CECAFA Cup - Quarter Finals onwards 17th-22nd

[Napoleon Solo]

17/12/07 09:00 Burundi v Eritrea 1.80 3.30 3.70
17/12/07 09:00 Tanzania v Sudan 1.34 3.60 9.00
18/12/07 09:00 Uganda v Kenya 1.75 3.30 3.90
18/12/07 09:00 Zanzibar v Rwanda 2.40 3.25 2.45

Group A Results
(103, 26, 329) Tanzania 2 - 1 Kenya (100, 24, 338)
(116, 34, 277) Burundi 3 - 0 Somalia (194, 52, 13)
(116, 34, 277) Burundi 1 - 0 Kenya (100, 24, 338)
(103, 26, 329) Tanzania 1 - 0 Somalia (194, 52, 13)
(100, 24, 338) Kenya 2 - 0 Somalia (194, 52, 13)
(116, 34, 277) Burundi 0 - 0 Tanzania (103, 26, 329)

Group B Results
(94, 21, 351) Uganda 7 - 0 Djibouti (175, 48, 53)
(119, 35, 271) Rwanda 2 - 1 Eritrea (126, 36, 238)
(126, 36, 238) Eritrea 3 - 2 Djibouti (175, 48, 53)
(94, 21, 351) Uganda 2 - 0 Rwanda (119, 35, 271)
(119, 35, 271) Rwanda 9 - 0 Djibouti (175, 48, 53)
(126, 36, 238) Eritrea 3 - 2 Uganda (94, 21, 351)

Group C Results
(105, 27, 317) Sudan 2 - 2 Zanzibar (Non-FIFA)
(Non-FIFA) Zanzibar 3 - 1 Ethiopia (108, 29, 304)
(108, 29, 304) Ethiopia 0 - 0 Sudan (105, 27, 317)

The numbers listed beside each team are the overall FIFA rank, the Confederation rank and the FIFA points!

I'd have thought Burundi should beat Eritrea. They easily disposed of Somalia and beat a relatively decent Kenya side. Their final group game ended in a draw to tournament hosts Tanzania when a draw was all that was needed to finish top of the group. Eritrea lost to a decent enough Rwanda team, before beating a poor Djibouti team (spanked 0-7 and 0-9 in their other games) before beating a Uganda team that was already certain of top place in the group.

In my opinion, Tanzania shouldn't be as long odds-on as they are against Sudan. Yes, Tanzania are hosts and will likely progress, but only two ranking places separate the sides in the FIFA rankings while Sudan have already drawn against a decent Ethiopia side and a good, but unranked Zanzibar team, whilst all of Tanzania's games have been close. A lay of Tanzania would probably be the way to go, though Betfair aren't covering the games so a draw or X2 double chance is probably the best option.

[Napoleon Solo]

Burundi 2 - 1 Eritrea
Tanzania 1 - 2 Sudan

[Napoleon Solo]

Uganda 1 - 1 Kenya (p4-2)
Zanzibar 0 - 0 Rwanda (4-5p)

Thought Uganda were a decent bet at 1.75, but by the time I can to bet on them they'd been backed into 1.35! Too short a price so thankfully I left it!


First Semi-Final

19/12/07 08:00 Sudan v Burundi 1.65 3.50 4.50

I'm going to chance a small bet against Sudan in this game. Sudan have come to these championships with a second string side and were lucky to get through their quarter-final with Tanzania, the cup hosts having dominated the game. Burundi had to come from behind in their semi-final against Eritrea, but their performances in their other games have been accomplished and workmanlike. This may well be another close game, so I'll be betting on the X2 double result at 1.97 (Bwin)