The luck of the draw will decide the final quarter-finalist at the Africa Cup of Nations.
The Ivory Coast earned their spot from Group D by beating Cameroon 1-0 on Wednesday, but Mali and Guinea drew 1-1 yet again, meaning they cannot be separated in the standings.
Instead, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) was to put the names of the two teams into balls yesterday at a hotel in Malabo and an official will pick one of them. Whichever one is chosen will advance.
“It’s hard for each team because nobody deserves to be out of the competition,” Guinea coach Michel Dussuyer said. “But now it is a reality we have to face.”
There had been a possibility that all four teams would be in the draw, but Ivory Coast managed to hold on for victory in Malabo — the only result in the group that did not finish 1-1.
In Mongomo, Guinea took the lead when Kevin Constant converted a 15th-minute penalty. Mali had a chance to equalize two minutes later, but captain Seydou Keita missed a penalty at the other end.
The equalizer eventually came in the second half through forward Modibo Maiga’s back-post header.
However, since Mali and Guinea could not be separated on the field, they will be separated by luck.
“They are the regulations of the competition and we have to go by them,” Mali coach Henryk Kasperczak said. “But it doesn’t work well. They [CAF] need to look at it again.”
Max Gradel scored the only goal of the match at Malabo Stadium after collecting a pass from Siaka Tiene that went through the legs of Cameroon forward Edgar Salli. He then ran toward the middle of the field before unleashing a hard shot that flew past a diving Fabrice Ondoa.
The result gives the Ivory Coast first place in the group and a quarter-final match against Algeria on Sunday in Malabo. In Sunday’s early match at the same venue, the lucky team from yesterday’s draw is to face Ghana.
Ivory Coast coach Herve Renard, who has worked with several teams around the continent, coached in Algeria a few years ago, so his next opponent is no stranger.
“I spent a very, very good time over there, and now I have to make them cry,” Renard said. “It’s just a joke. I have a lot of friends in Algeria.”
The Ivory Coast was playing its second straight match without Gervinho, the AS Roma forward who was given a straight red card in the opening game against Guinea and was then handed a two-match suspension.
However, Gradel has been getting things done up front among a team that includes Yaya Toure, Wilfried Bony and Salomon Kalou. The Saint-Etienne midfielder has scored two goals in two matches. On Saturday, he came on as a substitute and scored an 87th-minute equalizer in the 1-1 draw with Mali.
Cameroon again played an up-tempo game, but rarely threatened the Ivory Coast goal. One of the best chances of the first half for the Cameroonians came when Salli shot over the bar in the final seconds. More chances came in the second half as the Ivorians sat back, but there was no finishing touch.
“I think the Ivory Coast took advantage of a little mistake we made in the first half to score the goal,” Cameroon coach Volker Finke said. “In the first half, we had two or three really good chances, but didn’t score, and that is the reason we lost.”
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their