Amos Annan

What: African Cup of Nations Quarter-final
Who: Equatorial Guinea vs Ivory Coast
When: Saturday 4th February, 2012, at 19:00 UK Time
Where:  Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea

Giant Killers

Equatorial Guinea came into this tournament as one of the weakest teams, and were therefore expected to be the whipping boys of Group A, with African football powerhouses Senegal and Zambia ready to surge through. However, against all odds, the Nzalang Nacional triumphed in their first ever African Cup of Nations match beating Libya and then pulling off arguably one of the upsets of the tournament by beating pre-tournament favourites Senegal to book their place in the quarter-final.

The host nation suffered one hiccup along the way though, when they lost by a single goal to a determined Zambia side, and consequently had to settle for second place and a meeting with Ivory Coast in the quarters, a side which they would surely have preferred to avoid at this stage. Still, it is a match the hosts should relish as they count on their home advantage and good old-fashioned hard work to get them through the clash.

The Favourites

For the last few editions of the African Cup of Nations, Ivory Coast have always gone into the tournament as favourites, and now more than ever, with the notable absences of Egypt, Nigeria and Cameroon who would have made things a bit more difficult for the Elephants. Despite being billed as favourites however, the powerhouses did not enjoy a particularly convincing beginning to the tournament with a laboured performance which managed to earn them a one-nil win against plucky Sudan.

In their second and third matches though, it appeared that the Elephants were finally starting to get warmed up, following comfortable 2-0 wins over Burkina Faso and Angola. This continues an impressive qualifying campaign in which they collected maximum points. Beating this star-studded side and spoiling their 100 per cent record is going to prove difficult for any side, especially seeing that Ivory Coast now appear to be growing in confidence.

Recent form

Equatorial Guinea:
Equatorial Guinea 1-0 Libya
(21/01; Group A)
Equatorial Guinea 2-1 Senegal
(25/01; Group A)
Equatorial Guinea 0-1 Zambia
(29/01; Group A)

Ivory Coast:
Ivory Coast 1-0 Sudan
(22/01; Group B)
Ivory Coast 2-0 Burkina Faso (26/01; Group B)
Ivory Coast 2-0 Angola (30/01; Group B)

Players to watch

Equatorial Guinea – Javier Balboa: The former Real Madrid winger was the one who won the opening game for the Equatoguineans, and they will be looking to him, and other big players like him to step up and make their top-level experience count against daunting opponents. Balboa must put away even the slightest opportunity to score and not waste any clear-cut openings as chances are expected to be few and far between.

Ivory Coast – Didier Drogba:  The iconic captain of the Ivorians has only had his name on the scoresheet once, but no doubt his participation in this match is of prime importance to the whole team. With the galaxy of stars playing around the Chelsea man, if by any chance the going gets tough as it did against Sudan, Drogba can be expected to deliver the goods for the Elephants.

Match Prediction

After the reality check of the loss to Zambia, the Equatoguineans must be wary of their much stronger opponents, and this could be their undoing. They can however, take much encouragement from their opening performances and would not feel too sorry for themselves if knocked out at this stage. Hence, in another way, the National Lightning have nothing to lose, but they just might find the Ivorians too strong, even in front of their own home crowd. Equatorial Guinea 1-2 Ivory Coast.

 


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