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On Tuesday, the battles in Group D concluded the group stage of the African Cup of Nations. After a dramatic fight, Nigeria and Senegal made it to the "quarterfinal train."
In the final matches, Nigeria managed to draw with the Senegalese national team to secure a spot in the tournament's quarterfinals. Senegal also advanced with a draw, as long as Zimbabwe defeated the Ghanaian team. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe, having had the lowest chances to progress before the final match, almost made it - they were just one goal short.
In the last Group D matches, Nigeria, with two goals from Inter Milan striker Obafemi Martins assisted by Nwankwo Kanu, snatched a victory against Senegal 2-1. Following this goal, Zimbabwe led 2-0 against Ghana, but in order to reach the quarterfinals, they needed to score a third goal, which they failed to do as Ghana's footballers softened the blow to Zimbabwe's hopes at the very end of the match.
With the victory, the Nigerian team became the winner of Group D with 9 points, while the Senegalese footballers, who lost, tied in points with the Ghanaian and Zimbabwean teams, but advanced due to a better goal difference.
After the last group stage matches, all the quarterfinal pairings were known: it was already clear that Egypt would face the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast would battle Cameroon, Nigeria would meet the reigning champions Tunisia, and Senegal would face the surprising Guinea.
Nigeria 2 - 1 Senegal 59` [0 - 1] Souleymane Camara 78` [1 - 1] Obafemi Martins 88` [2 - 1] Obafemi Martins
Ghana 1 - 2 Zimbabwe 60` [0 - 1] Cephas Chimedza 69` [0 - 2] Benjamin Mwaruwari 90` [1 - 2] Baba Armando Adamu
Final Group D standings Place/Team/Points/Goal difference 1. Nigeria 9 5-1 2. Senegal 3 3-3 3. Ghana 3 2-3 4. Zimbabwe 3 2-5
Quarterfinal pairings Egypt - DR Congo Ivory Coast - Cameroon Nigeria - Tunisia Senegal - Guinea
