After 16 nations battled it out in the round of 16 for the African Cup of Nations trophy, eight nations are through to the quarter-finals to batt
After 16 nations battled it out in the round of 16 for the African Cup of Nations trophy, eight nations are through to the quarter-finals to battle it out for the ultimate.
Burkina Faso kicked off the second round of the tournament against Gabon edging out the Panthers of Gabon in a 7-6 penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw. The Burkinabe captain, Bertrand Traore scored the opener in the 28th minute after missing a penalty at the early stage of the game but Ecuele Manga’s header equalized for the 10 men Gabonese side in the 91st minute.
After the long run, it’s the Stallions of Burkina Faso who made it through to the quarter-finals courtesy of the penalty shootout win.
The second fixture of the knock stage saw the Eagles of Carthage knock the Super Eagles of Nigeria out of the tournament. Youssef Msakni stroked the winner for Tunisia in the 47th minute of the match which Nigeria failed to capitalize.
Nigeria won all their matches in the group stage of the competition but their journey in the Afcon was unexpectedly cut short by the North African team, Tunisia.
Burkina Faso will face Tunisia in the quarter-finals on Saturday.
Afcon debutants the Gambia crashed Guinea out of the competition in a 1-0 scoreline; courtesy goal by Musa Barrow in the 71st minute to advance into the Round of 8 of the tournament.
The Scorpions of Gambia are the only debutant team still in the race for the trophy.
Meanwhile, host nation Cameroon suffer past 10 men Comoros Island with their centre back Chaker Alhadhur at a stand-in keeper and their captain, Nadjim Abdou sent off by a red card in the early stage of the game.
The indomitable lions narrowly slipped through to the quarter-finals of the tournament in a 2-1 win. Goals from Karl Toko Ekambi and Vincent Aboubakar sealed the victory for the Cameroons while the Islander’s Youssouf M’Changama stunning free-kick goal in the last minutes of the match earned him the man of the match award.
Comoros bowed out of the competition with their heads up after giving the host nation a tough match. Stand-in goalkeeper for the Islanders received a standing ovation from the crowd for his massive saves in the game.
Cameroon will go head-to-head with the Gambia in the quarter-finals on Saturday.
Senegal advanced past nine men Cape Verde to make it to the next round of the tournament. The Teranga Lions won in a 2-0 score sheet. Goals from the Teranga Lions captain Sadio Mane and Bamba Dieng won the game for Aliou Cissé’s side.
However, their star man, Sadio Mane may be out of their quarter-final after suffering a head concussion that sent him off during the game saw the Cape Verde goalkeeper sent off with a harsh red card. Cape Verde midfielder, Patrick Andrade also got an early red card in the game.
The Atlas Lions of Morocco triumphantly cruised to the quarter-finals with a comeback win against Malawi. Morocco won in a 2-1 scoreline. Frank Mhango early goal was equalized by Youssef En-Nesyri in the 70th minute before Achraf Hakimi’s free-kick won the game for the Atlas lions.
Mohammed Salah stroke winning penalty for the pharaohs of Egypt to proceed to the quarter-finals after Ivory Coast’s Eric Bailly missed out on a penalty. The game which ended on a 0-0 draw stretched to extra time then to penalties which the Egyptians won on a 5-4 account.
The Pharaohs of Egypt will go head-to-head with their North African counterpart, Morocco in the quarter-finals on Sunday.
In the last fixture to seal the quarter-final set, Equatorial Guinea shockingly kicks Mali out of the competition in a 6-5 penalty shootout. The 120 minutes of the game ended in a 0-0 draw but through a tough match, Equatorial Guinea advances to the next stage of the tournament.
Senegal will go against Equatorial Guinea in the quarter-final on Sunday.
Source: Ghana / Kaziah Owusu / Herosportgh.com
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