Group C:

Burkina Faso (0) 0 – 0 (0) Zambia

Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit

The 2012 AFCON Champions Zambia’s reign came to an end with a whimper rather than a bang. The Chipolopolo knew going into the game that only a victory would guarantee their passage into the Quarter-Finals. However, on the Nelspruit pitch that looked to be more sand than grass, Zambia could only draw 0-0. The draw would have been enough, if Nigeria had the same result against Ethiopia. In truth, Zambia created very few chances and even once news filtered through from Rustenburg that Nigeria were ahead, there seemed little urgency from the AFCON holders. Burkina Faso secured top spot with the draw, but their biggest worry is the injury to Alain Traore, who left the field on a stretcher in the opening quarter of the game. A disappointing exit for Zambia, but a fantastic achievement by Burkina Faso, putting behind them the disastrous 2012 Finals performance when they lost all three Group games.

Ethiopia (0) 0 – 2 (0) Nigeria

Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg

In the end Nigeria came through to win the game and so clinch a place in the Quarter-Finals. However, with eleven minutes remaining the prospect of exiting the tournament by virtue of a worse disciplinary record than Zambia was a distinct possibility. Nigeria started the game well, but when they didn’t score, the nervousness of their fans seemed to translate to the players and Ethiopia came into the game. However, the Ethiopians were in long-ball mode and Nigeria easily dealt with the threat. Nigeria continued to dominate possession in the second-half, but it wasn’t until the seventy ninth minute that the breakthrough came. Alula Girma brought down Victor Moses and the Chelsea man got up to calmly score from the spot. Victory was confirmed on ninety minutes Moses was again the man who caused all the danger, when Ethiopia keeper brought him down and was subsequently dismissed. With the Ethiopians having used all their substitutes, midfielder Addis Hintsa donned the gloves to face the penalty. Moses again scored and The Super Eagles were on their way to the knock-out stage.

Prediction:

(1) Nigeria, (2) Zambia, (3) Ethiopia, (4) Burkina Faso

Final Standings:

(1) Burkina Faso, (2) Nigeria, (3) Zambia, (4) Ethiopia

Group D:

Algeria v Ivory Coast – Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg

Togo v Tunisia – Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit

With Ivory Coast already through, the attention in these final Group games falls on the Togo v Tunisia fixture. A draw would be enough for Togo to go through, whilst Tunisia have to win to ensure progress. Ivory Coast should see off Algeria to finish with a 100% record, and are likely to be joined by Togo who will beat Tunisia.

Group B: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth.

Ghana (1) 2 – 2 (0) 2 Congo DR

The first goals of the 2013 AFCON tournament duly arrived, but also perhaps unexpectedly resulted in another drawn game. Congo DR were not overawed by the stars or reputation of the Ghana side and had the first real chance of the game on twelve minutes. Lomana Tresor LuaLua smashed the ball goal-ward, but Ghanaian keeper Fatau Dauda managed to tip the effort onto the bar. This game was shaping up as a much more open affair than yesterday’s Group A encounters, with play going from end-to-end. One such break saw Asamoah Gyan put through on goal, but his finish was wastefully wide. However, with five minutes remaining before half-time, Ghana went ahead. In a lovely one-to-one move, Kwadwo Asamoah swapped passes before crossing for Ageymang-Badu who beat the defender to it, to finish and give The Black Stars a 1-0 half-time advantage. Ghana started the second-half brightly and on fifty minutes poor marking from a corner allowed Kwadwo Asamoah to make it 2-0. The Leopards though did not panic and on fifty three minutes had got a goal back. A lovely through ball from Cedric Makiadi found Mputu, who finished beautifully. Congo continued to press and on sixty eight minutes were awarded a penalty after Jerry Akaminko pulled Mobokini down by the shirt. Mobokini got up to take the penalty and sent the keeper the wrong way to complete the comeback and level the game at 2-2. With just over twenty minutes remaining, the game continued to ebb and flow with both sides having opportunities to win it. Ghana had two excellent chances but Congo keeper Kidiaba saved well from Gyan and then did well to readjust his position and push a free-kick over the bar. Not to be outdone, The Black Stars keeper Duada saved well from an effort by Youssouf Mulumbu. At the whistle it was a point each for the teams and at last a game that got those watching, on their feet.

Mali (0) 1 – (0) Niger

After the excitement of the early game, this encounter will be remembered as one which at times was very physical and for goalkeeping that was of a variable quality to say the least. In the first-half, Niger keeper Kassaly Daouda and Mali keeper Mamadou Samassa had looked less than convincing at dealing with crosses and corners. However, the underdogs Niger had the best opportunity of the opening forty five minutes, when Kofi Dankwa saw his shot well saved by Mali keeper Mamadou Samassa. With the teams going in at half-time at 0-0, the fear for anybody watching was that another goalless encounter was on the cards at the start of the 2013 AFCON tournament. However, the second-half did improve with Mali midfielder Seydou Keita becoming more influential as Mali looked for a winner. With six minutes remaining the breakthrough came when Niger keeper Daouda left his line to gather a cross but only succeeded in dropping it for Keita to gratefully strike home. Mali just about deserved it and secured the first win of the competition, in a game that was by no means a classic.

Group C: Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit

Zambia v Ethiopia

The current AFCON Champions Zambia (Chipolopolo – The Copper Bullets) start the defence of their title today against Ethiopia. However, it not been an easy year for Zambia and their form coming into the tournament has been poor. They nearly didn’t make it to South Africa at all, as they only got through the qualifying round on penalties against Uganda after drawing 1-1 on aggregate. However, Zambia will point to the fact that no one fancied their chances in 2012, so are probably happy that this is the case again. Ethiopia (The Walya Antelopes) came through on away goals in both their qualifying rounds. They first saw off Benin (1-1 on aggregate) and then Sudan (5-5 on aggregate). Against Sudan, Ethiopia lost the 1^st leg 5-3 but two second-half goals in the 2^nd leg saw them qualify for South Africa. In their warm-up games, Ethiopia drew with Tunisia 1-1 and beat Tanzania 2-1. Ethiopia like Niger are rank outsiders for the tournament, so expect Zambia to sneak this one in a tight encounter.

Nigeria v Burkina Faso

Nigeria (The Super Eagles) returns to the AFCON Finals after missing out on the 2012 tournament. They qualified after beating Rwanda 2-0 on aggregate and then Liberia. The Super Eagles only drew 2-2 in Paynesville, but a 6-1 victory in Calabar delivered an emphatic 8-3 aggregate win. In their last outing Nigeria drew 0-0 with Cape Verde. However, they are one of the “big” names in African football and should overcome underdogs Burkina Faso. Les Etalons (The Stallions) qualified after beating the Central African Republic 3-2 on aggregate. They played in both the 2010 and 2012 Finals, but did not secure a win in either tournament. In their warm-up fixtures, The Stallions drew 0-0 with Niger and beat Swaziland 3-0. Despite these results it will probably be another unsuccessful and winless Group exit for the West African side.

Prediction: (1) Nigeria, (2) Zambia, (3) Ethiopia, (4) Burkina Faso