World Cup 2010 Blog: “Africa Cup of Nations 2010 Semi-Finals: Pick Your Winners.” plus 3 more |  |
- Africa Cup of Nations 2010 Semi-Finals: Pick Your Winners.
- The Robot That Can Strike a Football at 200 Kilometers per Hour
- Nigeria v Zambia Africa Cup of Nations 2010 LiveBlog
- Cameroon vs Egypt Africa Cup of Nations 2010 LiveBlog
| Africa Cup of Nations 2010 Semi-Finals: Pick Your Winners. Posted: 26 Jan 2010 05:40 AM PST
Luckily for neutrals, the draw has the two North African teams playing each other in a rematch of 2009’s dramatic World Cup 2010 playoff (which I’m sure no one needs reminding that Algeria won), and the two West African teams playing each other. Both games take place this Thursday, January 28th. So clear your schedule for:
Algeria vs Egypt, January 28th, 8:30pm kickoff, Complexo da Sr. da Graça, Benguela 5pm Angolan time is 5pm CET, 4pm UK, 11am US Eastern, 8am US Pacific. Losers get to play in a half-hearted Third Place Playoff on January 30th, winners go the Africa Cup of Nations Final, January 31st in Luanda. Ghana vs Nigeria will be entertaining. There’s a lot of talent on both teams, and a nice youthful exuberance about the Ghanaian team. There’s also – as I understand it – a sort of friendly West African rivalry thing going on when these two meet. It’s not nasty, it’s just the battle to see who’s best. The other game is the one to watch though. Because Algeria and Egypt are not exactly best buddies right now. Africa Cup of Nations 2006 & 2008 champs Egypt won’t be going to World Cup 2010, after first beating Algeria in Cairo (amidst some Egyptian fans attacking the Algeria team bus related controversy) to force a one off World Cup playoff, and then losing said World Cup playoff. So they’ll have a point to prove. Let’s hope all that emotion produced a beautiful game of football. Now we’re down to the final four, who do you see going through? I’m picking Ghana from the first game, and Egypt from the second. So a Ghana vs Egypt final. No particular reason, I just have a feeling. If you’re in the UK, the semi-finals will be live on BBC Three. If you’re in the US, then I recommend watching online with MyAfricanFootball.com. Our team blogs can be found here:
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| The Robot That Can Strike a Football at 200 Kilometers per Hour Posted: 26 Jan 2010 03:40 AM PST The ED-209-looking monstrosity above is a robot developed by Castrol Japan that can take a free kick, and can apparently strike a ball at speeds of 200 kilometres per hour or more. Which is very very fast. Did you not see the video? Castrol claim they were inspired to design and build the robot by Cristiano Ronaldo. Presumably because he’s the most famous name they could think of.
It’s not really a new world record, is it Charles Postles. Because C-Ron is – as far we know – a human. Where as that thing is a mechanical monster. Also, one small question: Assuming the robot won’t actually be named in the Japan squad for World Cup 2010, what on earth is this thing going to be used for? Apparently it’s not safe to be used to train players. So the robot free-kick taker can’t be used to test goalkeepers. Even though I reckon Gigi Buffon could stop it if he wanted to. Sadly it can’t be used to toughen player up with some intense standing in the wall to defend a painful free-kick practice either. Which leaves only one option. Basically the robot will tour around as the World Cup approaches, draw a few crowds, and promote a certain brand of engine oil/lubricant. Interestingly, as SoccerBlog.com points out, this futuristic free kick taker probably won’t sit well with Sepp Blatter and his aversion to technology in football. Luckily for Castrol, this aversion will be counterbalanced by Blatter’s love of commercializing the World Cup for all it’s worth.
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| Nigeria v Zambia Africa Cup of Nations 2010 LiveBlog Posted: 25 Jan 2010 10:52 AM PST
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| Cameroon vs Egypt Africa Cup of Nations 2010 LiveBlog Posted: 25 Jan 2010 07:12 AM PST
Egypt have been pretty much unstoppable, beating Nigeria, Mozambique and Benin to take the full nine points from Group C. Ahmed Hassan isn’t as young as he used to be, but he’s been pulling plenty of strings for Egypt so far. No World Cup this June means this is their 2010 right here. Cameroon have been less impressive. Inconsistent would be the kindest way to describe them. Underperformers would be the harsh way. Manager Paul Le Guen took a gamble in the final group game vs Tunisia, dropping experienced heads like Rigobert Song and Geremi, and regular midfielders like Stéphane Mbia and Achilles Emana, and Cameroon were somewhat lucky to get the 2-2 draw that kept them in the tournament. Will be fascinating to see what sort of team Le Guen picks today. For proper previews of this game, read what our two team bloggers have to say: - Tamim’s preview at Egypt World Cup Blog LiveBlog is below and will get going either 15 minutes before kickoff or after I’ve made and eaten a tasty sandwich (ingredients to be determined).
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It feels like the Africa Cup of Nations only just got started, but we’re at the semi-final stage already. Big big names like Cote d’Ivoire and Cameroon are out and on the way home. Your awesome foursome playing for a place in the final are: Ghana, Algeria, Egypt and Nigeria.
I’m not going to insult your intelligence by explaining what a big game this Cameroon vs Egypt Africa(n) Cup of Nations quarterfinal is. Replay of the 2008 final (which holders Egypt won 1-0), Samuel Eto’o, etcetera, etcetera. Instead let’s focus on the form of two teams who will be planning on winning not just this game, but the whole thing.| You are subscribed to email updates from World Cup Soccer - South Africa 2010 To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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