© EuroFootball.com
On Thursday, the matches of Group C of the second round of the Africa Cup of Nations tournament taking place in Egypt were played, after which it became clear that Tunisia and Guinea's teams joined those who had already secured their place in the quarterfinals.
Tunisia 2 - 0 South Africa 32` [1 - 0] Francileudo dos Santos 57` [2 - 0] Selim Benachour After losing the first round match, South Africa's team needed only a win in this match, but from the beginning of the game, Tunisian players dominated the field. In the 10th minute after a great pass by Hatem Trabelsi, Santos sent the ball into the opponent's net, but the goal was not counted due to an offside which, upon video review, turned out to be non-existent.
In the South African team, "Porto" striker Benni McCarthy was the most active player, having several opportunities to score, but he did not succeed. Once again, the unwritten football rule "if you don't score, you get scored on" proved true. In the 32nd minute, Dos Santos broke into the penalty area and beat South Africa's national team goalkeeper.
It is worth mentioning that this was Dos Santos' fourth goal in this tournament, and according to this indicator, he caught up with Cameroon's striker Samuel Eto'o, who had already scored four times.
Although it seemed that Tunisia gave the initiative to the South African team after the goal, in the 57th minute after another great pass by Hatem Trabelsi, the completely unmarked Selim Benachour left no hope for the opponent's goalkeeper, Marlin.
After that, Tunisia had several more chances to score, but the match ended with a score of 2-0, meaning that Tunisia secured a place in the quarterfinals, while the South African team no longer had any chance to progress.
Zambia 1 - 2 Guinea 33` [1 - 0] Elijah Tana 74` [1 - 1] Pascal Feindouno (from the penalty spot) 90` [1 - 2] Pascal Feindouno The match started very actively, and both teams had real chances to score from the beginning, but Elijah Tana's and Ibrahim Camara's shots were off target. Although Zambia's team controlled the ball longer, they failed to capitalize on their advantage until the 33rd minute.
It was then that Guinea's defender Oumar Kalabane misplaced the ball into the corner, after which Elijah Tana confidently scored with his head and put his team ahead. After conceding the goal, Guinea's players took control of the game, but they could not score before the break.
The second half started somewhat sluggishly, and only around the hour mark, Pablo Thiam of "Wolfsburg" could equalize the score with a long shot, but his attempt did not find the target.
With 15 minutes left until the end of the match, Guinea's goalkeeper Fode Mensare earned a penalty for his team, which was converted by Pascal Feindouno, a forward representing French club "Saint-Etienne," accurately leveling the score.
With five minutes left until the end of the match, Pablo Thiam had another great opportunity, but his shot missed the target again. Just when it seemed that the match would end in a draw, in the second minute of added time, Pascal Feindouno sent the ball into Zambia's goal with a great header from a cross, securing victory for his team and a place in the quarterfinals.
