ACN excitement builds

Excitement is building in Gabon ahead of next year's African Cup of Nations where they will host the competition alongside Equatorial Guinea.

If Gabon are to progress into the knockout stages of the African Cup of Nations they will have to overcome a group which involves Morocco, Tunisia and Niger.

The Panthers open their campaign against Niger at the Stade d'Angondje on January 23, that will be followed by the clashes with the two giants of the group.

The ante-post African Cup of Nations betting shows things should be interesting.

Lorient defender Bruno Ecuele-Manga is confident that Gabon can do well in the competition despite being given a tough group.

"We want to do something good, especially since the Afcon will be played at home in Gabon," he told Goal.com.

"If we can get through the group stage, it would be nice for us, for the fans, knowing that there will be a big craze in Gabon. People there are expecting a lot from the team, and crossing the group stage will be a good sign."

Gabon recently entertained Brazil is a friendly with a star-studded Brazilian line-up defeating the home side 2-0 in Libreville.

Equatorial Guinea have also been given a tough task if they are to reach the quarter-finals in 2012. They have been drawn with Libya, Senegal and Zambia.

The joint-hosts will open the tournament next year on January 21 with their game against Libya at the Estadio de Bata.

Henri Michel's side have qualified into the competition for the very first time in the country's history.  Their results recently have been positive, but it would be a huge surprise if they were to make into the quarter-finals in February.