Africa: Cote d’ Ivoire Picks Nations Cup Ticket

Daily Independent (Lagos)

6 June 2011

Cote d’ Ivoire on Sunday secured a place at the finals with two games to spare. Cote d’ Ivoire triumphed 6-2 in Benin with Didier Drogba and Gervais ‘Gervinho’ Kouassi bagging a brace each to take an unassailable eight-point lead in their section.

Cote d’ Ivoire could hardly have dreamt it would score six in Cotonou having won only 2-1 when the countries met in Accra three months ago, but a great start saw them gallop into a three-goal led with 31 minutes gone.

Stephane Sessegnon struck twice to leave the game to offer Benin hope only for Drogba and Gervinho to score a second goal each before Wilfried Bony completed the rout four minutes from full-time.

Issam Jemaa scored a hat-trick as Tunisia thumped 10-man Chad 5-0 in Group K and the other goals in Sousse came from Aymen Abdennour and Oussama Darragi against opponents who had Didier Mbayi sent off just before half-time.

Tunisia shade Malawi on goal difference in the battle for second place behind pool winners Botswana in the only mini-league where two teams qualify automatically because there are five competitors.

Guinea trounced Madagascar 4-1 in Conakry to go three points clear of Nigeria in Group B while Angola kept alive its slender Group J hopes with a 1-0 victory over Kenya in Luanda thanks to a ‘Manucho’ goal.

Liberia edged Group A leaders Cape Verde Islands 1-0 for its first win of the competition and the Central African Republic joined Morocco at the summit of Group D with a 2-1 win against Tanzania in Bangui.

Comoros Islands, the youngest member of the African football family, ended a long run of competitive losses by holding Libya 1-1 in Mitsamiouli which left the North Africans a point behind Group C table toppers Zambia.

The 11 group winners qualify for the finals in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea next January and February plus the Group K runners-up and the best two second place finishers from the other 10 mini-leagues.

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