Sekondi-Takoradi — Côte d'Ivoire's Elephants qualified for the African Cup of Nations quarterfinals on Friday by winning their second straight victory, against Benin, 4 goals to 1. Their qualification was reinforced by Mali's success in holding their ground against Nigeria's Super Eagles in the tournament's first goalless draw.
It is also now clear that Benin's Squirrels are eliminated, although they will likely fight for honor in their last match against Nigeria.
With their Friday win, Côte d'Ivoire lived up to the good press they have received. Indeed, they played a merciless game against Benin that revealed a world of difference between the two teams.
The Ivoirians dominated the game from start to finish, endlessly pushing on the offensive.
Team captain Didier Drogba showed the way by scoring first following a face-to-face encounter with Benin's goalkeeper .
A few minutes later, the Touré brothers, in a wonderful display of dribbling, swept through Benin's defenders and scored the Ivoirians' second goal.
From then on, the game turned into a one-way affair, with Côte d'Ivoire dominating and Benin slowly giving in. Kader Keïta found a weak point in Benin's defense and scored the third goal, followed by Aruna Dindané, who made the score.
Benin's Razak Omatoyossi finally scored a highly deserved goal shortly before the end, reducing the gap to 1-4.
Côte d'Ivoire’s Elephants qualified for the African Cup of Nations quarterfinals on Friday by winning their second straight victory, against Benin, 4 goals to 1. Their qualification was reinforced by Mali’s success in holding their ground against Nigeria’s Super Eagles in the tournament’s first goalless draw.
It is also now clear that Benin’s Squirrels are eliminated, although they will likely fight for honor in their last match against Nigeria.
With their Friday win, Côte d’Ivoire lived up to the good press they have received. Indeed, they played a merciless game against Benin that revealed a world of difference between the two teams.
The Ivoirians dominated the game from start to finish, endlessly pushing on the offensive.
Team captain Didier Drogba showed the way by scoring first following a face-to-face encounter with Benin’s goalkeeper .
A few minutes later, the Touré brothers, in a wonderful display of dribbling, swept through Benin’s defenders and scored the Ivoirians’ second goal.
From then on, the game turned into a one-way affair, with Côte d’Ivoire dominating and Benin slowly giving in. Kader Keïta found a weak point in Benin’s defense and scored the third goal, followed by Aruna Dindané, who made the score.
Benin’s Razak Omatoyossi finally scored a highly deserved goal shortly before the end, reducing the gap to 1-4.
Squirrels Sent Back to Drawing Board
Benin’s Squirrels will have to wait for yet another Cup of Nations to hope to move to the quarterfinals.
Despite a relatively good start against Mali in their second appearance in Africa’s top soccer tournament, their performance has not significantly improved upon that in their first, in 2004.
It soon became obvious on Friday night that the Ivoirians were way stronger, although Benin tried hard. Neither the naturalization of Ivoirian-born Stephane Sessegnon as a Benin citizen, nor the return of Muri Ogunbiyi, one of the team’s best talents, could change their fate.
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Their early elimination is cause for great sadness, especially considering that the team’s management went to great lengths to try to improve their performance, including taking them to Tunisia and faraway Brazil to prepare, and increasing their bonuses.
A couple of potentially scandalous developments involving the team have yet to be fully understood.
First, coach Reinhard Fabisch alleged during the current tournament that an unidentified person tried to bribe him. Then a feud broke out between Fabisch and Muri Ogunbiyi, one of the team’s best talents, who was kept out of the match against Mali for disciplinary reasons.
In the end, it is fair to say the team needs to mature. They did try their best, but to no avail.
