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Last Nations Cup quarter-finalists to be decided
Mali players react as Cameroon's Aurelien Chedjou kicks during their Group D soccer match of the 2015 African Cup of Nations in Malabo, January 20, 2015. PHOTO BY REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
By Mark Gleeson
28/01/2015
MONGOMO, Equatorial Guinea (Reuters) - The last quarter-final places at the African Nations Cup will be decided on Wednesday but there is nothing to choose between the four protagonists in Group D who conclude the first round of the tournament in Equatorial Guinea.
An unprecedented series of 1-1 draws in all four matches in the group means Cameroon, Guinea, Ivory Coast and Mali are all level going into a decisive set of games.
Cameroon host Ivory Coast in arguably the game of the round in Malabo while Mali and Guinea will have high hopes when they clash in Mongomo.
Both Cameroon and the Ivorians had disappointing World Cup experiences last year in Brazil but it was Cameroon who bounced back quickest, including beating the Ivorians 4-1 in a Nations Cup qualifier in September.
Mali have finished third at the last two Nations Cup finals, exceeding expectation on both occasions while Guinea, where the Ebola virus saw them banned from playing home matches, qualified for the tournament despite difficult odds and have continued an impressive run of results at the finals.
On Tuesday, Ghana and Algeria qualified for the quarter-finals from Group C. Ghana beat South Africa 2-1 while Algeria upset Senegal 2-0.
(Editing by Justin Palmer)
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