Welcome to the news and the highlights of AFCON 2015, day 11. I’m pleased to say that there is officially nothing ordinary about this year’s tournament. We ought to know who will be featured in the final 8, but we don’t. It’s all up to Lady Luck, as CAF article 74 comes into play, where the tiebreaker will be the drawing of lots to find the 8th team to head into the quarter finals. We all knew that the 1-1 draws through the round robin stage, that saw Group D start last night on equal points and equal goal difference, would make this all very interesting, but we just assumed it would be sorted out on the pitch last night. It was not to be. Well not for all the teams at least, as we saw between many people’s choice for 2015 champions, Cote d’Ivoire, and four time champions, Cameroon.
It took just one goal from the power boot of Max Gradel to catapult the Ivory Coast into the final 8. Cameroon ended at the bottom of an otherwise even Group D with just 2 points from 2 draws. The Cameroon team must be shattered, leaving this great tournament so early on, and after beating The Ivory Coast so convincingly in qualifying. The Ivorians have set up a quarter final against my favourites, Algeria, on Sunday. It’s almost like a mini final of sorts, since these are the 2 favourite teams. It’s a pity they couldn’t both feature at the tournament’s end. Here are highlights of the Cameroon vs Cote d’Ivoire match.
Now to the Mali-Guinea conundrum. Since it couldn’t be settled on the field, it will now be settled in the Malabo Hilton Hotel, at 4pm local time. Many fans have called for a penalty shootout, since it’s keeping the game on the field, and it’s more football for the fans where there’s actual football being played, but, be that as it may, it’s CAF’s decision, and they are calling Article 74 into play. It’s now down to the drawing of lots this afternoon. How it will work is there will be two balls, each marked with either ‘Mali’ or ‘Guinea’ and an official from the audience will be invited to pick a ball out of a ‘hat’ and that is that. I for one, am not keen on this, but that is how it will play out; from skill and on-field entertainment, to casino floor fluke. Stay tuned for the results here on 1Africa, and here are some of the match highlights.
We head back to the pitches of Equatorial Guinea on Saturday, when Congo and DR Congo meet at Estadio de Bata for the first of the quarter final matches. That match will immediately be followed by Tunisia versus hosts, Equatorial Guinea, on the field. Until then, keep checking in, and enjoy the video highlights of the 2 games, thanks to Supersport.com.