Mali, Ghana advance to African Cup semifinals
6th February 2012 · 0 Comments
Mali beat co-host Gabon 5-4 in a penalty-kick shootout Sunday, and Ghana won 2-1 in extra time on a blunder by Tunisia’s goalkeeper during quarterfinals at the African Cup of Nations.
With the last of the quarterfinals complete, the semifinal field is set: Mali vs. African Cup favorite Ivory Coast and Ghana vs. Zambia.
Gabon’s hero from the group stage, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, missed his team’s fourth penalty kick. Seydou Keita then scored the decisive penalty kick for Mali, which also reached the semifinals in 2002 and 2004. The teams were tied 1-1 after extra time.
The result meant both co-hosts were eliminated within 24 hours. Equatorial Guinea lost 3-0 to Ivory Coast on Saturday.
In the day’s second quarterfinal in Franceville, goalie Aymen Mathlouthi dropped a seemingly harmless cross during extra time. That allowed Andre Ayew to poke home the winner in the 101st minute.
Ghana captain John Mensah put his team in front with a header in the 10th minute. But Saber Khalifa evened the score for Tunisia in the 42nd with a header after a cross by Zouhaier Dhaouadi.
Tunisia defender Aymen Abdennour was ejected late in the game for an elbow on Ayew in a rough finish.
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By Daily Mail
