BURKINA FASO

PROFILE
Having made their rst Afcon appearance as Upper Volta in 1978, the Stallions have been rather disappointing on the continent. They made good use of home advantage in 1998 when they reached the seminals under the guidance of Philippe Troussier. Eventual champions Egypt ended their fairy tale run in Ouagadougou with a 2-0 loss. They returned to their regular disappointments, crashing out in the early rounds from 2000 to 2004, missing out on the next two editions before pitching up for the Angola and the Equatorial Guinea and Gabon editions, where getting past the rst hurdle was again a step too far. Qualifying in a group containing Zambia and Nigeria will not be easy now either

RANKING

CAF

Fifa

ROAD TO SOUTH AFRICA

A good seeding allowed Burkina Faso to escape the rst two qualifying rounds, which were treacherous. They faced the Pharaoh-slaying Central African Republic over two legs, which they won 3-2 on aggregate. It was closer than it appeared, as the Stallions trailed 1-0 heading into the second leg in Ouagadougou. David Mangas seventh-minute opener further slid the Stallions down the mire. Alain Traor equalised in the 18th, but it took his second goal to seal it deep into injury time, after Moumouni Daganos 40th-minute penalty eliminated the away goals threat

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FIXTURES
January 21: January 25: January 29: Nigeria vs Burkina Faso Ethiopia vs Burkina Faso Zambia vs Burkina Faso (Mbombela Stadium, 8pm) (Mbombela Stadium, 8pm) (Mbombela Stadium, 7pm)

STAR PLAYER
MOUMOUNI DAGANO (Al-Sailiya) At 31, he is one of the Stallions most experienced centre forwards and one of the few players who were part of the doomed 2004 Afcon side that bombed out in the rst round of the Tunisia-hosted tournament. He comes into the tournament with a strong goal-scoring appetite, top scoring in the 2010 Fifa World Cup qualiers. He was kept quiet in the past two editions, but this will be his chance to shine

COACH
PAUL PUT The Belgian coachs name will always be associated with the Ye Zheyun match-xing scandal, which saw him suspended for three years. He replaced the foul-mouthed Paulo Duarte and has done an African round, having coached Gambia between 2007 and 2011. He has the tough task of taking Burkina Faso past the group stage. Fortunately, none of the current team members were part of the 1996 side that was thrashed 5-1 by Zambia

HONOURS
Afcon appearances: Eight Best nish: Fourth, as hosts in 1998

MALI
PROFILE
The Eagles will be best remembered for their comeback from 4-0 down in the 2010 edition of the tournament to draw against hosts Angola, although they failed to progress beyond the group stages. However, they atoned for that when they nished third in this years tournament in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. Mali will be making their eighth Afcon nals appearance next year, hoping to go the extra mile by reaching their second nal since 1972. They have, on four occasions, gone as far as the seminals in 1994, 2002, 2004 and 2012

RANKING

CAF

Fifa

ROAD TO SOUTH AFRICA

After taking a 3-0 rst-leg win in Bamako, Mali did not have to sweat for their place in the nals as they saw off Botswana with a 4-1 win on aggregate. They won the second leg 4-1 away from home to round off their impressive qualication in style

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FIXTURES
January 20: January 24: January 28: Niger vs Mali Ghana vs Mali DRC vs Mali (Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, 8pm) (Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, 5pm) (Moses Mabhida Stadium, 7pm)

STAR PLAYER
SEYDOU KEITA (Dalian Aerbin, China) The 32-year-old midelder with 72 caps will be playing in his sixth Afcon nals since his debut in 2002 at home. Keita is one of the Eagles most experienced players and will once again lead his country. He has been out of the limelight since he left Spanish giants Barcelona for Chinese side Dalian Aerbin earlier this season, but will be determined to help his country do better than their third place at this years tournament

COACH
PATRICE CARTERON The Frenchman (41) replaced compatriot Alain Giresse, who led Mali to their best Afcon nish in 40 years at this years nals. He has already helped the Eagles to beat the Zebras of Botswana on their road to South Africa and would be expected to surpass Giresses third-place nish at next years nals

HONOURS
Afcon appearances: Seven Best nish: Runner-up, 1972

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

PROFILE
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) will be marking their return to the Afcon nals after a seven-year absence on the continental competition scene. Claude le Roy was also in charge when the Leopards exited the Egypt 2006 tournament in the quarternals. The Leopards are regarded as one of the dark horses in next years event, especially back under the guidance of the experienced Le Roy. The two-time Afcon champions have announced South Africa as one of their two training bases and are expected to arrive in Port Elizabeth for a 10-day training camp. Their training programme will continue in the Far East in Oman from January 3 to 15, where they have lined up a warm-up friendly match against Ivory Coast, four days before they kick off their Afcon 2013 campaign against Ghana

RANKING

CAF

Fifa

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ROAD TO SOUTH AFRICA

Despite their 2-1 loss to 2012 co-hosts Equatorial Guinea in October, the Leopards all but secured their ticket to Mzansi with a 4-0 victory in the rst leg in Kinshasa in September. The West Africans have enjoyed an unbeaten run at home this year and their bid to qualify for the 2014 Fifa World Cup is also still well on track

FIXTURES
January 20: January 24: January 28: Ghana vs DRC Niger vs DRC Mali vs DRC (Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, 5pm) (Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, 8pm) (Moses Mabhida Stadium, 7pm)

STAR PLAYER
DIEUDONNE DIEUMERCI MBOKANI (Anderlecht, Belgium) Mbokani was recalled to the national team by Le Roy in June after the 27-year-old striker had a fallout with former coach Robert Nouzaret. DRC had to make efforts to lure their best players back into the side after a loss to Cameroon on day one of their Afcon/World Cup qualifying campaign. Mbokani sprung into action with a brace in a 2-0 win over Togo in his return game. The former TP Mazembe marksman is hot property at Anderlecht and is a target of English Premiership giants Chelsea

COACH
CLAUDE LE ROY Nicknamed the White Witch , Le Roy is one of the longest-serving European-born coaches on the continent since he steered Cameroon to the 1988 Afcon triumph. This is the 64-year-olds second spell with the DRC, having been in charge of the Leopards between 2004 and 2006. Le Roy has 40 years of coaching experience and South Africa 2013 will be his seventh appearance, an African record. In his coaching job, he guided Ghana to a fourth place at the Equatorial Guinea and Gabon Afcon

HONOURS
Afcon appearances: 15 Continental titles: Winners in 1968, 1974 RUDI LOUW, Graphics24