2013 African Cup of Nations Preview

The 2013 African Cup of Nations in South Africa kicks off later today and here's a round-up of the groups and teams participating:

Group A: The hosts sit in a rather tough group where only two of three candidates will make it through. South Africa are likely to progress but only have two English football representatives. Kagisho Dikgacoi from Crystal Palace and Oldham's Dean Furman. Perhaps the surprise omission is Steven Pienaar. The Kaizer Chiefs boast a strong representation, full of players to watch: Itumeleng Khune is a very capable goalkeeper with defenders Siboniso Gaxa and Tsepo Masilela the most experienced defenders in the squad. Siphiwe Tshabalala scored that World Cup goal against Mexico and is their most capped player with Reneilwe Letsholonyane providing a service on the other wing for strikers Bernard Parker and Orlando Pirates' Katlego Mphela.

Angola and Morocco are likely to be fighting for a spot alongside South Africa in the next round. Angola's most notable player is former Manchester United striker Manucho, who had a very good tournament last year. Only eight players from the squad play outside of Angola so it's hard to know how good they'll be. Marco Airosa, Zuela, Dede and Gilberto do play in Cyprus. Angola missed out on the knock-out phase last year on goal difference, so will be looking to get through this time.

Morocco were underwhelming last year, finishing third in their group. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, Marouane Chamakh and Adel Taarabt both miss out on a place in the squad but Aston Villa's Karim El Ahmadi and Liverpool's Oussama Assaidi will feature. Galatasaray's Nordin Amrabat will be looking to provide the biggest goal threat.

It's the first time Cape Verde have qualified for the African Cup of Nations. But they already boast the biggest shock of the tournament, preventing Cameroon from qualifying. Despite this, only two members of their squad actually play in their native country. As Cape Verde speak Portuguese, it's no surprise to see that the majority of squad play in Portugal. Ryan Mendes may be the player to watch as he plies his trade for Lille.

Group B: Ghana should be pretty comfortable in group B with only Mali looking to provide any real threat. They were in the same group last year and both managed to progress before Mali managed to beat them in the third/fourth place play-off. Only Bristol City's Albert Adomah represent's Ghana from English football. But it will be a chance to once again watch former Premier League players, John Pantsil and Asamoah Gyan. Juventus' Kwadwo Asamoah will also be a good watch. As for an unknown, how about Solomon Asante from the interestingly named Berekum Chelsea.

Mali have three Premier League players in their squad; Mahamadou Diarra from Fulham, Samba Diakite from QPR and Modibo Maiga from West Ham with Tongo Doumbia coming from Wolves. The majority of the squad come from France with Lens' Samba Sow and former Premier League star, Mohamed Sissoko being the most appetising. Former Barcelona player, Seydou Keita, will also be a joy to watch.

Niger qualified for the first time in their history last year and will be looking to at least get a point this time around. Only three members of their squad play outside of Africa; Ismael Alassane for Al Sahel of Kuwait, William N'Gounou of Sweden's Limhamn and 19-year old Amadou Moutari of Le Mans B team.With only three players above the age of 30, this team is very youthful and inexperienced which could make them minnows or be a scouting dream.

DR Congo are two times winners of the ACN but haven't qualified since 2006. West Brom's Youssouf Mulumbu headlines the squad with Crystal Palace's Yannick Bolasie providing great back-up. Unsurprisingly, the majority of the squad do play in DR Congo and again only three players are older than 30. Toko Nzuzi will be an interesting watch. The 22-year old plays for Switzerland's Grasshopper Zurich but his eligibility has been questioned after already playing a full international for the Congo national team before deciding to play for DR Congo.

Group C: Reigning champions, Zambia, should progress through this group. After last year's success, Emmanuel Mayuka managed to get a transfer to Southampton, although it hasn't been a great start to Premiership life. Stophira Sunzu is assigned to Reading but, like Mayuka, hasn't really featured this season. Christopher Katongo was also vital for Zambia last year and has since managed to get a move to China. The interesting statistic surrounds Porto's Emmanuel Mbola. At just 19-years old, Mbola has already represented Zambia a staggering 32-times. A player to watch will be defender Nathan Sinkala who is only 21 and currently plays for Mazembe in DR Congo.

Nigeria surprisingly didn't qualify for last year's tournament but should be pretty strong this year. Chelsea's John Obi Mikel and Victor Moses are the Premier League's only representatives with Efe Ambrose of Celtic also in the squad. Former Everton star Joseph Yobo will also be gracing the television screens once again. Keep an eye on Spartak Moscow's Emmanuel Emenike who should be amongst the goals and their goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama who has actually scored for Nigeria.

Burkina Faso will hoping for a better showing than their pointless showing last year. Their three notable players are defender Bakary Kone of Lyon, midfielder Charles Kabore of Marseille and striker Alain Traore of Auxerre. Despite only having two players older than 30, it is quite an old squad as Germain Sanou is their youngest player at 20 but is their third choice keeper so may not get a look in. Soumaila Belem is the second youngest member at 21, he plays in defence for Ivory Coast's Africa Sports.

Ethiopia haven't played in an ACN tournament since 1982 and will very much be the minnows in the group. Only three of their players play football outside of Ethiopia so they are very much the unknown package. Midfielder Yussuf Saleh plays for Sweden's Syrianska, while strikers Saladin Said and Fuad Ibrahim play for Egypt's Wadi Degla and USA's Minnesota Stars respectively. With four of their five strikers under the age of 25, the stage could be set for one of them to shine and gain a big money move.

Group D: The tournament favourites, Ivory Coast, are arguably in the group of death but shouldn't really have any problems if they play to their fullest. Their team boasts the most stars with Kolo and Yaya Toure, Abdul Razak, Cheick Tiote, Gervinho and Arouna Kone all coming from the Premier League. But there are also plenty of former English league representatives, Emmanuel Eboue (formerly of Arsenal), Sol Bamba (formerly of Leicester), Didier Zokora (formerly of Tottenham), Max Gradel (formerly of Leeds) and of course Didier Drogba making this team the strongest.

From there it should be one team from the remaining three as all have a chance of qualifying. The 2004 champions, Tunisia, made it to the quarter finals last year. The majority of their squad do play in Tunisia but strikers Zouheir Dhaouadi and Saber Khelifa, midfielder Wahbi Khazri and defender Aymen Abdennour do play in France. 22-year old Youssef Msakni looked very good last year and currently plays for Qatar's Lekhwiya.

Algeria may be the slight favourites to join Ivory Coast. Only Adlene Guedioura for Nottingham Forest plays his football in England. Former Millwall player Hamuer Bouazza, Sofiane Feghouli, Medhi Lacen and Liassane Cadamuro-Bentaiba play in Spain while Carl Medjani, Foued Kadir, Ryad Boudebouz and Mehdi Mostefa play in France. Perhaps the player to watch may be defender Djamel Mesbah who plays for AC Milan.

Togo haven't qualified since 2006 after being hit by that rebel attack in 2010. That attack did see Emmanuel Adebayor announce his retirement from international football, but he has undone that by choosing to participate this year. Adebayor is joined by Wolves' Abdoul-Razak Boukari from the English ranks. Former Aston Villa player Moustapha Salifou has also been called up. The majority of the squad do play in France and there are a number of 21-22 year olds. Dove Wome of South Africa's Free State Stars and Prince Segbefia of Auxerre may be worth watching in the midfield.