Algeria and Ghana are one step away from the Africa Cup of Nations final after stunning favorites Ivory Coast and hosts Angola respectively on Sunday.
Ivory Coast were sent packing by a 3-2 extra-time loss to fellow World Cup qualifiers Algeria in the second quarter-final up in the northern province of Cabinda.
The Desert Foxes fell 2-1 behind on 89 minutes to a brilliant Abdulkader Keita goal, only for Rangers defender Madjid Bougherra to level in stoppage-time and unmarked substitute Hamer Bouazza headed a 92nd-minute far-post winner.
PHOTO: AFP
Drama continued to the end with television replays suggesting a late shot from Ivorian defender Kolo Toure that found the net was wrongly judged offside by an assistant referee.
Didier Drogba’s Elephants had raced into a fourth-minute lead when Chelsea striker Salomon Kalou scored after a goalmouth scramble with Germany-based Karim Matmour leveling on 40 minutes.
Algeria looked to be heading home early after opening their Cup campaign with a poor 3-0 loss to Malawi, but a win over Mali and a goalless draw against Angola put them into the last eight, and now they have the final in their sights.
“This victory is for Algeria, some people won’t be able to speak now, we’ve silenced our critics and proved that we are worthy World Cup finalists,” 27-year-old Bougherra said.
Earlier, in Sunday’s first quarter-final, Angola crashed out, losing 1-0 to another World Cup-bound team, Ghana, to end their dreams of winning the title on home soil.
A minute’s silence preceded Angola’s game, held in memory of the victims of the Haiti earthquake and for the father of Angola coach Manuel Jose, who died on Sunday morning in Portugal.
Angola welcomed back their three-goal hero Flavio, but it was Ghana, missing a raft of top players, who shot into a 16th-minute lead thanks to Asamoah Gyan.
Hard as Angola tried they were unable to cancel that out, although former Manchester United and Hull City striker Manucho certainly had his chances.
Ghana’s Serbian coach Milovan Rajevic said: “Of course, we are missing players like [Michael] Essien, [Stephen] Appiah and Anthony Annan. We have had to call up a lot of new players, but what I have here is a team with a very competitive spirit and a competitive style of play. There is an excellent atmosphere in our team, which is very important.”
“I have to leave for Portugal now to attend the funeral of my father, but I am leaving proud to be coach of this team,” Jose told a hushed post-match press conference. “They finish in this competition with their heads held high. Ghana took their first chance to score and we did everything we could to get a goal ourselves. We had a couple of chances, but we didn’t have the luck, they [Ghana] did.”
Inter on Sunday were given a letoff when they snatched a late 1-1 derby draw with AC Milan, while league leaders SSC Napoli were held by a late goal at AS Roma. Reigning champions Inter remain three points behind Napoli, who looked to be heading five clear as they led in Rome until Angelino volleyed in a stunning leveler in the first minute of stoppage-time. Angelino’s strike gave even more significance to Stefan de Vrij’s last-gasp equalizer at the San Siro. The defender forced home Nicola Zalewski’s knockdown just as it looked like Tijjani Reijnders’ opener would be enough for Milan. “I can
The Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets on Saturday did not disappoint in a thrilling midseason matchup in front of a fired-up sellout crowd of more than 18,500 fans. The top two teams in the NHL delivered with a combined nine goals, including the 877th of Alex Ovechkin’s career to put him 18 back of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record. That tied the score, the Jets pulled it out in overtime and just about everyone involved got their money’s worth out of the 5-4 game. “We knew how we were both sitting in the standings and both having real good years,” Winnipeg coach Scott
Santiago Castro on Tuesday had an immediate impact off the bench as he scored the goal to send Bologna into the Coppa Italia semi-finals for the first time in 26 years. Bologna won 1-0 against last year’s runners-up, Atalanta BC, and are to play either holders Juventus or Empoli in the final four. Juventus are to host Empoli in their quarter-final on Feb. 26. The last time Bologna reached the semi-finals was in 1999, when they lost 4-2 to ACF Fiorentina. There were chances for both sides in a high-tempo match in Bergamo, but it was Bologna who broke the deadlock 10 minutes from
After nearly six years away from the NBA, New Taipei Kings player Jeremy Lin (林書豪) is set to participate in the 2025 NBA All-Star Weekend’s Rising Stars mini-tournament as the coach of Team G League. The NBA announced Monday (U.S. time) that the Taiwanese-American player will join a trio of Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famers – Tim Hardaway Sr., Chris Mullin, and Mitch Richmond – as honorary coaches for four teams featuring 28 rising talents. "See you soon in the Bay," Lin wrote in an Instagram story sharing the news. As the All-Star Weekend will take place at