By FRANCO PANIZO
Prior to Bob Bradley being appointed as its head coach, Egypt failed to qualify for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. The Pharoahs' failure is the rest of Africa's success, as for the first time in six years a new champion will be crowned.
The 28th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations is set to get underway on Saturday, and the 16 teams competing in the host nations of Gabon and Equatorial Guinea all enter with one thing in mind. They all are dreaming of becoming the side that dethrones Egypt as Africa's champion.
Ivory Coast and Ghana are the favorites to lift the cup, but lesser-known teams like Botswana and Niger will be looking to take advantage of the unpredictable nature that is African soccer in their quest to reach the final on February 12.
No matter who gets to the final at Stade d'Angondje, there should be plenty of quality soccer on display from start to finish, especially with players like Didier Drogba, Yaya Toure, Asamoah Gyan, Sulley Muntari and Demba Ba all called into their respective national teams.
Here are the groups and some of the players to keep an eye on:
GROUP A
Equatorial Guinea
Libya
Senegal
Zambia
GROUP B
Ivory Coast
Sudan
Burkina Faso
Angola
GROUP C
Gabon
Niger
Morroco
Tunisia
GROUP D
Ghana
Botswana
Mali
Guinea
Players to watch: Demba Ba (Senegal), Bouna Coundoul (Senegal), Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast), Gervinho (Ivory Coast), Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast), Kolo Toure (Ivory Coast), Asamoah Gyan (Ghana), Sulley Muntari (Ghana), Karim Haggui (Tunisia), Seydou Keita (Mali).
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Who do you see advancing out of the groups? Who do you think will win the tournament? Which players do you think will do well?
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