CAN 2008 : Tunisia and Angola end in a draw and qualify


Reading time 3 min.
arton12518

Tunisia and Angola encounter Cameroun and Egypt, next Sunday, in the quarter finals of the African Cup of Nations. The two group D leaders who played against each other Thursday, qualified in a goaler’s draw (0-0) Senegal and South Africa could not do better with their scoreline (1-1) and head home.

Tunisia and Angola encounter Cameroun and Egypt, next Sunday, in the quarter finals of the African Cup of Nations. The two group D leaders who played against each other Thursday, qualified in a goaler’s draw (0-0) Senegal and South Africa could not do better with their scoreline (1-1) and head home.

Nothing changed in group D after the third match. Tunesia with 5 overall goals meets Cameroon in the quarter finals of the African Nations Cup on Sunday. Their opponents of the day are in second position with an equal number of points (5) and meet Egypt in the next leg.

Neither South Africa nor Senegal, 3rd and 4th with the same number of points (1) could not change anything. To qualify, the two had to win by scoring lots of goals, considering that 4 goals separated them, whilst hoping that a big goal margin would separate Angola and Tunesia.

A practical draw

But the Carthage eagles and the Palencas Negras ended their game null and void of any goals, a match that was short of any real will to win, but which saw the two teams exploiting their occasional opportunities. Tunesia could have had an upper hand in the 4th minute through Ben Freij’s intervention. Chermiti’s header which hit the Angolan keeper’s post, did not provide any luck either.

No ball got to Manucho the vedette, it was however, Maurito who got the first chance to score the first goal of the match. But he completely missed his kick when he got into a face to face encounter with Kasraoui.

In the second half the two teams seemed content with the scoreline which qualified them to the next leg whatever the case. Only two opportunities at goal are worth mentioning. A 58th minute 30 metre shot at goal by Maurito and another in the 68th minute when the Angolan keeper deviates the ball with a slight brush of his fingers.

Senegal without Sylva and Diouf

In Kumasi, South Africa scored first in the first 15 minutes through Van Heerden. Tony Sylva, the original goal keeper, El Hadji Diouf and Ousmane Ndoye were neither on the field nor on the list – they had been suspended from the match, by Lamine Ndiaye, the new Teranga Lions coach following Henri Kasperzack’s resignation on last Sunday.

Bafana Bafana should have increased their scores to move closer to qualification but the Senegalses got hold of a lose ball from Mokoena in the 37th minute : Henry Camara gets the ball and swerves Josephs. Awoken by the equaliser, Mamadou Niang breaks away with a dribble beats three strikers and misses his shot.

The two teams could have more luck in the second half, with a relaxed and dominant Bafana Bafana, but the scoreline stays the same. The disappointment weighs heavily on the Senegalese whereas the South Africans and their coach, Carlos Alberto Parreira from Brazil, take the loss with a controlled calm, knowing that their participation in the 2008 African Cup of Nations has only been a preparation towards the 2010 World Cup to be hosted in their country.

CAN 2008  Teams representing 47 countries are split into 12 groups of four. The best team from each group automatically qualifies to take part in the 26th edition of the African Cup of Nations football competition which takes place in Ghana.
Support Follow Afrik-News on Google News