Just one year on from the last edition, Africa’s top international sides make their way to South Africa for the 2013 African Nations Cup.
The continental tournament will now be held on odd years (2015, 2017 etc) in order to avoid clashing with the World Cup.
The 2012 tournament ended in such dramatic fashion with plucky minnows Zambia beating favourites Ivory Coast in the final in Gabon.
There was also the added emotion of laying ghosts to rest, mere miles from the spot where 18 members of the Zambian national team died in a plane crash in 1993.
With French head coach Herve Renard still in place for this year’s finals, Zambia will be hoping to repeat their success.
But can the Ivory Coast finally taste continental glory in Didier Drogba’s final Nations Cup appearance?
Group A
Hosts South Africa get the show on the road in Johannesburg on January 19th in one of the most open groups of the tournament.
World Cup and Nations Cup regulars in the late 90s and early 2000s, the Bafana Bafana’s recent decline has continued and it is unlikely that they would have qualified if they had not happened to be hosts.
And they go in to the tournament without Steven Pienaar who has retired from international duty.
The opening game will see the injury ravaged squad take on supposed minnows Cape Verde. But the tiny island nation should not be underestimated having knocked out the once-mighty Cameroon in order to qualify for the finals.
Cape Verde could shock a weakened South Africa but could they do the same to Morocco and Angola?
On paper the Atlas Lions have a strong squad with Udinese defender Mehdi Benatia, Montpellier star Younes Belhanda and Galatasaray striker Nordin Amrabat.
But the North Africans have been below par for a number of years, failing to qualify from their Nations Cup group since 2004.
But like the Angolans they will be confident of qualifying from this group. Angola – with a mostly home-based squad – failed to reach the knockout stages in Gabon, but their recent record prior to that saw them reach consecutive quarter-finals.
Prediction: Morocco to make it to the semis and Angola go no further than the quarters.
Group B
Ghana are the clear favourites in Group B as they face DR Congo, Mali and Niger.
The current generation of players is the strongest in decades and helped the Black Stars to within a Luis Suarez handball of the 2010 World Cup semi-final appearance.
They have also come agonisingly close to glory at the last three Nations Cups, finishing third, second and fourth respectively.
Led by Juventus midfielder Kwadwo Asamoah and ex-Sunderland striker Asamoah Gyan, a place in the final is the least of their expectations.
Mali will be slight favourites in the race for second spot in the group ahead of DR Congo who have not qualified since 2004, and Niger who did not progress from the group in their first ever appearance in 2012.
Prediction: Ghana to be in the final reckoning and Mali to reach the quarters.
Group C
Defending champions Zambia and Nigeria are strong favourites to overcome Burkina Faso and Ethiopia.
But the question is whether both sides have what it takes to reach the last-4. Zambia will face greater scrutiny than this time last year when there were no expectations.
The Chipolopolo have the advantage of a settled squad and management which cannot be said about the Super Eagles.
For a country of Nigeria’s size – it has the largest population in Africa – it has punched below its hefty weight consistently.
The Nigerians even failed to reach the tournament in 2012, but should have enough to get out of the group with the talent and experience of ex-Evertonian Joseph Yobo and Chelsea’s John Obi Mikel and Victor Moses.
Burkina Faso are regulars at the Nations Cup but have only progressed from Round 1 on a single occasion (fourth place on home soil in 1998) in eight attempts.
Ethiopia will hope to cause a couple of shocks in their first Cup appearance in 31 years. The East Africans won it in 1962 in a four-team tournament at a time when it was one of the very few independent countries on the continent.
Predictions: Zambia and Nigeria to reach the knockout stages – but no further!
Group D
Until 2012 it seemed the Champions League title would elude Didier Drogba. And after his heroics in May with his final kick for Chelsea in the 2012 final, the 34-year-old will hope for redemption at international level.
Ivory Coast suffered heart-break in the 2012 Nations Cup final, losing on penalties, while Drogba missed from the spot during normal time.
Near misses have been the order of the day for one of the most gifted generations of African footballers.
The fact that Drogba, the Toure brothers, Emmanuel Eboue, Saloman Kalou and Didier Zokora only have two silver medals and a fourth place to show for their efforts is mind-boggling – with penalty shoot-outs thwarting them in the final on two occasions.
The Elephants should progress comfortably from a group including Tunisia, Togo and Algeria. Togo are boosted by star striker Emmanuel Adebayor’s late return to the fold. The striker had retired amid concerns over safety after the attack on the team bus at the 2010 Nations Cup in Angola which left three officials dead as the players huddled inside.
However even with the Tottenham man in their ranks, it is North African giants Tunisia and Algeria who are expected to battle it out to join Ivory Coast in the last-8, with little to choose between the sides.
Predictions: Ivory Coast to reach the final, while Tunisia pip Algeria to second in the group.
