Poor old Benin. For only the second time in their history the Squirrels scramble into the finals and what happens? They get thrown to the lions - or, to be more precise, to the Elephants and Eagles. They will surely be ravaged. Which isn't to say Benin are dross, simply that the three other teams are among the most fearsome on the continent, bristling with power and pace and, most of all, some of the planet's most deadly strikers.

The Ivory Coast's artillery is particularly awesome. Having scored in a friendly on Sunday to mark his return from injury, Didier Drogba is certain to start, and he could be partnered by any of the following: his Chelsea team-mate Salomon Kalou, Werder Bremen's Boubacar Sanogo (seven goals in 12 Bundesliga matches this season), Lens speedster Aruna Dindane, wriggly Nice nuisance Bakary Kon?r Sevilla's Arouna Kon?In midfield, Yaya Tour?nd Didier Zokora offer a sturdy platform, while Lyon's record signing, Abdelkader Keita, can be expected to forget his glum club form and dazzle down the flanks.

Why can Keita be expected to forget his glum club form? Because that's what Ivorians do when with their country. With the possible exception of hosts Ghana, no team at the tournament will be more driven than the Ivorians, who are intent on lifting the trophy not merely for sporting reasons but also to help heal their homeland, which for the last decade has been riven by ethnic strife. "The team is incredibly united, it's like a big family," says Reading defender Emerse Fa?"We're all friends, regardless of religion or ethnic group. We're proud to represent the Ivory Coast and feel we have a responsibility to show the world that it's not a racist country, and to show our own people the power of togetherness."

That group mentality, coupled with the fact that the team has been virtually unchanged over the last four years, is why their challenge is unlikely to be affected by the loss two weeks ago of their manager, Uli Stielike, who stepped aside after his son was taken seriously ill back in Germany. Stielike's replacement, Frenchman G?rd Gili, is familiar with the side because of his involvement with the Ivorian youth and Olympic teams, and he's unlikely to introduce any radical change.

Ivorian fans fret that if they have a weakness, it's an occasionally panicky defence and, most of all, their lack of a truly reliable goalkeeper. They may not have conceded a single goal during the qualifiers, but that was because they were barely tested: their only opponents in a three-team group were Gabon and Madagascar. Kolo Tour?nd co have looked a lot less comfortable in recent friendlies and against the likes of Egypt and Cameroon in 2006 and, of course, they went 2-0 down early in all three of their matches at the last World Cup.

If anyone can exploit Ivorian vulnerability, it could be Nigeria, who meet the Elephants in what promises to be a cataclysmic group opener. Obi John Mikel and Seyi Olofinjana are unlikely to gain parity in the middle, but Berti Vogts appears to have decided that extreme pace down the wings is the best way to serve strikers Obafemi Martins and Yakubu Aiyegbeni. That plan had better work for the Super Eagles, because though Vincent Enyeama is an able goalkeeper, their defence is not strong enough to shut out the Ivorians.

Wing play is also Nigeria's - and everyone else's - most likely route to satisfaction against Mali. Because there's little chance of anyone finding a way through a middle marshalled by Mahamadou Diarra and Seydou Keita. But Mali won't thread paths past many opponents either, a lack of creativity explaining why goals don't come easily to them despite the presence of Fredi Kanout? Mali have always been unpredictable, capable of crushing almost anyone yet prone to shocking under-performances. They've rarely qualified for the continent's showpiece, but on the four occassions that they have, they've reached at least the semi-finals. Accordingly, they're a tempting outside bet for the title, but are also the team most likely to provide Benin with a first-ever Nations Cup victory. Indeed, they were in the same qualifying group as the Squirrels and were held to two draws.

Though Benin complied with the sad tradition of immediately replacing the African manager who got them to the finals with some journeyman European, the team has changed little since the qualifiers - even though the country's federation reacted to qualification by publicly appealing to any Europe-based professional footballers who may be eligible for Benin to urgently get in touch. As a result, and despite calling 37-year-old Alain Gaspoz out of retirement, they will be one of the least experienced teams in the tournament.

But with much of the side coming from the squad that finished third in the Under-20 African Championship in 2005 and appeared in the World Youth Championship in the same year, it's clear they have talent. St?ane Sess?on of Le Mans, for instance, is a bustling schemer reminiscent of Yildiray Basturk and in a group of top strikers, Benin boast one of their own: 22-year-old Razak Omotoyossi banged in enough goals alongside Henrik Larsson at Helsingborg last season to be Sweden's topscorer. Like Ivorian, Nigerian and Malian defences, the legions of scouts at the tournament will have to keep a beady eye on him.

Prediction: 1) Ivory Coast 2) Mali 3) Nigeria 4) Benin