EP SPECIAL: As the time is running, soccer fans will be biting nails until the start of the African Cup of Nations which will be held in Tunisia. EP will try to look into this great tournament by presenting a preview on each group and each team, trying to guess who will be the best in Tunisia 2004...

GROUP A

Tunisia
Rwanda
DR Congo
Guinea

TUNISIA

Info:

10 years have gone since the last CAN Tunisia have hosted. They were clear favorites with Nigeria at that time and their results were very impressive in their friendlies before the tournament. But in their first game there was a massive shock for all soccer fans when they lost to Mali 2-0. Then, they managed to get a draw against DR Congo 1-1; their only goal coming from a penalty kick. But now there is a lot of difference. In 1996 Tunisia reached the CAN final and lost to South Africa (the hosts) 2-0, and then they went to World Cup 1998 for there second only time. After this, they managed to reach the last World Cup and this can just show us how ambitious they are. As well as this, the Tunisian clubs' success in African competitions has shown their club level. Etole de Sole, African Club and Espearance have been on form. But still, the whole of Tunisia dreams of its first African Cup victory, so can they do it or will it be a new failure?

Qualified ahead of:

Qualified as hosts.

Odds:

Group winners 2/5
Champions 4/1

Star player:

Hatem Trabelsi. Played with Mido at Ajax, and proved both his attacking and defensive abilities.

Squad:

1 Ali Boumnijel
13.04.1966
FC Rouen

2 Khaled Badra
08.04.1973
E.S.T.

3 Karim Hagul
20.01.1984
E.S.S.

4 Alaeddine Yahia
26.09.1981
Guingamp

5 Zied Jaziri
12.07.1978
Gazientepspor

6 Hatem Trabelsi
25.11.1977
Ajax

7 Imed Mhadhebi
22.03.1976
Sfaxien

8 Mehdi Nafti
28.11.1978
Santander

9 Najeh Braham
20.05.1977
Ent. Trier

10 Kais Ghodhbane
07.01.1976
Diyarbakirspor

11 Francicieudo Dos Santos
20.03.1979
Sochaux

12 Jawhar Mnari
08.11.1976
E.S.T.

13 Riadh Bouazizi
08.04.1973
Gazientepspor

14 Adel Chadli
16.09.1976
Sochaux

15 Radhi Jaidi
30.08.1975
E.S.T.

16 Khaled Fadhel
29.09.1976
Sfaxien

17 Mohamed Jedidi
19.09.1978
Monastir

18 Slim Ben Achour
08.09.1981
P.S.G.

19 Anis Ayari
16.02.1982
S Tunisien

20 Ribeiro Munzes Jose Clayton
21.03.1974
E.S.T.

21 Karim Saidi
24.03.1983
Club Africain

22 Khaled Azeiz
30.10.1976
Club Africain

RWANDA

Info:

It will be unfair to compare Rwanda and any other nation in this competition as it is their first time to qualify for the CAN. But it seems that they will come to Tunisia to gain the needed experience, to try to become one day one of the big soccer nations in Africa. But they have nothing to lose at all and they will try to use this factor to play well. They are expected to play very simple soccer, but never forget that they were able to leap over Ghana (4 times ACN winners) in order to qualify. So we will have to
sit and see what they have to show...

Qualified ahead of:

Uganda
Ghana

Odds:

Group winners: 40/1
Champions: 150/1

Star player:

Mbonabucya Desire. One of a number of players that play in Belgium. If anyone will cause danger, it will be this striker and skipper.

Squad:

1 Mbeu Patrick
09.03.1986 APR
(Rwanda)

2 Ndagijimana Jean Claude
17.08.1982
Rayon (Rwanda)

3 Ndikumana Hamad
05.10.1978
Gent (BEL)

4 Sibomana Abdul
10.12.1981
APR (Rwanda)

5 Bizagwira Leandre
09.06.1981
Kiyovu (Rwanda)

6 Rusanganwa Frédéric
04.04.1980
APR (Rwanda)

7 Bizimana Canesius
15.01.1984
Mukura (Rwanda)

8 Kamanzi Michel
22.09.1974
Betzdorf

9 Joao Elias Henriette
12.12.1973
Kortrijk (BEL)

10 Gatete Jimmy
11.12.1982
APR (Rwanda)

11 Karekezi Olivier
25.05.1980
APR (Rwanda)

12 Munyaneza Henri
19.06.1984
Aalost (BEL)

13 Ntaganda Elias
01.01.1979
APR (Rwanda)

14 Makazsi Said Abed
03.07.1982
FC Bruxelles (BEL)

15 Mbonabucya Desire
25.02.1977
Saint-Truiden (BEL)

16 Nshimiyimana Eric
08.05.1972
APR (Rwanda)

17 Lomani Jean
27.07.1982
Power Dynamos

18 Nkunzingoma Ramadhani
02.05.1977
Marines (Rwanda)

19 Kamanzi Karim
18.03.1983
Vise (BEL)

20 Mulisa Jimmy
03.04.1985
APR (Rwanda)

21 Bitana Jean Remy
05.05.1983
Rayon (Rwanda)

22 Ndagijimana

DR CONGO

Info:

Known as Zaire before Congo DR, they are just a shadow of the team they were before. They won the competition before in 1974 in Cairo and they managed to go to the World Cup only to be remembered by what is said to be a moment of madness (against Brazil there was a free-kick and when the referee whistled for the Brazilian player to go for it, a player from the Zaire left the wall and blasted the ball). Congo DR will try their best but it will be very hard especially that they are without their star player Nonda. The team may not be good enough to challenge Cameroon and the likes, but with many top players that play in Europe, they can cause some upsets.

Qualified ahead of:

Libya
Swaziland
Botswana

Odds:

Group winners: 9/2
Champions: 25/1

Star player:

Lomana Lua Lua. In the absence of Nonda, the Newcastle striker will be the star man for DR Congo. He will be up-front with El Saka's team-mate Mbayo in the CAN.

Squad:

1 Nkombe Tokala
26.03.1977
Benfica

2 Musasa Mwamba
22.11.1982
Orlando

3 Camille Muzinga
12.06.1980
Lokeren

4 Kitambala Mubiala
07.07.1974
Ajax

5 Jean-Paul Kamudimba
28.09.1982
O.C.Nice

6 Tresor Luntala
31.05.1982
Grasshopper

7 Diego Kalulika
10.01.1983
Mazembe

8 Lord Ndiwa
Bolton

9 Lomana Lualua
28.12.1980
Newcastle

10 Ekakanga Masudi
12.02.1978
Sturm Graz

11
Musasa Kabamba
30.05.1982
Kaïzer

12 Franck Matingu
04.12.1979
Bastia

13 Ngoy Mbomboko Ngoy
21.05.1977
Mazembe

14 Dinzey Dinzey
15.10.1972
Braunschw

15 Herita Ilunga
St. Etienne

16 Lukata Papy-Shumu Lukata
23.04.1978
ASA

17 Kikeba Piana
17.07.1982
Otelul

18 Kibemba Mbayo
24.04.1978
Genclerbirligi

19 Mbala Mbuta Mbala
07.04.1982
DCMP

20 Mundaba Kisombe
29.09.1976

21 Niati-Polo Nzuzi
16.09.1980
Casino-B

22 Muteba Kidiaba
01.02.1976
Mazembe

GUINEA

Info:

Once more Guinea is going to the ACN and once more they look to go with no hope. Their best position was the 2nd place they won in 1976 in Morocco, but that is all they have got. No one has any massive hope for them, but the 2nd round will be a good achievement for them. Many predict them to come in 2nd place, especially that they have got some very good players like Titi Camara, Pascal Feindounou, on form Bangoura, who has been striking many goals lately in Belgium, and Gençlerbirligi's star player, Youla.

Qualified ahead of:

Niger
Ethiopia
Liberia

Odds:

Group winners: 4/1
Champions: 50/1

Star player:

Souleymane Youla. One can say that they have good players in each position, and Youla is a pacey and competent striker who should be on target, providing the rest of the team help him.

Squad:

1 Keita Mohamed
01.01.1980
AS Kaloum

2 Feindounou Pascal
27.02.1981
Girondins Bordeaux

3 Sow Abdoul Salam
13.08.1970

4 Kaba Mamady
15.06.1982
AS Kaloum

5 Balde Dian Bobo
21.07.1975
Glasgow Celtic

6 Bah Almamy Schuman
24.08.1974
FC Metz

7 Mansare Fodé
03.09.1981
Montpellier

8 Sylla Kanfory
07.07.1980
Charleroi

9 Bangoura Sambegou
03.04.1982
Standard de Liège

10 Camara Aboubacar Titi
17.11.1972
Al Sailiya

11 Youla Souleymane
29.11.1981
Gençlerbirligi

12 Camara Abdoul Kader
18.03.1982
Club Brugges

13 Conte Ibrahima Sory
03.06.1981
Lokeren

14 Camara Ousmana N'Gom
26.05.1975

15 Drame Sékou Oumar
21.12.1973
(Indonesia)

16 Camara Kémoko
05.04.1975
Bneï Sakhnin

17 Morlaye Soumah
04.11.1971
Bastia

18 Sylla Abdoulaye Capi
15.09.1982
FC Tours

19 Camara Mangue
14.08.1982
AS Kaloum

20 Sylla Abdoul Karim
10.01.1981
FC Tours

21 Keita Alhassane
26.06.1983
FC Zurich

22 Bah Abdallah
30.11.1975
Nice

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