The greatest-ever edition of the African Cup of Nations showed no signs of toning down the drama and madness in the quarter-finals, as four enthralling fixtures entertained fans in Côte d’Ivoire. As all eight contestants were teams that failed to reach this stage in 2021, a lot was on the line for them, and they sure played like it.
By Neel Shelat
🇳🇬 Nigeria 1-0 Angola 🇦🇴
As all the big hitters tumbled around them, Nigeria have gone from being expected to underwhelm pre-tournament to now assuming the tag of favourites. Their quarter-final against Angola was the first match they played with the pressure of that position on their backs, so many were interested to see how they would cope with it.
Angola were not to be underestimated, though, as they had played some eye-catching football and scored a fair few goals en route to this stage. Their target now was to reach the AFCON semi-final for the first time ever, having stumbled at this stage twice in the past.
The match was quite an even contest, as both sides created some presentable chances for themselves. The Super Eagles took their first one as Ademola Lookman swept home Moses Simon’s delivery, thus taking a lead into half-time.
The Palancas Negras squandered a couple of great chances but did not threaten as much as they would have hoped to on a rare off-day for their possession play, so they had to accept another quarter-final exit.
🇨🇩 DR Congo 3-1 Guinea 🇬🇳
DR Congo finally registered their first win of the tournament and ended a winless streak that extended to six matches as they overcame a disappointing Guinea side.
Kaba Diawara’s men were the ones who opened the scoring through Mohamed Bayo’s penalty, but they completely fell flat thereafter.
DR Congo quickly equalised through a clinical finish from centre-back Chancel Mbemba and were then given all the time they needed to build pressure in search of a go-ahead goal. Yoane Wissa eventually put his side in front from the penalty spot after the hour mark. A little bit later, an incredible direct free-kick from ex-West Ham full-back Arthur Masuaku sealed the result in the 82nd minute.
So, it was the Leopards who emerged victorious in a tie between two teams who haven’t looked nearly as good as their squad quality would suggest.
🇲🇱 Mali 1-2 Ivory Coast 🇨🇮
The Ivory Coast had defied all odds to reach the quarter-final. Having picked up just three points in their group and suffering their biggest-ever home defeat to end up with a negative goal difference, an exact set of other results somehow gifted them a knockout spot. Jean-Louis Gasset was made to leave mid-tournament, so Emerse Faé took interim charge as the Elephants went all the way to penalties before sending defending champions and favourites Senegal home.
As they returned to Bouaké and the Stade de la Paix – the site of their seemingly disastrous defeat to Equatorial Guinea – to face Mali, anyone expecting a straightforward match must have been terribly naive. There was drama right from the start, as Mali won a penalty within a quarter of an hour, but had it saved by Yahia Fofana. The hosts’ first half ended badly, though, as they went down to ten men when Odilon Kossounou received a second yellow card.
Mali did not capitalise on their numerical advantage as much as they should have, but they eventually managed to take the lead thanks to a wonder strike from Nene Dorgeles. Faé then brought the big guns off the bench as his side desperately needed an equaliser, and after some knocking on the door, they got it right at the death thanks to Simon Adingra.
Both sides threatened to some extent in extra time, but the match looked destined for penalties as the 120-minute mark grew nearer. Two minutes past it, there was another twist in the tale as Oumar Diakité redirected Seko Fofana’s shot past the goalkeeper to send the entirety of the Ivory Coast into raptures!
🇨🇻 Cape Verde 0-0 South Africa 🇿🇦 (1-2 on penalties)
Cape Verde sought to reach their first-ever AFCON semi-final, but they first had to overcome a tough-looking South Africa side. The Blue Sharks’ tactical solidity had earned them many plaudits in this impressive run to the quarter-finals, but they now came up against a group of players just as cohesive as them.
The Mamelodi Sundowns effect was felt all over the pitch for Bafana Bafana as they played some very eye-catching football at times (seven of South Africa’s starters play for the Sundowns), although it was Cape Verde who created the better chances thanks to the clever and well-timed runs in behind from their strikers. Both Garry Rodrigues and substitute Gilson Tavares managed to get into one-on-one situations on a number of occasions, but Ronwen Williams always managed to come up trumps.
Vozinha made some smart stops at the other end as well to keep the match firmly in the balance, taking Cape Verde to their first-ever extra time period at the AFCON. More good goalkeeping led to a penalty shoot-out which turned out to be quite singular.
The Blue Sharks went first, and Williams made not one, not two, but three consecutive saves in the exact same place to give his side a huge advantage. South Africa messed up a couple of their efforts too, but it did not matter in the end as Williams made a fourth save down in the other corner, this time to win the match!
Cape Verde will surely be bitterly disappointed after converting just one of their five penalties, but they should be quite proud of their efforts when they look back on the tournament as a whole.
Looking Ahead: Semi-finals
New favourites Nigeria will be the next team to face South Africa in what is set to be a battle between the meanest defences at this tournament. As both sides have kept four consecutive clean sheets leading up to this match, the stronger attack could end up making the difference. Will Nigeria’s superior quality shine through, will South Africa’s Sundowns contingent click, or will Williams repeat his shoot-out heroics? These are the questions that will be answered at the Stade de la Paix.
Ivory Coast will return to the Olympic Stadium to face DR Congo in a semi-final between two teams who have never looked overly convincing and yet always manage to get the job done. The hosts have been quite underwhelming ever since the first half of the opener, but they have pulled something out of the bag when most required in the knockouts. The Leopards, on the other hand, have emerged successful in wars of attrition against the likes of Morocco, and Egypt, but doing so with a capacity crowd on their backs will be a much tougher task.
(Images from IMAGO)
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