Last Nations Cup quarter-finalists to be decided

 

Cameroon's midfielder Stephane Mbia (back) challenges Guinea's forward Mohamed Yattara during the 2015 African Cup of Nations group D football match between Cameroon and Guinea in Malabo. PHOTO / AFP

MONGOMO, Equatorial Guinea: The last quarter-final places at the African Nations Cup will be decided today but there is nothing to choose between the four protagonists in Group D who conclude the first round of the tournament in Equatorial Guinea.

An unprecedented series of 1-1 draws in all four matches in the group means Cameroon, Guinea, Ivory Coast and Mali are all level going into a decisive set of games.

Cameroon host Ivory Coast in arguably the game of the round in Malabo while Mali and Guinea will have high hopes when they clash in Mongomo.

Both Cameroon and the Ivorians had disappointing World Cup experiences last year in Brazil but it was Cameroon who bounced back quickest, including beating the Ivorians 4-1 in a Nations Cup qualifier in September.

Mali have finished third at the last two Nations Cup finals, exceeding expectation on both occasions while Guinea, where the Ebola virus saw them banned from playing home matches, qualified for the tournament despite difficult odds and have continued an impressive run of results at the finals.

On Tuesday, Ghana and Algeria qualified for the quarter-finals from Group C. Ghana beat South Africa 2-1 while Algeria upset Senegal 2-0.