Champions Egypt retained the African Cup of Nations, defeating Cameroon 1-0 in the final. It was a match of two heavyweights, and they had emerged from a final four that had the tournament favourites Ivory Coast (despatched 4-1 by Egypt) and hosts Ghana (beaten 1-0 by Cameroon).

It was a sad day for two players in particular, Alexandre Song, and his uncle Rigobert Song. 19 year old Arsenal midfielder/defender Alex Song had been Cameroon's (and arguably the tournament's) best player since being substituted into their first game with half an hour to go. He had been injured during the semi-final, and was touch-and-go to play the final. However, he did start the game, wearing a massive knee brace, but sadly could not play for very long, and midway through the first half Cameroon lost Alex Song, and their creative inspiration.

Uncle Rigobert however will feel bad for different reasons. One of the most experienced and rugged defenders ever to come out of Africa, he had, according to Coach Otto Pfister, restored his status as "the best defender in Africa" at this tournament. Indeed he had been immense in Cameroon's March to the final, rarely putting a foot wrong, and dominating his area of the pitch.

However, late in the second half, he made a complete hash of a clearance, which ended up going behind him. He then recovered the ball, but dallied on it with Egyptian striker Mohamed Zidan in hot pursuit. The two tangled, and Zidan manage to scrap for the ball while on the ground, and recovered his poise to square a pass to the onrushing Mohamed Abou Tarika, who drilled it past Carlos Kameni, scoring the only goal of the game.

So 1-0 it was to Egypt, and they probably did deserve it. It was a very tight affair, and the tournament's two best keepers were on show here. Carlos Idriss Kameni had debut shakily for Cameroon at the age of 16, and played his first ACN at 19, and now at 23 he has bags of experiences to ally to his tremendous talent. He was a key figure in Cameroon's solidity, and their defensive prowess.

As for Egypt, Essam El-Hadary is a bit of an elder statesman at 35. Deceptively baby-faced, he rolled back the years at this tournament, pulling off some fantastic point blank saves, especially against the Ivory Coast. Although not the most commanding presence, his shot-stopping was probably the difference in many of Egypt's games, and he fully deserved his celebrations and trademark dance at the end of the game.

Mohamed Abou Tarika, the goalscorer, and chief playmaker, was possibly the man of the match. This is in addition to him being the man whose name is never spelt the same way twice - I say Abou Tarika, as I first saw it when watching him at the Club World Cup in 2006, but i've also seen Aboutrika, Abou Tarika, Abootreika, and countless other variants. He's almost 30 now, but one hopes that he will get a chance to showcase his talent at a higher level. A silky attacker/playmaker, blessed with "proper" technique, vision and touch, his lack of physicality and fight meant that he wouldn't really get a chance in Europe and "modern football". However, he's changed over the years, become less of a striker, dropping deep and pulling the strings. A few years in Spain would be nice.

Overall, well done to Egypt, especially for scoring so many goals, and giving us so many zany celebrations. 

In a ridiculous moment, Cameroon and Reading defender Andre Bikey went running towards the medical staff that were attending to his stricken teammate Rigobert Song, and pushed one of them over.

It was a moment of madness, and he rightfully saw red for it, but one has to wonder what was going through his head, and why he got so angry at that particular member of the medical staff.

Any ideas what happened? Tell us in the comments below. 

Just a quick wrapup of the two exciting games from yesterday.

Nigeria vs Cote d'Ivoire was obviously the neutral's choice fixture of the group stages (and possibly the whole tournament), and even though there was just a single goal, it was a very entertaining game. The goal itself was a wonder goal by Salomon Kalou, beating 4 Nigerian defenders before drilling the ball past Ejide in goal. Taye Taiwo came very close early on with a thumping long-range free-kick that ricocheted off the bar. Yaya Toure was outstanding for the Elephants, and it's amazing how much he's improved since the World Cup in 2006, becoming a regular for Barcelona along the way. Nigeria have 8 strikers in the squad, and started with 4 (Kanu, Martins, Yakubu and Utaka), but as ever they are prone to disorganisation. Previously they had Jay-Jay Okocha as the playmaker that brought them together, but at the moment Seyi Olofinjana is not good enough, and John Obi Mikel is still too much of a holding player.

The Elephants had Drogba battling away up front all game, but it was Kalou who really added the spark up front. Meite and Gohouri were shaky at the back, especially against Martins' pace, but Kolo Toure was immense as always, and Arthur Boka was quite nifty. There were great individual skills on show, lots of power, lots of pace, and more than a few good chances, but profligacy and lack of composure meant that the goals count was minimal.

As for Benin vs Mali? Well Benin were highly unfancied, and they lost as expected, although they did give Mali a very tough game. Fredi Kanoute was quite disappointing for the Malians, as was Mahamadou Diarra (although he was solid), but when Mamady Sidibe was fouled in the box, it was Kanoute who calmly and efficiently despatched the penalty.

Benin really upped the tempo when they went a goal down, and were it not for a combination of some last-ditch interceptions and wasteful passing in the final third, they could easily have had 4 or 5 clear chances on goal. Stephane Sessignon was a classy presence for Benin, but it was Razak Omotoyossi who really stood out as the most exciting Beninese player in the second half, taking the game almost single-handedly to the Malians. It was a tight game overall, and Benin had set out with a 4-5-1, seeking to capitalise on any mistakes. Unfortunately the penalty threw their plans into disarray, but they really made a go of it, and that will give them confidence to perhaps be more attacking for the rest of their matches. 

A late stunner from Sulley Muntari gave hosts (and some might say favourites) Ghana a 2-1 win over Guinea in opening game of the 2008 African Cup of Nations in Accra.

The opener for the 26th edition of this tournament was watched by John Kuffour, the Ghanaian president, and a stone-faced Sepp Blatter, the "king" of FIFA (and football - he would like to think). The pitch was absolutely dire for this game - despite being nice and green, the grass was almost an inch too long, and the ball just would not run properly a lot of the time. Blatter keeps talking about all the things he's done to improve world football, well perhaps he should send down some pitch technicians to Accra.

Anyhow, back to the football.

Although it was a match that Ghana dominated, they had more half-chances than clear cut ones, and the finishing was quite dire at times, although they did hit the woodwork thrice.

Ghana had the first clear cut chance through Asamoah Gyan, who screwed a shot wide after being put through by Muntari. Gyan would be wasteful again when the Guinean 'keeper Kemoko kicked the ball straight at him, only to mishit his shot. Kemoko was shaky all game, and really the Guinea squad were well below Ghana's standard.

However their star player, winger Pascal Feindouno managed to create the first chance, finding defender Kalabane with a free-kick, but the big man put his header high and wide.

One of the curiosities with this Ghana squad is the presence of Junior Agogo, who is essentially a crap and English League One striker - basically built like a boxer, without much skill. Not quite sure why Ghana would need a player like him when they have a nation of such talented footballers, but in any case, he came closest to giving them the lead, heading a Quincy cross against the right post, and then watching the ball rebound across the line and roll out to safety at the opposite post. Frustrating stuff, and it continued, with Michael Essien hitting the upright with a header from Laryea Kingston's corner.

Gyan then finally scored with about 10 minutes left in the half, but the goal was ruled out (rightly) for a foul. Muntari then hit the post with a typical thumping left-footed drive from a narrow angle by the left touchline, and then Agogo fluffed an easy-chance in the six-yard area.

However, he made amends 10 minutes into the second half, winning a penalty when put through on goal. It looked like a bit of a dive to me to be honest, but the defender hadn't helped with his clumsiness. Gyan duly thumped the penalty home to send the Ghanaian fans into celebration.

Guinea however managed to snatch an equaliser 9 minutes later. Once again it was Feindouno with the free-kick, and once again it was Kalabane with the header, but this time the defender made no mistakes. 1-1.

The game sort of went into disarray because of that. Ghana had dominated, and thought they were well on the way to victory until Guinea equalised, and it completely disrupted their flow. Guinea in turn had looked to be out of the game, and they seemed quite anxious to try and not let things get out of hand. Passing moves broke down, errors seeped in, and both teams tried silly long range efforts.

However Gyan made a great chance in the 78th minute, taking on the fullback down the right-flank, and delivering a low cross across the box that was met by teenager and alleged Arsenal target, Andrew Ayew. With the goal at his mercy though, the son of (Abedi) Pele managed to somehow contort his body and send the ball exactly the wrong way, missing an easy-tap in and instead screwing an angled shot back across goal and straight at the 'keeper. It was a great chance to win the game, but it was a big moment for a probably nervous 18 year old, and the awful grass wouldn't have helped much with his being able to judge the cross.

In the end though Muntari seemed almost effortless in his deciding of the match. He was about 25 yards out, on the left-side of the penalty box, and he just unleashed a shot that flew high and true into the far opposite corner of the net. No chance for the 'keeper, or for the defence, and a good win for Ghana.

That's the first match done in what should be a very exciting tournament then.

You can keep following it on OleOle at our ACN2008 site, and also at our blogger Teo's blog - he is going to be reporting LIVE on location from Ghana.

First half highlights:

Second-half highlights:

Ghanaian youngster Andrew Ayew is in Ghana for the Nations Cup, and will be looking to make a big impact.

The French-born left-winger/striker is said to be wildly talented, and is the son of Ghanaian, African and Marseille legend Abedi Pele. The youngster also plays for Marseille, and he has received rave reviews for some of his performances this season (although he hasn't made too many).

He is definitely one to watch in this tournament, and it's rumoured that Arsenal are close to tying up a £5 million deal for him.

Who do you think will be the best new talent of this tournament? Leave your opinions in the comments! 

Taking a look at the various squads, it seems that Côte d'Ivoire have the strongest squad in the tournament. Their stars include:

Kolo Toure (Arsenal)
Emmanuel Eboue (Arsenal)
Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
Salomon Kalou (Chelsea)
Yaya Toure (Barcelona)
Didier Zokora (Tottenham)
Arouna Koné (Sevilla)

Those are some exceptionally talented players, from some exceptionally big teams, and the attacking talent in that group is world class, and the defenders pretty strong too.

There are a lot of other teams with a few good players, but not with that many big names in the same side.

Nigeria run a close second with Yakubu Aiyegbeni, Obafemi Martins, Stephen Makinwa, John Utaka, John Obi Mikel, and Taye Taiwo, but their defence is very suspect. 

Cameroon have a squad with great overall strength, although they lack players in midfield to pull the strings, and their talisman Samuel Eto'o is still not yet fit after his long layoff from injury.

Despite all of these comparisons though, the competition is still going to be fierce. African teams at the World Cup is one story, African teams playing other African teams is another. Upsets take place galore, and the style of football, while perhaps being tactically/defensively suspect, provides a whole-hearted commitment to attacking and flamboyance that shoud make for some fantastic viewing.

Blackburn fans will be delighted with the news that Christopher Samba has signed a new 5 year deal to stay at Ewood Park. The gigantic Congolese centre-back has given a series of consistently outstanding performances following his introduction to the Premiership, and is now a vital part of Mark Hughes' defensive unit.

Although born in France, Samba chose to represent his ancestral home of the Republic of Congo. He made his entry into professional football at Sedan, a club that boasts a good recent history of talented Africans, such as Henri Camara, Modeste M'Bami and Salif Diao. His promise was recognised by German giants Hertha Berlin, and he moved there as a 20 year old.

However, he struggled to break into the Hertha team, clocking up just 20 appearances in 3 years. He learnt a lot in his time at the German club, but as a perennial backup, he was not getting the experience he needed to progress.

Then, Mark Hughes got word from his scouts about Samba, and he was invited to Lancashire for a trial. 5 days were enough to convince Hughes of his potential and ability, and he signed a 3 and a half year deal, costing Blackburn a bargain sum of £400,000.

Initially, he seemed like one of those big lumps that managers like to play in the middle of defence - standing at 1.94 metres tall, he looked to be the kind of player that would be relied on to win headers, kick lumps of out forwards, and contribute with the odd goal from corners and free-kicks.Well, he has done all that, but he's also done so much more.

The most striking thing about him, is that for a guy of his size and build, his pace and athleticism are remarkable. A leggy character, he faced several tests last season against the likes of Thierry Henry, Craig Bellamy and Emmanuel Adebayor, and he demonstrated a fantastic combination of strength, power and pace to win those duels. He seldom loses a header, and he's increasingly been showing some good skill on the ball, and a good range of passing.

Not just good in individual clashes, he's also a vital part of the Blackburn defence. His performances put Lucas Neill in the shade last season, and this year he has acted as the defensive lynchpin, acting as more aggressive ball-winning centre-half alongside the more measured talents of Ryan Nelsen, Stephane Henchoz and Andre Ooijer.

He's also proved to be a very useful attacking option. Whilst his obvious asset is as a target in the box to try and score from set-pieces and corners, he's also managed to become a very intelligent decoy, and shown great awareness in his runs and flick-ons for teammates. With David Bentley and Morten Gamst Pedersen able to deliver dead balls with pinpoint accuracy, Blackburn have made set plays a huge part of their game, and Samba has been a big part of their efficacy in this regard.

Ultimately how much recognition he gets will depend on how well Blackburn do as a club, and Mark Hughes has had them improving every year. However if at some point they start to stagnate, don't be surprised to see one of the "Big Four" step in and move for Samba, because he's a top class defender.