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CAF has said that the decision to change the venue and time is due to the schedule of the nominees and their clubs.

“The changes have been made to accommodate the club engagements of majority of the nominees and enrich the ceremony,” said Suleiman Habuba, Communications Director CAF.

Ghana does have the experience in hosting this ceremony. This will be the second time it has hosted the event.

The nominees are for the top most award (Glo-CAF Player of the Year) at the ceremony are: Michael Essien (Ghana and Chelsea), Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon and Inter Milan), Didier Drogba (Cote d’Ivoire and Chelsea), Seydou Keita (Mali and Barcelona), Yaya Toure (Cote d’Ivoire and Barcelona)

Man City and Togolese striker Emmanuel Adebayor won African footballer of the year award last at the last edition.

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Dindane to inspire Portsmouth (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images Europe)

Senegal’s Papa Bouba Diop and Algeria’s Hassan Yebda also started for Portsmouth. Nigeria’s Nwankwo Kanu replaced Papa Diop in the 76th minute and Nadir Belhadj replaced fellow country man Yebda in the 78th minute. New loan signing, Ghana’s Quincy Owusu-Abeyie was on the bench.

Man City 2-0 Bolton
Togo’s Adebayor scored his ninth goal of the season when he controlled beautifully hit a brilliant volley in the 73 minute to seal Citizens victory against Bolton. Kolo Toure was solid at the back for City.

Fulham 3-0 Burnley
Nigeria’s Dickson Etuhu played the entire 90 minutes for Fulham. He received a yellow card in 37th minute of the game. Defender André Bikey of Cameroon also lasted the full duration for Burnley.

Arsenal 1-0 Liverpool
Arsenal’s Cameroonian midfielder Alexandre Song was one of the better players in this match. Ivory Coast’s Emmanuel Eboue also played the entire 90 minutes for Arsenal.

Everton 2-1 Chelsea
An impressive Didier Drogba led the Chelsea attack but failed to find the net against a very determined Everton side. Mikel Obi lasted 76 minute on the pitch before being replaced by Sturridge. Salomon Kalou came on in the 66 minute for Anelka.

Egypt's coach Hassan Shehata linked to Nigeria job (Photo Credit: (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

“They expressed an interest in hiring me to take charge of their team during the World Cup,” the 60-year-old told television station Modern Sport.

Shehata, one of the most respected coaches on the continent is currently on a contract with Egypt which runs till 2012. He recently won the African Cup of Nations with Egypt making it the third straight time. He however came under a lot of criticism when he failed to qualify Egypt for this summer’s World Cup.

Shehata tempted
Shehata did not hide his interest in taking the job but has said the final decision lies in the hands of the Egyptian FA. He sees the possibility of working with the Super Eagles on a short term basis.

“It will be a great honour for me to work in the World Cup, but the Egyptian FA will have the final word on whether I could work with Nigeria on a temporary basis.”

What happens to current coach Shuaibu Amodu
On Friday the Executive Committee of the NFF will meet to decide Amodu’s future with the Eagles. A statement by the chairman of the technical committee of the NFF, Chief Taiwo Ogunjobi however suggests that, a total overhaul of the technical crew was inevitable.

Other coaches that have been linked to the job are Mozambique manager Mart Nooij and Zambia manager Herve Renard.

Other award winners

Best Goalkeeper
Egypt’s veteran shot stopper Essam El Hadary emerged as the tournaments best goalkeeper. El Hadary kept 4 clean sheets out 6 games. This is the third consecutive time the Ismaily based goalkeeper is winning this award. He won it in the two previous competition- Egypt 2006, Ghana 2008

Top scorer
Mohamed Nagy Gedo of Egypt was crowned goal king after finishing the competition with 5 goals. What is most astonishing is that Gedo started all the games played from the bench. He was also crowned the Discovery of the Tournament. Gedo made his debut for Egypt against Malawi on 29 December 2009 and has won only 8 caps for his country so far.

Overall Samsung Fair Play Award
Versatile Egypt midfielder, Ahmed Fathi won the Fair Play Award.

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The list is dominated by Egypt who have as many as 5 players in the first eleven.

First Eleven
Goalkeeper
(1) Essam EL HADARY (EGY)

Defenders
(2) Madjid BOUGHERRA (ALG)
(20) Wael GOMAA (EGY)
(21) MABINA (ANG)

Midfielders
(6) Alexandre SONG (CMR)
(7) Ahmed FATHI (EGY)
(17) Ahmed HASSAN (EGY)
(11) Peter ODEMWINGIE (NGR)

Attackers
(3) Asamoah GYAN (GHA)
(16) FLAVIO (ANG)
(9) Mohamed ZIDAN (EGY)

Substitutes
(22) Richard KINGSON (GHA)
(6) Emmanuel MBOLA (ZAM)
(10) Achille EMANA (CMR)
(10) Kwadwo ASAMOAH (GHA)
(12) Seydou KEITA (MLI)
(15) Karim ZIANI (ALG)
(15) Mohamed Nagy GEDO (EGY)
(13) André AYEW (GHA)
(11) Eric MOULOUNGUI (GAB)
(7) Ogbuke OBASI (NGR)
(7) Jacob MULENGA (ZAM)
(8) Salomon KALOU (CIV)

The Technical committee is made up of Hussein Abdel Moneim, technical director of CAF, Ben Kouffie (Gha), Chief Onigbinde (Ngr), Anthony Baffoe (Gha), Noser Fathy (Egy) and Maalouch Belhassan (Tun).

Source:cafonline.com

Egypt makes the treble (Photo Credit: AFP PHOTO / KHALED DESOUKI)

It was game of very few chances and both teams played cautiously. The goal came in the 85th minute against the run of play, when substitute Gedo converted a reverse ball from striker Zidan to beat a resolute Ghanaian defense.

This victory puts Egypt in the history books being the only to have won the trophy for 3 consecutive times.

Ghana can still take pride for a great show at the tournament after many people had written them off.

More to follow soon.

Stakes
Obviously the stakes are high for any final match. For both teams however, there is a lot more to play for in this match. Ghana have not won the trophy in 28 years and the last time they were in the finals was 18 years ago in Senegal. In the case of Egypt the stakes are even higher. Winning the trophy will somewhat compensate for their inability to qualify for the World Cup in South Africa. They also have the chance to make it an unprecedented treble of African Cup of Nations trophies having won the previous two in Egypt and Ghana.

Buildup
Ghana
It hasn’t been an easy road to the finals for the Stars, but their resort to a defense oriented tactical system has paid off so far. Being one of the first teams to have booked their qualification to the tournament in Angola, they were tipped as one of the favorites. However with only a couple of weeks to the start of the competition, their injury toll had risen significantly. Five key players could not make the squad due to injuries. Coach Milo had to fall on 8 members of the Under 20 team, the Black Satellites which won gold at the Youth World Cup late last year.

In their opening match against neighbors, Ivory Coast, they were thrashed 3-1 and it looked like their campaign was over. Despite the odds, they bounced back in their next match, beating Gabon 1-0 to sneak into the quarterfinals. Their next game against Angola was a real test for the Stars. They managed a 1-0 scoreline despite the host nations home advantage. That result set up a semifinal date with their arch rivals Nigeria. An Asamoah Gyan’s header in the first half of the game against Nigeria was sufficient to play in the finals.

Egypt
Egypt had their own worries before the tournament.Coach Shehata had to dropped Mohamed Aboutrika and striker Amr Zaki due to injuries. They were also coming into this tournament with their World Cup playoff loss to rivals Algeria still hanging on their head.

Right from the very first match against Nigeria who they beat 3-0, they made clear their intentions of defending the title the won in Ghana. They went on to clock easy victories against Gabon and Mozambique. Their fine form continued as they bundled out title hopefuls, Cameroon in the quarterfinals. They got their revenge in the semifinals against Algeria when they recorded an emphatic 4-0 victory.

The Pharaohs of Egypt (Photo Credit: AFP PHOTO / KHALED DESOUKI)

When you take a look at all competitive games, the statics tilts in the favor Egypt. Out of 16 matches played, they have won 7 and Ghana has won 4. While the Egyptians have scored 23 goals in total, the Ghanaians can take credit for 15 goals.

Ghana Team
The spell of injuries just wont stop when it come to Ghana in this tournament. Stand-in captain Richard Kingson who was voted man-of-the-match in the game against Nigeria is still battling a groin injury. Central defender Eric Addo was also struck by malaria after the first match and has not seen any action since. Agyeman Opoku and Hans Sarpei who have been key to Milo’s tactics are also doubts for this match.

The Stars still have young midfield prodigy Kwadwo Asamoah. In form Asamoah Gyan who has 3 goals to his credit in the tournament will be upfront to lead the Stars attack. It’s predictable that Coach Milo will stick to his cautious 4-5-1 formation. We might see a similar squad that played against Nigeria. In defense, Ibrahim Ayew may replace Sarpei if he is not match fit. In midfield, Draman might be seen on the right for the doubtful Opoku Agyeman while Andre Ayew will travel the left flank.

Black Stars in one of their training sessions(Photo Credit: AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

Egypt Team
Egypt will worry about key players Wael Gomaa and Emad Moteab who are major doubts for the game. The Pharaohs however have depth and the players on the bench are more than capable. We have seen midfielder Gedo come on as a substitute to score goals.

The Egyptian team is solid in all departments of the game. Their talisman and captain Ahmed Hassan is their mostly dangerous player. He works hard in midfield and has shown time and time again that he score from range. Striker Zidan can unlock the Ghana defense if given an inch of space. They also have one of the safest pairs of hands in the goal post. Essam El Hadari has conceded only two goal in 5 matches.

Prediction
I’m not sure we are going to see a lot of goals in this game. The Egyptians are favorites but the Ghanaians keep improving after every game. Who will win when a team which is not scared to attack face a team which is not scared to defend? I thread cautiously!

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The Black Stars of Ghana slipped into the finals of the African Cup of Nations with a resolute performance against the Super Eagles of Nigeria today at the 11 de Novembro stadium.

A powerful header by Asamoah Gyan affectionately called Baby Jet in the 21 minute, was in enough to qualify the Stars.

Nigeria who were runners up in Group B, had qualified to this stage after beating Zambia in the quarterfinals on penalties. Ghana were also runners in their group, beat host nation Angola to set up a date with arch rivals Nigeria.

Apart from the inclusion of Anthony Anna for Haminu Draman, Ghana started the match with the same squad that played against Angola. Obafemi Martins also started for Nigeria rather than Yakubu Ayegbeni.

When the match began Nigeria looked the brighter of the two and looked the most likely to score. There were a few half chances that fell to Martins but the Ghana defense were able to tidy up early enough.

It was the Stars who took the lead in the 21st minute against the run of play, courtesy Gyan. He produced a fantastic header off a Kwadwo Asamoah outswinger corner kick to stun the Nigeria defense who were caught ball watching. Gyan crowed the goal with some out of the world dance celebration which can pass as the goal celebration of the tournament.

The Eagles had some great spells of dominace but failed to convert the chances that came their way. Both Martins and Odemwingie came close but shot stopper Richard Kingson who by far was my man-of-the-match dealt with their threats.

Back from the dressing room, the Nigerians continued their onslaught but lacked the cutting edge up front. The Ghana defense seem to have the answers to all the questioned asked and Kingson put in some brilliant goalkeeping displays.

Martins picked up a useful flick by Mikel Obi but Kingson jumped to save the ball. A few minutes later Martins was fed with another through ball but a joint defensive effort by Inkoomand Vorsah shielded him off.

The surprise introduction of Yakubu Ayegbeni for Odemwingie did not produce the desire magic.

The result booked Ghana a ticket to the finals their first since Senegal 1992. Surely the bookies did not see this coming.

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Dangerman Obasi may be influential for Nigeria (Photo Credit:REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh)

Both teams were somewhat fortunate to get into semis. Ghana resorted to rearguard action to protect a one goal lead they got in the first half of the game between Angola. Nigeria held on to a goalless draw in the match against the all encompassing Zambians to push the game into the penalty shootouts. Goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama was the hero when scored the deciding penalty.

They have met a total of 6 times at the African Cup Nations. Nigeria has won 3 of those encounters while Ghana has won 2. None of the two has ever scored more than 2 goals in any of their previous encounters. It’s usually a 1-0, 2-1 or a 1-1 scoreline at the end of 90 minutes. I don’t expect this one to be any different.

Their encounters usually cannot be predicted by the form of the teams. It’s the better team on the pitch who will come out victors.

Ghana Team
The young Ghana side will go into this game with a lot more confidence after winning their last two games. The injury plagued squad may be boosted by the return of Rosenborg midfielder Anthony Annan who has had to watch his team progress to this stage from the bench. The team’s medical doctors have also allayed fears of Asamoah Gyan being sidelined after he limped off in the 62 minute of their last game.

Apart from the introduction of Annan we likely to see a similar squad that played against Angola. In that game Milovan Rajevic played a 4-5-1 formation with Gyan leading the attack. He may use a similar system or will resort to the 4-4-2 formation which he played against Burkina Faso.

Their danger-man is Kwadwo Asamoah who has been influential in Milo’s game plan so far. He’s a strong midfielder who is able to hold the ball feed the attack with some useful balls. Although not yet on the scoring sheet, he has tried a couple of long range shots which have caused worries for goalkeepers. We’ve seen him score from distance during the qualifiers and Nigeria mus keep on an eye on the lad.

Black Stars in one of their training sessions(Photo Credit: AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

Nigeria Team
Nigeria has bounced back to winning ways after they were smashed 3-1 by defending champions Egypt in the opening match. They beat Gabon 1-0 and toppled the Mambas of Mozambique by 3-0. They however needed the lottries to beat the Zambians in their last game. Irrespective of their winning ways, they’re still unconvincing and considering the big names they have in their squad, a lot more expected of them.

Obafemi Martins saw some extra time football action in the last match against Zambia. I’m sure Shaibu Amodu will like to start him rather than the less impressive Ayegbeni Yakubu. Central defender Apam is suspended for this match after receiving a red card in the last match. He was a replacement for skipper Yobo and his suspension is likely to worry the Eagles.

The danger men for Nigeria are Obasi and Odemwingie. If they should see enough of the ball they can be deadly. They have the pace that can cause trouble for the inexperience Ghana defense. Odemwingie has already found the back of the net twice and would want to eye the not out of reach top goalscorer award.

The Super Eagles of Nigeria (Photo Credit:REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh)

Predictions
It’s the young Black Stars against the experience Super Eagles. The Eagles are slight favorites but it’s difficult to predict when these two meet.