On Wednesday evening, Equatorial Guinea scored the last qualifying ticket for the quarter-finals of the African Cup of Nations, eliminating Mali on penalties. Egypt also needed the penalty shootout to knock out Côte d’Ivoire a few hours earlier. Table of the quarters, highlights of the 8th… We summarize everything for you in this new issue of the CAN newspaper, our daily meeting until the final, on February 6th.
What to remember from this Wednesday
Ivory Coast – Egypt (0-0, 4-5 on pens). Presented as a final before the hour, the round of 16 between Côte d’Ivoire and Egypt kept all its promises. Not in terms of goals, but in the intensity and suspense offered. In a meeting rich in shots (35 in total, including 13 on target), it was the Pharaohs of Mohamed Salah who came out on top. The Liverpool striker also scored the winning shot on goal (5 -4), allowing Egypt to find Morocco on Sunday (5 p.m.) at the Ahmadou-Ahidjo stadium in Yaoundé.
Mali – Equatorial Guinea (0-0, 5-6 at the tabs). It’s a new little sensation in this African Cup of Nations. The 114th nation in the world, which had already extricated itself from a strong group in which appeared Algeria and the Ivory Coast (both eliminated) defeated the Eagles of Mali following the penalty shootout, at the end of a soporific 0-0. Equatorial Guinea will face Senegal in the last quarter-final next Sunday (8 p.m.) at the Douala Omnisport Stadium.
The quarter-final table
Saturday January 29
Gambia – Cameroon (5 p.m.).
Burkina Faso – Tunisia (20 hours).
Sunday January 30
Egypt – Morocco (5 p.m.).
Senegal – Mali (20 hours).
The highlights of the round of 16
Sensational goals were entered in this first knockout round. Comoros midfielder Youssouf M’Changama cleared André Onana’s top corner with a direct free kick once morest Cameroon in a 2-1 loss to Cœlacanthes on Monday. The next day, in the round of 16 between Morocco and Malawi, Gabadinho Mhango opened the scoring with a shot from over 40 meters. The goal of the tournament so far. Achraf Hakimi, the right side of PSG, answered him in the second half, on a surgical free kick (his 2nd in this CAN), qualifying the Moroccans for the quarter-finals.
Nigeria, one of the favorites for the final victory, was knocked out in the round of 16 by Tunisia (1-0). The Super Eagles, carried by a great Moses Simon in the group stages, had signed three victories in Pool D, once morest Egypt (1-0), Sudan (3-1) and Guinea-Bissau (2-0 ). Against the Tunisians, they only had one shot on target and were unable to react following the only goal of the game by Youssef Msakni (47th). With Algeria, he is the second big name to have left the competition prematurely.
Without a guardian, the Comoros had to play their round of 16 once morest Cameroon with an outfield player in the cages. The AC Ajaccio player, Chaker Alhadur, made several saves, which were not very academic, but might not avoid the defeat of his team. ” I did not ask anything. But the staff thought that I had the experience to be able to withstand this pressure, that I would be able to command the defense, play with my feet. That was the project, ”said the 30-year-old player the next day, in an interview with Le Parisien.
The Gambia, for his first participation in the CAN, created one of the big surprises of the tournament, by qualifying for the quarter-finals. The nation, 150th in the FIFA rankings, brought down Guinea from Naby Keita (Liverpool), suspended for this meeting, thanks to a goal from Musa Barrow, the Bologna striker (Italy). The Gambians will face hosts Cameroon in the next round on Saturday.
Sunday evening, Burkina Faso eliminated Gabon on penalties and qualified for the quarter-finals of the CAN. A performance tarnished by an attempted coup in Ouagadougou. The sporting epic of the internationals has indeed been relegated to the background by serious political incidents. “If we win, they may lay down their arms,” reacted two Burkinabe players. In an interview with Le Parisien, they recount their determination to give hope and appease an entire people, through their journey.
