This was evidenced in the final game of the last competition against Egypt when Song was outplayed by Zidan who layed on a pass for Aboutreka to score the winning goal.

On the positive side, Cameroon possess the safest pair of hands on the continent in Carlos Kameni, and Samuel Eto’o is a player who needs no introduction. Cameroon’s hopes in Angola rest heavily on his experienced shoulders, Eto’o has been the top scorer for the past two events and coach Paul Le Guen will be strongly hoping the Inter forward bangs in the goals this time around too. Cameroon will be very hard to beat, and anything short of a semi-final berth is failure for this side.

Gabon come into the tournament looking to ride on the back of a remarkable qualifying campaign that almost saw them surprisingly make the World Cup. The Azingo Nationale as they are known are keen to better their Nations Cup record of a single win in seven finals games.

French coach Alain Giresse is the man credited for the outstanding transformation of fortune in this Gabonese side, and fans whose appetite has been whetted by the admirable qualification run will not expect their team to be pushovers for anyone. Hull City’s Daniel Cousin and the talented Pierre Aubamayeng are the men expected to be key in Gabon’s challenge. If they get their mentality right, Gabon are perfectly capable of pulling a surprise and reaching the knockout stage.


The Carthage Eagles of Tunisia, like their Egyptian neighbours, are still reeling from failure to qualify for the World Cup, and Tunisian fans will expect their team to reclaim the trophy they last won on home soil in 2004. The Tunisians love to play a high tempo, quick game that could see them overwhelm opponents in the early stages of a game. They are coached by Faouzi Benzarti with forwards Issam Jemaa and Amine Chermiti as the potential standout players. Tunisia are aiming to win the cup, but that is highly doubtful considering their performances in recent years. A quarter-final exit looks likely to compound a miserable period in Tunisian football.


Zambia are one of the teams who are viewed as just making up the numbers in Angola. They have twice come close to winning this trophy in 1964 and 1974 but failed to do so on both occasions. Captain Chris Katongo is their best player and much responsibility falls on him if the Copper Bullets are to make any sort of impact in Angola. Even the most die-hard fan would not expect them to make it from their group. Coach Renard Herve will aim to beat Gabon and hope for the best against Tunisia and Cameroon.