Cape Verde in Group 1 for 2012

21/02/2010

The Cape Verdean national soccer selection will vie for a slot in the Africa Cup of Nations with Zimbabwe, Mali and Liberia. In the current FIFA ranking, Zimbabwe and Mali appear ahead of Cape Verde, while Liberia comes immediately below it. In the view of national soccer team coach Lúcio Antunes, the group is a balanced one, which should be to Cape Verde’s advantage.

Group 2 is made up of Nigeria, the Republic of Guinea, Ethiopia and Madagascar. Group 3 is made up of Zambia, Mozambique, Libya and Comoros. Group 4 includes Algeria, Morocco, Tanzania and the Central African Republic, Group 5 Senegal, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon and Mauritius, Group 6 Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Namibia and Mauritania, Group 7 Egypt, South Africa, Sierra Leone and Niger, Group 8 Ivory Coast, Benin, Rwanda and Burundi, Group 9 Ghana, Congo, Sudan and Swaziland, Group 10 Angola, Uganda, Kenya and Guinea Bissau and Group 11 Tunisia, Malawi, Chad and Botswana.

Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, the co-organizers of the tournament, will qualify automatically, while the first-place qualifiers in the eleven groups and the three highest-scoring selections will qualify directly for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.