Guinea is the team to beat - Le Roy

Accra, Oct. 9, GNA - Claude Le Roy, head coach of Ghana's Black Stars has rated the Syli Nationale of Guinea as the strongest among the sixteen finalists for the Ghana 2008 Africa Cup of Nations.

The Stars coach said that Guinea is currently the best team on the continent and has tipped them to go far during the January 20 - February 10, 2008 Championships slated for Ghana.

Coach Le Roy who stated this on Wednesday during a media briefing in Accra said the West African side have a compact side with a lot of skilful players and is the team to beat during the Championships.

Guinea qualified ahead of 1990 Africa Champions Algeria in Group Eight and the Frenchman insists they have a strong side capable of lifting the ultimate come January 20.

"They have some skilful like Pascal Feinduno and others. I think they can be Africa Champions in February."

The Black Stars will pitch their strength against the Syli National and two others in a four-nation tournament in November, and Le Roy believes it will serve as a good preparation for his team.

The Republic of Benin and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) complete the quartet for the November 17-21 championships billed for the Ohene Djan and Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Accra and Kumasi respectively. Guinea exited the 25th edition of the African showpiece soccer event in Egypt in 2006 at the quarter-final stage, but the Stars trainer says the team has matured and is in good shape.

The draw for the competition has been fixed for October 19 in Accra.

Meanwhile, the GFA has announced that the Black Stars - Reggae Boys (Jamaica) October 17 friendly clash had been called off. The game was originally scheduled for London but the police in the English capital were said to have declared that they could not assure of maximum security forcing the GFA to shift the game to Accra, where the El-Wak Stadium remained the only alternative.

This means the Stars will be inactive this October but are expected to bounce back next month during the four-nation tourney.