Group A Preview by UK Guardian

Like Hillary Clinton's mouth in virtually every photo published during all the Primaries palaver, the 26th African Cup of Nations is wide open. The rising standard across the continent means that as many as 10 teams will travel to the tournament with a reasonable chance of claiming the trophy. Ghana, however, are justifiably the slight favourites.

On 11 previous occasions the competition has been won by the home nation, including two of the three times Ghana has hosted it. More than the raucous support, however, the Black Stars' most valuable asset is a lavishly gifted squad. Their defence is decent and strikers efficient, but their prime marvel is their midfield.


Michael Essien is given more liberty than he finds at Chelsea and as a result is even more dynamic and dominant for his country than his club. The feisty Sulley Muntari and tricky Laryea Kingston will likely raid down the flanks. But formidable as that trio can be, Ghana's hopes of being crowned champions will depend to a large extent on how they cope with the cruel loss of injured captain Stephen Appiah, a playmaker of rare ingenuity and force. You can never gauge too much from friendlies, but it is nevertheless worrying for the Black Stars that, with Appiah, they demolished the likes of Nigeria and Togo and exuded class in an unlucky 1-0 defeat to Brazil, and then in September, without Appiah, they contrived to lose 5-0 to Saudi Arabia. OK, so it was only two days after a comfortable win over Morocco, but still: 5-0! To Saudi Arabia!


The task facing manager Claude Leroy, then, is to decide how best to replace Appiah. An array of intriguing alternatives are available to him, including: 21-year-old Anthony Annan, who recently left Hearts of Oak for the Norwegian League where he has already attracted attention from some of Europe's biggest clubs; swashbuckling 23-year-old Ahmed Barruso, who's been a revelation at Roma this season and scored in the win over Morocco; and Marseille's Andre D? Ayew, who was capped at Under-17 level by France before pledging his allegiance to Ghana - in five appearances for his country last year and a handful of Ligue 1 matches, he's shown all the audacity and invention you might expect from the 18-year-old son of the great Abedi Pel? Another promising player who was a European youth international before declaring for his country of origin is Quincy Owusu-Abeyie. The former Arsenal trickster, who represented Holland in the 2005 Fifa World Youth Championship, has yet to play for Ghana but has been included in the squad and, though he can be erratic, his speed and flair could become decisive factors.


Another factor in Ghana's favour is that they are not in Group B, where Ivory Coast, Mali and Nigeria must do battle. Not that Ghana's group is straightforward: Namibia, improbable qualifiers ahead of DR Congo, may be unlikely to humble the hosts, but Guinea and a newly-invigorated Morocco are formidable foes.


North African sides seldom excel south of the Sahara, but Morocco have recently made a habit of subverting expectations. They were surprise finalists in 2004 but bombed two years later when highly fancied, failing to so much as score. Lone spearhead Marouane Chamakh can be lethal and will be intelligently supported by a three-man line just behind him that could illuminate the tournament - Youssouf Hadji (in the form of his life for Nancy), Soufiane Alloudi (strong runner with a ridiculously powerful shot) and Tarik Sektioui (who can do this - but also, er, this).

With offensive options like that - and a relatively ropey defence - it's little wonder that manager Henri Michel, who only took charge once qualification was secured, has encouraged his charges to play a vibrant, resolutely attacking style. The confidence he has imbued swelled further last November, when Morocco outplayed France for long periods before drawing 2-2 in a Paris friendly - they followed that up by smashing Senegal 3-0. Expectations are high, even if Michel has chosen to hide behind that old job-prolonging cloak by insisting that reaching the 2010 World Cup is his main aim.


Guinea, meanwhile, are gifted but unpredictable, in the image of their captain, Pascal Feindouno. The Saint Etienne schemer enchants and enrages in equal measure, sometimes providing a magical touch to complement his side's fluid organisation, sometimes allowing entire games to pass him by. Quarter-finalists at the last two editions, the Syli National probably don't have sufficient depth to become champions, but if Feindouno's in the mood to complement fellow forwards Fod?ansar?Toulouse) and Isma?Bangoura (Dynamo Kyiv), they could kick the tournament off in spectacular style by beating the hosts in the opening game.


Prediction: 1. Ghana, 2. Morocco, 3. Guinea, 4. Namibia.


For more on the African Cup of Nations, go here. Group B is previewed here. And Group C here. The Group D preview will be published tomorrow.