The Elephants were even more stunned than the Ghana fans, whose hopes of a dream final with their neighbours evaporated at the semi-final stage too. Michael Essien of Ghana had talked about wanting to meet his Chelsea team-mate Drogba in the tournament decider. Instead they had to settle for a duel in the third- place play-off, which Ghana won 4-2 after trailing 2-1 at half-time.
Ghana had invested in four new stadiums and sought to host the tournament on the back of the 50th anniversary of independence celebrations which had made the country the focal point for the continent over the last 12 months. As one of the forerunners of the “winds of change” that swept across Africa in the late 1950s, Ghana has long provided political leadership and, with four previous CAN successes, they have been among the superpowers in the footballing arena too. But Ghana suffered a serious setback before they even started when captain Stephen Appiah had to pull out because of a serious knee injury, which sidelined him until the end of the season. Striker Asamoah Gyan then ran into injury problems and when captain John Mensah was sent off in the quarter-final for a professional foul, and subsequently suspended, their team was left without a spine.
Although Leroy lauded Ghana’s squad for their gutsy efforts, there was just not enough depth available and in the end the home nation had to settle for bronze medals. But they did get some smug satisfaction from eliminating arch rivals Nigeria in the last eight, coming from behind to win 2-1 to send the capital Accra into a delirious frenzy of celebration.
Nigeria coach Berti Vogts had talked of wanting to win the trophy before the tournament kicked off but his future was left in serious doubt after an unspectacular performance from the Super Eagles, who limped through the first round without much conviction.
There were also disappointing performances from Mali, Morocco and Senegal, whose coach Henri Kasperczak resigned during the tournament after they lost to Angola. And it is to the southern African country that the CAN heads next. The Palancas Negras built on the foundation that saw them surprise qualifiers for the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ by reaching the last eight of the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time.
Coach Luis Oliveira Goncalves believes they will be serious contenders two years from now. “We are gaining the experience that can make us one of African football’s super powers,” he said.

“So many world stars make it a very special tournament,” said the gravelly voice of Roger Milla. “This is the best Cup of Nations ever,” added Ghana coach Claude Leroy, who should know: he has coached at six of them in total, stretching back 22 years and worked as a TV pundit on others. “We have some of the best players in the world at this competition.”
The form book, too, went up in smoke, with Egypt winning in handsome fashion. The Pharaohs might have been the defending champions but there were few who gave them any chance of a successful defence of their title in the heat and humidity of Ghana. According to the pundits, north African sides do not travel very well. But that theory was dismissed by a brilliant brand of flowing football played by a highly mobile unit who were quietly determined to prove their success on home spoil in 2006 was no fluke.
“This is a much better team than that of 2006. The players have gained more international experience and with the same coaching staff, we have become like a family unit,” said Mohamed Aboutrika, who again was responsible for the winning goal of the tournament.
It was his penalty that decided a post-match shoot-out in Egypt’s favour in Cairo in 2006 but at Accra’s Ohene Djan stadium, Egypt won it fair and square on the field, with Aboutrika’s 77lh minute goal seeing off Cameroon in the final.
Egypt had to toil in a bruising battle against a physically strong Cameroon side but it was, ironically, some wrestling of their own that ensured the triumph. It was the persistence of Mohamed Zidan which forced Cameroon captain Rigobert Song into an error and Aboutrika was on hand to scoop up the loose ball and claim the winner.
Egypt had already beaten the Indomitable Lions in their opening group match in Kumasi, and then also saw off the challenge of Sudan, Zambia and Angola to reach the semi-finals, where they then proceeded to pulverise the star-studded selection from Cote d’lvoire.
Up until the semi-final stage, it seemed it was the Ivorians’ tournament to lose. And that they did, in spectacular style, imploding in Kumasi as Egypt’s perfect tactics condemned them to a 4-1 defeat.
Egypt coach Hassan Shehata, now only the second man ever to win back-to-back CAN titles, admits he is unable to sleep the night before matches and as the tournament wore on would have been increasingly tired.
He plotted the downfall of Didier Drogba’s team with precision, flooding the midfield to force Drogba and his fellow attackers wide and rendering them ineffective. At the other end, Egypt picked off the Ivorian mistakes with the accuracy of a marksman and left the Chelsea striker and company shell-shocked.
“We’ll just have to try again in 2010,” the Cote d’lvoire captain remarked philosophically after the defeat. “This is still a trophy we want to win,” added Drogba, who had missed the key penalty in the post-final shootout in 2006.

Egypt resisted the heat and humidity of Ghana, host of the 26th Africa Cup of Nations, and surprisingly defended their title. The tournament had spectacular games and some unpredictable results.
It was daylight when the first fireworks went offin Ghana during a colourful opening ceremony for the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN). At the end of the tournament, there was another torrent of noise as sparks rocketed into the night sky to mark some spectacular pageantry as the 26lh continental championship came to a close. But it was the in-between that really mattered … and there too, Ghana provided fireworks in abundance.
Indeed, the acclaim for the standard of football at the tournament was almost universal. It has reached an all-time high, the drama of the encounters, the pace of the game and the excitement engendered for the fans making for three weeks of pulsating action.