Guinea and Mali to draw lots for Africa Cup of Nations knockout place• Guinea and Mali draw 1-1 and finish joint second in Group D
• Ivory Coast beat Cameroon 1-0 to win group
• Algeria reach last eight after beating Senegal
Guinea's midfielder Boubacar Fofana, centre, tussles with the Mali defender Salif Coulibaly in their Africa Cup of Nations draw.
The final place in the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals will be decided by the drawing of lots after Guinea and Mali drew 1-1.
Both teams had played out 1-1 draws in their previous Group D matches, meaning lots will be required to decide who finishes second and will face Ghana. Every match in the group finished 1-1 except Wednesday’s other match, in which Ivory Coast beat Cameroon 1-0 to qualify.
It is a remarkable set of circumstances and one not seen at the Africa Cup of Nations since 1988, when the drawing of lots sent Algeria through to the knockout stage at the expense of the Ivory Coast. Bizarrely, the draw will not be made immediately but at a meeting of Confederation of African Football officials on Thursday.
The circumstances arose after neither Guinea and Mali were able to find a winner in a match in which the latter ended on top. The Eagles also began well and would have gone ahead inside five minutes was it not for Issiaga Sylla, whose timely block prevented Abdoulay Diaby’s goalbound strike finding the target.
Mali’s Mustapha Yatabaré was furious soon afterwards when the referee, Med Said Kordi, ruled he had not been shoved in the area by Fodé Camara, and his frustration was compounded when Guinea were awarded a penalty moments later.
A shot by Ibrahima Traoré was rightly adjudged to have been handled, allowing Kevin Constant to score the penalty with a cheeky Panenka.
Rather than wilt after Guinea’s 15th-minute opener, though, Henryk Kasperczak’s side attacked and had a penalty of their own within a minute following a handball. Seydou Keita, the most-capped player in Mali’s history, stepped up after a delay but failed to beat the goalkeeper Naby-Moussa Yattara with a tame spot-kick.
It was a missed opportunity that the Eagles attempted to put behind them as Modibo Maïga attempted his luck from distance, forcing a fine save from Yattara, with a Naby Keita effort bobbling harmlessly into the goalkeeper’s gloves at the other end.
There was an awkward pause before the second half as the referee waited to get the nod that the other Group D match had started and, once started, it took just 84 seconds for Mali to get a deserved leveller. Abdoulay Diaby sent in a wonderful, lofted cross to the far post and Maïga headed home impressively.
It was the start of a Mali onslaught as they unleashed a wave of second-half attacks. Guinea, who saw their key man Traoré go off injured, were fortunate not be punished by a header from the unmarked Molla Wagué and then Keita saw a free-kick blocked.
The bobbly pitch and poor challenges saw the game end in a whimper, meaning lots will be required to decide these teams’ fate.
In the other match in the group, Max Gradel finally broke the string of draws with the 35th-minute winner against Cameroon that sent Ivory Coast into the quarter-finals. Gradel collected a pass from Siaka Tiéné that went through the legs of the Cameroon forward Edgar Salli. He then cut inside before unleashing a hard shot that flew past a diving Fabrice Ondoa.
The result meant the Ivorians won the group and face a quarter-final against Algeria on Sunday in Malabo.
Ivory Coast were playing their second straight match without Gervinho, the Roma forward who was given a straight red card in the opening game against Guinea and then suspended for two matches.
But Gradel has been effective up front among a team that includes Yaya Touré, Wilfried Bony and Salomon Kalou. The Saint-Etienne midfielder has scored two goals in two matches.
Cameroon again played at a high tempo, but rarely threatened the Ivory Coast goal. One of the best chances of the first half for the Cameroonians came when Salli shot over the bar in the final seconds. More chances came in the second half as the Ivorians sat back, but the finishing touch was missing.
Guardian
