Archived News - 19th Mar 2007

African Cup of Nations News

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Archived News

Global Goals is a new and exciting system for ranking international goalscorers and the February rankings have just been published.

Ronaldo is still top of the overall Top 30 but there is more great news for Didier Drogba after winning the CAF African Footballer of the Year, he climbs to Number 15 in the February rankings, the highest ever position held by an African player, with an African Nations match against Madagascar to come in March he could climb into the Top 10.

As for the African Top 30, brilliant young Moroccan striker Marouane Chamakh breaks into the Top 10 for the first time, he will surely climb higher in the months ahead.

For more detailed rankings including the overall Top 30, the African Top 30 and to see who is top ranked player for your country, go to www.global-goals.co.uk.

LeRoy Worried By Hype Over Brazil Rematch

Ghana coach Claude LeRoy is concerned that the Black Stars will lose their six-match unbeaten run against Austria as they start to look ahead to their rematch with Brazil prematurely.

The Ghanaian Football Association have lined up two tough friendlies in the week set aside by Fifa for internationals at the end of March but it is the latter of these matches - against Brazil in Stockholm on March 27 - that has understandably captured everybody's imagination.

While LeRoy can understand the excitement generated by the pairing of the two sides that famously clashed in last year’s World Cup Finals, he is anxious for the Black Stars to maintain the winning habit with a win against the less glamorous Austrians.

“I am not the least happy that everyone is talking about our game with Brazil as though the one against Austria three days earlier does not exist,” the Frenchman told a news conference in Togo last week.

"There is always the tendency of an element of surprise somewhere when attention is shifted like now.

"What we all must recognize is that the game against Austria is equally crucial and we cannot afford to treat it with near contempt when the stakes are that high.”

Stakes are high in every game for Ghana ahead of next January’s Nations Cup as expectations are massive for the Black Stars to lift the trophy on home soil.

Ghana are ranked 19th in the world by Fifa and have not lost a game since the 3-0 defeat to Brazil in Dortmund last summer.

Vogts Delighted To Be Out Of The Sun

Berti Vogts will be relieved that the kick-off time for the upcoming Nigeria-Uganda Nations Cup qualifier on May 24 has been confirmed for 6pm (8pm Ugandan time).

Temperatures have risen as high as 37 degrees in the Nigerian capital of Lagos recently and the new Super Eagles coach feels his side stand a better chance of getting his reign off to a good start now that kick-off has been pushed back.

The German has been made well aware that one of the common explanations given for Nigeria’s failure to qualify for Germany 2006 was that they had to play eventual group winners Angola in baking heat in the qualifiers and laboured to a 0-0 draw.

Chelsea’s Kalou Set To Commit To Elephants

Salomon Kalou will commit himself to an Ivory Coast international career if he accepts a call-up to the squad to play Guinea later this month.

The Chelsea forward made his debut for the Elephants in a friendly against Guinea last month but only once Kalou plays a competitive game for the West African country will he be tied down to Uli Stielke’s side.

It is football’s worst kept secret that Salomon was desperate to play for Holland in the World Cup last year, despite the Dutch side being drawn in the same group as his country of birth.

Kalou, who played in the Netherlands for Feyenoord for three years, failed in his application for a fast-track Dutch citizenship last Spring and has since had a change of heart over playing for the country captained by his club colleague Didier Drogba.

Paris Saint Germain’s Bonaventure Kalou, Salmon’s brother and Drogba’s predecessor as Ivory Coast captain, failed to make the squad.

Ivory Coast squad:

Goalkeepers: Boubacar Barry (Beveren, Belgium), Gerard Gnanhouan (Creteil, France)
Defenders: Arthur Boka (VfB Stuttgart, Germany), Mamadou Doumbia (Istres, France), Steve Gohouri (Borussia Moenchengladbach, Germany), Abdoulaye Meite (Bolton Wanderers, England), Kolo Toure (Arsenal, England)
Midfielders: Kanga Akale (AJ Auxerre, France), Christian Koffi Ndri (Le Mans, France), Siaka Tiene (Stade Reims, France), Gneri Yaya Toure (Monaco, France), Gilles Yapi Yapo (Young Boys Berne, Switzerland), Didier Zokora (Tottenham Hotspur, England)
Strikers: Aruna Dindane (Racing Lens, France), Didier Drogba (Chelsea, England), Salomon Kalou (Chelsea, England), Abdelkader Keita (Lille, France), Bakary Kone (Nice, France).

Comeback-Kid Camara Returns For Senegal

Senegal coach Henri Kasperczak has named long-term injury victim Henri Camara in his 21-man squad for the African Nations Cup qualifier against Tanzania on March 24.

Camara has been out with a knee problem for two months but made a return to the Wigan squad when he was named as a substitute for the Premiership side’s clash with Fulham on March 17.

The Pole has also handed a first call-up to 20-year-old Monaco defender Massamba Lo Sambou.

Senegal are second in Group 7 behind a resurgent Tanzania in a pool that also features Burkina Faso and Mozambique.

Senegal Squad:

Goalkeepers: Khadim Faye (Boavista, Portugal), Pape Latyr Ndiaye (US Ouakam), Tony Sylva (Lille, France)
Defenders: Habib Beye (Olympique Marseille, France), Lamine Diatta (St Etienne, France), Ibrahima Faye (Troyes, France), Pascal Mendy (FBK Kaunas, Lithuania), Guirane Ndaw (Sochaux, France), Massamba Lo Sambou (Monaco, France)
Midfielders: Pape Malick Ba (FC Basel, Switzerland), Pape Bouba Diop (Fulham, England), Abdoulaye Diagne Faye (Bolton Wanderers, England), Frederic Mendy (Bastia, France), Ousmane Ndoye (Al Ittifaq, Saudi Arabia), Bayal Sall (St Etienne, France)
Strikers: Henri Camara (Wigan Athletic, England), El Hadji Diouf (Bolton Wanderers, England), Diomansy Kamara (West Bromwich Albion, England), Pape Waigo Ndiaye (Cesena, Italy), Mamadou Niang (Olympique Marseille, France), Pape Demba Toure (Grasshoppers Zurich, Switzerland).

Ashgold Out of Champions League

Ashanti Gold, arguably Ghana’s most famous club, have been knocked out of the African Champions League. Moroccan outfit Royal Armed Forces progressed after a 7-6 victory on penalties.

RAF won 2-0 in Rabat to level the tie on aggregate - after the Ghanaians had won the first leg by the same scoreline - and now find themselves through to the third round of CAF’s premier continental competition.

Elsewhere five-times winners Zamalek were knocked out by Sudan's Al Hilal ,who held the Egyptians to a 2-2 draw in the second leg of their round two encounter in Cairo to go through 4-2 on aggregate.

Please forward all press releases and feature ideas to Barney Cullum on barney@newafricansoccer.co.uk