Senegal fought against the odds stacked against the defending champion of the Africa Cup of Nations in over a decade and lost as they got ousted by hosts, Cote d’Ivoire on penalties. For the records, no Africa Cup of Nations defending champion has qualified for the quarterfinals of the next edition sine Egypt in 2010; the champions have either failed to qualify for the next tournament or failed to make it past the round of 16. The jinx haunted Senegal as they conceded a late equaliser via Franck Kessie’s penalty and lost the penalty shootout with the upright having a say. The Teranga Lions had a dream start when striker, Habib Diallo scored in less than four minutes from a Sadio Mane cross. Diallo’s strike was Senegal’s earliest goal at the knockout stages of the competition but counted for nothing as Kessie equalized from 12 yards with four minutes left before converting the decisive kick in the shootout.
Ivory Coast had qualified into the knockout stages as one of the best third-placed teams from the group stages and had a terrible start to the game. Nonetheless, the Elephants grew into the match following the frenetic start and dominated proceedings with Seko Fofana and Oumar Diakite leading the charge. The 2015 champions continued to push for the leveler in the second half, by introducing forwards, Sebastian Haller, Pepe and midfielder, Frank Kessie. The substitutions will prove decisive as Pepe was brought down by Mendy while Kessie held his nerves to convert it. The Elephants have won all three encounters against the Teranga Lions and will take on either Mali or Burkina Faso in the quarterfinals on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Cape Verde continued their fairytale run by edging Mauritania by a lone goal to zoom into the quarterfinals of the competition. The game was poised to go into extra-time following a keenly-contested tie but a careless defensive header by Cheick Elwely played in Cape Verde’s Benchimol, who was brought down by the rushing Mauritanian goalkeeper, Babacar Niasse. The spot-kick duty under immense pressure fell to inspirational captain, Ryan Mendes, who dispatched with ease as the Blue Sharks swam past Mauritania. A quarterfinal clash against either Morocco or South Africa will take place on Saturday. The quarterfinal berth matches Cape Verde’s best outing at the competition which they recorded during their debut in 2013.
