Ghana set up a quarter final tie against Cape Verde after comfortably winning Group B. A point for Mali was enough for them to oust DR Congo out of the competition and will now face the hosts South Africa in the second last eight tie. Unlike the late drama in Group A, all of the twists and turns came early on although there were chances for both Mali and DR Congo to win their match.
DR Congo quickly put themselves into the ascendency as Lomana LuaLua hit the post before Yves Ilunga was brought down by former Liverpool man, Mohamed Sissoko. The referee pointed to spot and Dieumerci Mbokani of Anderlecht stepped up and converted, giving DR Congo the lead after just three minutes. If the scores remained the same for the remaining 87-minutes DR Congo would go through with Ghana still winning the group on goal difference.
Ghana began to take control of the group after just six minutes in their match with Asamoah Gyan finally opening his account with a cool short-range finish after a low cross. Niger thought that they had scored their first goal of the tournament by equalising and giving themselves a hope of qualifying on ten minutes. The ball went into the net from a set-piece but the referee disallowed it for an adjudged push in the box, a decision which was a little harsh.
Mali put themselves back into second spot after 14-minutes with the equaliser. Adama Tamboura worked well inside the box before laying the ball for Mamadou Samassa to tap home. This meant Mali would join Ghana with four points compared to DR Congo's three.
Ghana doubled their lead on 23-minutes when 21-year old Christian Atsu of Porto took full advantage of his first start in the tournament. Gyan floated the ball in for Atsu to chest down and roll home to almost guarantee themselves the three points.
Mali and DR Congo both created chances during the remainder of the first half. But the referee blew the whistle with the teams still level and Mali still going through. If anyone was going to score again in the other game, it was going to be Ghana as Niger failed to create and looked like they had already accepted their fate by half-time.
The only other goal in either game came four minutes into the second half and it once again came from Ghana to cap off a resounding victory. A header from Gyan was spilled by Kassaly Daouda and John Boye was on hand to scramble the ball over the line.
Mali were the stronger of the two sides in the second half but did have to face a late onslaught from DR Congo after being unable to find a winner. Fortunately for Mali, they managed to hold on as DR Congo couldn't produce a clear cut opportunity. Mali progress and, like Morocco, DR Congo fail to qualify despite being unbeaten while Niger exit the tournament without scoring a goal. Final table:
1. Ghana 7 +4
2. Mali 4 0
3. DR Congo 3 0
4. Niger 1 -4
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