Debutants Egypt found themselves in the ‘group of death’ for their maiden appearance at the quadrennial multisport event, African Games Brazzaville 2015.
Coach Mohammed Saad’s ladies have been drawn in Group B with defending champions, Cameroon, two-time silver medallists South Africa and 2011 losing finalists, Ghana.
The pairings looks a mountain for the Lady Pharaohs, which beat Senegal to attain the historic qualification and also serve North Africa’s torchbearer for the tournament scheduled for September 3-18, 2015, with matches mainly in the Congolese capital, Brazzaville.
‘Les Lionnes’ of Cameroon, which reached the knockout stages of the just ended FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada, their first time at the biggest stage of women’s football are highly favoured to go through with the Banyana Banyana South Africa, losing finalists in 2003 (Abuja, Nigeria) and 2007 (Algiers, Algeria) expected to give them a good run for their money.
Ghana’s Black Queens, which improved their bronze medal finish at the 2007 edition to a runner-up spot four years ago in Maputo, Mozambique complete a quartet, drawn with the Lady Pharaohs.
For Cameroon, Ghana and South Africa, they are familiar foes after being drawn in the same group during the 9th African Women Championship in Namibia in 2014. ‘Les Lionnes’ earned their best ever finish, second place which eventually earned them a World Cup spot while South Africa settled for fourth place. Ghana failed to go past the group stage.
Group A consists of hosts Congo, two-time winners, Nigeria, Tanzania and Cote d’Ivoire, reports CAF Online.
Just as Egypt, hosts Congo and Cote d’Ivoire have also qualified for the first time.
The draw took place on Thursday at the CAF Headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, and was conducted by CAF General Secretary, Hicham El Amrani and assisted by Yosef Tesfaye Argaw, a member of the CAF Ad Hoc Organising Committee for the African Games Brazzaville 2015.
AAG Women Draw:
Group A – Congo, Nigeria, Tanzania, Cote d’Ivoire
Group B – Cameroon, South Africa, Ghana, Egypt
No comments:
Post a Comment