings Ranking criteria For teams eliminated in the same knockout round, the following criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the final rankings: Goal difference in round eliminated; Goals scored in round eliminated; If teams eliminated in the semi-finals or quarter-finals are tied, the above criteria are reapplied for the previous knockout round, with this process repeated once more should two semi-finalists remain tied; Points in group stage; Goal difference in group stage; Goals scored in group stage; Disciplinary points. For teams eliminated in the group stage, the following criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the final rankings:AFC Competition Operations Manual (Edition 2023) https://assets.the-afc.com/downloads/miscellaneous-regulations/AFC-Competition-Operations-Manual-(Edition-2023).pdf Asian Football Confederation 25 January 2024 Position in group; Points; Goal difference; Goals scored; Disciplinary points. yes yes yes 95 1 EGY D yes 5 1 0 15 5 gold 2 CMR B yes 4 0 2 14 8 silver 3 GHA A yes 5 0 1 11 5 #c96 4 CIV C yes 4 0 2 16 9 |- | colspan="11" | Eliminated in the quarter-finals |- 5 TUN B yes 1 2 1 7 6 6 ANG C yes 1 2 1 5 4 7 NGA A yes 1 1 2 3 3 8 GUI D yes 1 1 2 5 10 |- | colspan="11" | Eliminated in the group stage |- 9 ZAM A yes 1 1 1 5 6 10 MLI D yes 1 1 1 1 3 11 MAR B yes 1 0 2 7 6 12 SEN C yes 0 2 1 4 6 13 RSA D yes 0 2 1 3 5 14 NAM B yes 0 1 2 2 7 15 BEN A yes 0 0 3 1 7 16 SDN C yes 0 0 3 0 9 |} References External links 2008 African Cup of Nations at CAFonline.com Africa Cup of Nations on BBC 1Xtra https://archive.today/20121216112506/http://football.uk.reuters.com/african-cup-of-nations-2008/ African Cup of Nations 2008 coverage on Reuters.co.uk el 2008 Cup of Nations Cup of Nations Category:2007–08 in Ghanaian football Category:Men's international association football competitions hosted by Ghana Category:Football competitions in Accra Category:Sport in Kumasi Category:Tamale, Ghana Category:Sekondi-Takoradi Category:January 2008 sports events in Africa Category:February 2008 sports events in Africa