How Ivory Coast qualified from Group D
Ivory Coast, despite not playing at full strength yet, clearly imposed themselves as the best team in their section. Togo came close to creating an upset in both sides’ opening game but Yaya Toure’s combination with Gervinho proved too hot to handle.
Surprisingly, Tunisia gave the Elephants absolutely no contest. The latter banged three goals – Gervinho and Yaya Toure on target again. This saw the Ivoirians become the first AFCON 2013 quarter-finalists.
The last match against Algeria did not matter much but when Feghouli and Soudani scored second half goals, Didier Drogba and Wilfried Bony roared back with very late goals to redeem authority.
Will Ivory Coast curse luck for qualifying from Group D as winners and thus booking a meeting with giants Nigeria instead of underdogs Burkina Faso?
| AFRICA CUP: GROUP D 2014 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Côte d'Ivoire | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 7 | |
| 2 |  |
Togo | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 4 |
| 3 |  |
Tunisia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 4 |
| 4 | Algeria | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | -3 | 1 | |
How Nigeria qualified from Group C
For the ambitious Super Eagles, the war is not over but some battles have been won already. Qualifying for the Last 8 ahead of titleholders Zambia was a tough task as half of Group C’s six matches ended in 1-1 draws.
Two of those were recorded by the Nigerians who conceded a 94th minute equalizer against eventual group winners Burkina Faso in their opening match. The next encounter, against the Chipolopolo of Zambia, finished in the same way: the Super Eagles failed to protect their lead and the final result read 1-1.
Finally, the Nigerians recorded their very first win of the year by beating Ethiopia 2-0 in a do-or-die fixture.
| AFRICA CUP: GROUP C 2014 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burkina Faso | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 5 | |
| 2 | Nigeria | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 5 | |
| 3 | Zambia | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | +0 | 3 | |
| 4 | Ethiopia | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | -6 | 1 | |
Ivory Coast’s most recent match stats (2-2 draw against Algeria)
Ball possession: 40 per cent; Corners: 5; Shots on target: 5; Shots wide: 8; Fouls: 11; Offsides: 0
Nigeria’s most recent match stats (2-0 win against Ethiopia)
Ball possession: 60 per cent; Corners: 5; Shots on target: 6; Shots wide: 10; Fouls: 11; Offsides: 0
Prediction
Ivory Coast and Nigeria had very similar statistics in their last respective fixture. The main difference was the amount of possession which could give the Super Eagles the upper hand on Sunday. However, winning games is not about how long you can keep possession but how well you can use it. The match could go all the way to extra-time with the Elephants favoured to win.
Result: Ivory Coast 1-1 Nigeria (3-1 aet)
