Group D of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations was played from 20 January until 28 January in Equatorial Guinea. The group consisted of Ivory Coast, Mali, Cameroon, and Guinea.[1] Ivory Coast and Guinea advanced as group winners and runners-up respectively, while Mali and Cameroon were eliminated.
Teams
edit| Draw position | Team | Method of qualification | Date of qualification | Finals appearance | Last appearance | Previous best performance | CAF Rankings Points[nb 1] | FIFA Rankings Start of event |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D1 |  Ivory Coast | Group D runners-up | 19 November 2014 | 21st | 2013 | Winners (1992) | 44 | 28 |
| D2 |  Mali | Group B runners-up | 19 November 2014 | 9th | 2013 | Runners-up (1972) | 38 | 49 |
| D3 |  Cameroon | Group D winners | 15 November 2014 | 17th | 2010 | Winners (1984, 1988, 2000, 2002) | 23.5 | 42 |
| D4 |  Guinea | Group E runners-up | 19 November 2014 | 11th | 2012 | Runners-up (1976) | 19 | 39 |
- Notes
- ^ The CAF rankings were used for seeding for the final draw.
Standings
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ivory Coast | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 5 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Guinea | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3[a] | |
| 3 | Mali | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3[a] | |
| 4 | Cameroon | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 2 |
- ^ a b Guinea and Mali were tied on head-to-head record, overall goal difference, and overall goals scored. A drawing of lots took place on 29 January 2015, 16:00 local time at the Hilton Malabo. Guinea selected the lot for 2nd place and advanced to the quarter-finals as the group runner-up.[2][3][4]
In the quarter-finals:
Matches
editIvory Coast vs Guinea
editGuinea took the lead in the 36th minute when Mohamed Yattara smashed home a headed clearance from the Ivory Coast defence. Gervinho was sent off in the 58th minute for hitting Naby Keïta in the face, but the 10-men Ivory Coast equalized in the 72nd minute, as Wilfried Bony controlled the ball on his chest and passed to Seydou Doumbia to score.[5][6]
| Ivory Coast | 1–1 | Guinea |
|---|---|---|
Doumbia  72' | Report | M. Yattara 36' |
        Ivory Coast |     Guinea |
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees: |
Mali vs Cameroon
editMali took the lead in the 71st minute as Molla Wagué's flick-on from a free kick allowed Sambou Yatabaré to score at the far post. Cameroon equalized in the 84th minute, after Ambroise Oyongo controlled Raoul Loé's lofted pass to score from close range.[8][9]
| Mali | 1–1 | Cameroon |
|---|---|---|
| S. Yatabaré 71' | Report | Oyongo 84' |
     Mali |      Cameroon |
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees: |
Ivory Coast vs Mali
editMali took the lead in the 7th minute, as Bakary Sako scored home from Sambou Yatabaré's cross. Ivory Coast equalized in the 86th minute, when Serge Aurier passed to Max Gradel to score.[11][12]
| Ivory Coast | 1–1 | Mali |
|---|---|---|
| Gradel 86' | Report | Sako 7' |
| Ivory Coast |    Mali |
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees: |
Cameroon vs Guinea
editCameroon took the lead in the 13th minute, when Benjamin Moukandjo's corner evaded everybody and hit the goalkeeper to go into the net. Guinea equalized in the 42nd minute, as Ibrahima Traoré received a pass from Issiaga Sylla, and shot home from outside the penalty area.[14][15]
 Cameroon | Guinea |
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees: |
Cameroon vs Ivory Coast
editThe only goal of the match was scored by Max Gradel in the 35th minute, as he stole the ball from the Cameroon defence, dribbled inside and shot home from outside the penalty area. The win sent Ivory Coast to the quarter-finals as group winners, while Cameroon were eliminated.[17][18]
| Cameroon | 0–1 | Ivory Coast |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Gradel 35' |
| Cameroon | Ivory Coast |
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees: |
Guinea vs Mali
editGuinea took the lead in the 15th minute with a penalty by Kévin Constant, which was awarded due to a handball by Salif Coulibaly. Mali then were awarded their own penalty three minutes later after Baissama Sankoh was penalised for handball, but Seydou Keita's penalty was easily saved. Mali equalized in the 47th minute, when Abdoulay Diaby crossed for Modibo Maïga to head home. The match finished in a 1–1 draw, the same scoreline as both Guinea and Mali's previous two matches, meaning that the two teams were tied on head-to-head record, overall goal difference, and overall goals scored. A drawing of lots were held the next day to decide which team qualify for the quarter-finals as group runner-up, which was won by Guinea (see below for details).[20][21]
    Guinea | Mali |
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees: |
Drawing of lots
editGuinea and Mali finished level on the second spot after the group stage, making the first drawing of lots needed at the tournament since 1988. Unlike some other international tournaments, 2015 Africa Cup of Nations tournament regulations would not use fair-play criteria or a penalty shoot-out after the teams met on the last match day to determine the final group ranking. Both head coaches have openly criticised the regulations.[23]
The draw took place at 16:00 WAT (UTC+1) on 29 January 2015, at the Hilton Malabo. Representatives of each team drew a ball, one of which was numbered '2' and the other numbered '3'.[2] Guinea drew the ball '2' and were placed as runners-up in the group, with Mali being third. As such, Guinea advanced to the quarter-finals and Mali were eliminated.[3][4]
References
edit- ^ "Ghana, Algeria, South Africa, Senegal in Group of Death". CAF. 4 December 2014.
- ^ a b "Procedure for the draw between Mali and Guinea". CAF. 28 January 2015.
- ^ a b "Guinea to face Ghana in quarter final". CAF. 29 January 2015. Archived from the original on 14 February 2015.
- ^ a b Hills, David. "Africa Cup of Nations 2015: Guinea and Mali draw lots – live!". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
- ^ "BBC Sport – Ivory Coast 1-1 Guinea". BBC Sport. 20 January 2015.
- ^ "Ivory Coast – Guinea". Youtube. 20 January 2015.
- ^ "Match report: Ivory Coast 1–1 Guinea" (PDF). Confederation of African Football. 20 January 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
- ^ "BBC Sport – Mali 1-1 Cameroon". BBC Sport. 20 January 2015.
- ^ "Mali – Cameroon". Youtube. 20 January 2015.
- ^ "Match report: Mali 1–1 Cameroon" (PDF). Confederation of African Football. 20 January 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
- ^ "BBC Sport – Ivory Coast 1-1 Mali". BBC Sport. 24 January 2015.
- ^ "Ivory Coast – Mali". Youtube. 24 January 2015.
- ^ "Match report: Ivory Coast 1–1 Mali" (PDF). Confederation of African Football. 24 January 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
- ^ "BBC Sport – Cameroon 1-1 Guinea". BBC Sport. 24 January 2015.
- ^ "Cameroon – Guinea". Youtube. 24 January 2015.
- ^ "Match report: Cameroon 1–1 Guinea" (PDF). Confederation of African Football. 24 January 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
- ^ "BBC Sport – Cameroon 0-1 Ivory Coast". BBC Sport. 28 January 2015.
- ^ "Cameroon – Ivory Coast". Youtube. 28 January 2015.
- ^ "Match report: Cameroon 0–1 Ivory Coast" (PDF). Confederation of African Football. 28 January 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
- ^ "BBC Sport – Guinea 1-1 Mali". BBC Sport. 28 January 2015.
- ^ "Guinea – Mali". Youtube. 28 January 2015.
- ^ "Match report: Guinea 1–1 Mali" (PDF). Confederation of African Football. 28 January 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
- ^ "Afcon 2015: Mali and Guinea managers criticise drawing of lots". BBC Sport. 28 January 2015.
External links
edit- Orange Africa Cup Of Nations, Equatorial Guinea 2015, CAFonline.com