Elephants march on

While the favourites Ivory Coast march on to the semi-finals of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations without breaking a sweat, my personal outside tip produced the worst performances imaginable.

Compounding the frustration that must be felt by fans of Senegal, their ‘Double Demba’ strike force that failed to fire in Africa secured an important win for the club that pays their wages in the English Premier League, Newcastle United.

Demba Ba has been a revelation on Tyneside since his arrival from West Ham, having earlier been rejected by Stoke over concerns about a lingering knee injury.
 
Ba blasted home early to give the Magpies an early lead, although the finish from his new strike-partner, Senegal colleague Demba Cisse, must rank as one of the best witnessed in Newcastle. Chesting the ball down with his back to goal he swivelled and fired into the top left corner, doing the iconic No.9 shirt proud on his debut.

The ease with which they combined to slice through the Aston Villa defence raises questions as to why they were unable to reproduce this form in the African Cup of Nations.

With one of the most potent attacking line-ups in the finals, Senegal were expected to take advantage of an easy qualification group, the lack of perennial favourites, Egypt, and a favourable draw to bring home the trophy for the first time.

However, defeats to co-hosts Equatorial Guinea and another team seeking their first victory in the African Cup of Nations finals, Libya, raises questions about how they could fail so badly, mustering only three goals in their three games.

Meanwhile, the Ivory Coast have secured themselves a favourable semi-final slot against Mali who will be weary after a quarter-final that went into the depths of extra-time in energy-sapping conditions, narrowly defeating co-hosts Gabon 5-4 on penalties. 

The Elephants of the Ivory Coast cruised past Equatorial Guinea with Didier Drogba the villain-turned-hero after initially missing a penalty only to then net twice to secure a comfortable passage to the next round. 

Manchester City’s midfield powerhouse, Yaya Toure, netted the third and final goal against the National Lightning team that has lit up this tournament.

I don’t expect Mali to put up much resistance today, which should mean the Ivory Coast will face the winners of the other semi-final between Zambia and Ghana.

Zambia were the first team to book their place in the semi-final after a comfortable 3-0 victory over a poor Sudanese team, the second-lowest ranked team appearing in these finals.  The Chipololpolo were too strong for a side that was outclassed by goals from Sunzu, Katongo and Chamanga, although they were not helped by the sending off of Saif Eldin shortly after the hour mark.

Much will depend on Ghana’s ability to recover from a tough battle in the previous round against a Tunisian side that had rested eight players in their final group game in preparation for this test.

Sulley Muntari and Asamoah Gyan were a constant threat to a resolute Tunisian defence, although it was returning captain, John Mensah, who opened the scoring before Dede capitalised on a mistake by the Eagles’ keeper to slot home in extra time.

Zambia will benefit from the extra rest and a comfortable fixture, along with strong teamwork, while Ghana will rely on their experienced stars to see them through. 

I’m going to back Zambia on the basis of their fresher legs!

I still expect to see the Ivory Coast lift the trophy in the final in Libreville on February 12, although they may have conceded a goal by the time they do so. 

The question then will be whether Drogba can reproduce his African goals in the Premier League Ö and whether Fernando Torres will have scored by the time he returns.