Africa Cup of Nations 2015: Day 4 AFCON Scores, Results, Standings and Schedule
The last four teams finally took to the pitch on Tuesday, as Group D kicked off their 2015 AFCON campaign with two fixtures every fan was looking forward to. Favourites Ivory Coast took on dangerous outsiders Guinea, while Cameroon's new generation of stars faced off against 2012 and 2013 semi-finalists Mali.
Guinea held Ivory Coast to a 1-1 draw in the early match, as the Elephants looked disinterested and sloppy for much of the fixture and narrowly avoided a massive upset. Cameroon and Mali also shared the spoils by the same score, the Indomitable Lions needing a last-minute equaliser to avoid a disastrous start.
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The updated 2015 AFCON schedule:
| Jan. 17 | 4 p.m./11 a.m. | Group A | Equatorial Guinea 1-1 Congo |
| Jan. 17 | 7 p.m./2 p.m. | Group A | Burkina Faso 0-2 Gabon |
| Jan. 18 | 4 p.m./11 a.m. | Group B | Zambia 1-1 Congo DR |
| Jan. 18 | 7 p.m./2 p.m. | Group B | Tunisia 1-1 Cape Verde Islands |
| Jan. 19 | 4 p.m./11 a.m. | Group C | Ghana 1-2 Senegal |
| Jan. 19 | 7 p.m./2 p.m. | Group C | Algeria 3-1 South Africa |
| Jan. 20 | 4 p.m./11 a.m. | Group D | Ivory Coast 1-1 Guinea |
| Jan. 20 | 7 p.m./2 p.m. | Group D | Mali 1-1 Cameroon |
| Jan. 21 | 4 p.m./11 a.m. | Group A | Equatorial Guinea v Burkina Faso |
| Jan. 21 | 7 p.m./2 p.m. | Group A | Gabon v Congo |
| Jan. 22 | 4 p.m./11 a.m. | Group B | Zambia v Tunisia |
| Jan. 22 | 7 p.m./2 p.m. | Group B | Cape Verde Islands v Congo DR |
| Jan. 23 | 4 p.m./11 a.m. | Group C | Ghana v Algeria |
| Jan. 23 | 7 p.m./2 p.m. | Group C | South Africa v Senegal |
| Jan. 24 | 4 p.m./11 a.m. | Group D | Ivory Coast v Mali |
| Jan. 24 | 7 p.m./2 p.m. | Group D | Cameroon v Guinea |
| Jan. 25 | 6 p.m./1 p.m. | Group A | Congo v Burkina Faso |
| Jan. 25 | 6 p.m./1 p.m. | Group A | Gabon v Equatorial Guinea |
| Jan. 26 | 6 p.m./1 p.m. | Group B | Cape Verde Islands v Zambia |
| Jan. 26 | 6 p.m./1 p.m. | Group B | Congo DR v Tunisia |
| Jan. 27 | 6 p.m./1 p.m. | Group C | Senegal v Algeria |
| Jan. 27 | 6 p.m./1 p.m. | Group C | South Africa v Ghana |
| Jan. 28 | 6 p.m./1 p.m. | Group D | Cameroon v Ivory Coast |
| Jan. 28 | 6 p.m./1 p.m. | Group D | Guinea v Mali |
| Jan. 31 | 4 p.m./11 a.m. | Quarter-Final 1 | Group A Winner v Group B Second Place |
| Jan. 31 | 7 p.m./2 p.m. | Quarter-Final 2 | Group B Winner v Group A Second Place |
| Feb. 1 | 4 p.m./11 a.m. | Quarter-Final 3 | Group C Winner v Group D Second Place |
| Feb. 1 | 7 p.m./2 p.m. | Quarter-Final 4 | Group D Winner v Group C Second Place |
| Feb. 4 | 7 p.m./2 p.m. | Semi-Final 1 | Quarter-Final 1 Winner v Quarter-Final 4 Winner |
| Feb. 5 | 7 p.m./2 p.m. | Semi-Final 2 | Quarter-Final 2 Winner v Quarter-Final 3 Winner |
| Feb. 7 | 4 p.m./11 a.m. | Third-place | Semi-Final 1 Loser v Semi-Final 2 Loser |
| Feb. 8 | 7 p.m./2 p.m. | Final | Semi-Final 1 Winner v Semi-Final 2 Winner |
The current group standings:
| 1 | Gabon | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 2 | Congo | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2 | Equatorial Guinea | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | Burkina Faso | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 |
| 1 | DR Congo | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1 | Zambia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | Cape Verde | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | Tunisia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1 | Algeria | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 2 | Senegal | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 3 | Ghana | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 0 |
| 4 | South Africa | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 0 |
| 1 | Guinea | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1 | Ivory Coast | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | Cameroon | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | Mali | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Mali 1-1 Cameroon
Mali took control early against Cameroon and nearly caused another big upset, but for the second time in a span of hours, the favourites found a way to claw back into the match. Cameroon left it very late but ultimately found an equaliser, playing out a 1-1 draw.
The Indomitable Lions came into the match as the strong favourites, despite Mali making the semi-finals of the tournament in 2012 and 2013. The Eagles certainly had the better start to the clash, coming close to opening the score twice inside of 15 minutes.
Mustapha Yatabare first found Cameroon goalkeeper Fabrice Ondoa in his path, the youngster keeping his net clean with a fantastic save, before missing a header on an open goal after the stopper completely missed on a cross.
KingFut.com were impressed with Mali's start:
Things only went from bad to worse for Cameroon, as Eyong Enoh suffered an injury after an awkward challenge. The midfielder tried to continue but could hardly put any pressure on his leg, and he was replaced by Franck Kom after just 17 minutes, per SandalsForGoalposts:
Cameroon started applying more and more pressure throughout the first half, but the better chances still fell to Mali. Ondoa had to continue his heroics to deny Bakary Sako, who was given far too much space by the Cameroon defence.
Benjamin Moukandjo finally answered for the Lions, firing a header wide after a brilliant cross from Henri Bedimo.
Just Football enjoyed the first half tremendously, despite the absence of goals:
Ousmane Coulibaly had two chances to finally break the deadlock early in the second half and missed both of them in embarrassing fashion, as the Mali forward clearly wasn't at his best.
The pace dropped considerably after half-time, with neither side really pressing forward. Just as it looked the match would die a silent death, Mali shocked the Indomitable Lions by grabbing the lead in the 70th minute.
Sambou Yatabare chested down a free-kick beautifully before blasting home a volley, putting favourites Cameroon in real danger of dropping a result in their first match. The 25-year-old picked his spot to overcome his scoring drought quite well, as shared by WhoScored.com:
The lead allowed Mali to go back to the counter-attack, their favourite weapon, but one moment of brilliance tied things up with five minutes left to play. Raoul Loe picked out the surging Ambroise Oyongo with a fantastic pass, and the forward calmly slotted the ball into the net.
Mali thought they had it won in added time, after Ondoa palmed a free-kick right to Yatabare, who headed the ball into the net. Mad celebrations ensued, only for the linesman to raise the flag for offside.
A 1-1 draw is still a fantastic result for Mali, however, and with everything tied up in Group D, it looks we have another fantastic battle for progression on our hands.
Ivory Coast 1-1 Guinea
Title favourites Ivory Coast disappointed tremendously on Tuesday, managing only a 1-1 draw against Guinea.
The Elephants were lethargic for large stretches of the match and had to chase a 1-0 deficit after Gervinho was given a straight red card for punching an opponent. A single moment of brilliance gifted them the equaliser, salvaging their chances of progressing to the next round.
Ivory Coast started the match in sloppy fashion, looking lethargic and passing the ball around with little determination. The lone exception was AS Roma star Gervinho, who brought his usual energy and intensity to the table.
Guinea showed most attacking intent, with Mohamed Yattara nearly picking out a teammate after pulling the ball back. Yaya Toure had to intervene, being forced to fall back inside his own box far too often during the first half.
The first good chance fell to the Elephants, however, as Gervinho stormed the length of the pitch, passing several Guinea defenders. Alone in front of goalkeeper Naby Yattara, he inexplicably decided to lift the ball, hitting the cross-bar. KICK TV couldn't help themselves:
The chance seemed to give the Elephants a little boost, as Wilfried Bony started to move more in the box, opening up running lanes for Gervinho. The Roma man had another good shot saved by Yattara, although the offside flag had already been raised.
Ivory Coast remained far too casual, however, and after 36 minutes, it cost them. Serge Aurier failed to deal with a routine cross, accidentally chesting the ball to Yattara, and the forward didn't hesitate for one second, riffling the ball into the net. KICK TV had the Vine:
NBC Sports' Joe Prince-Wright agreed the favourites simply looked far too sloppy and paid for their erratic play in cash:
The goal didn't seem to wake the Elephants up, however, as Ivory Coast showed little in terms of danger before the end of the first half.
The team came up with far more attacking intentions in the second, and Bony nearly equalised three minutes in with a superb half-volley, forcing Yattara into a fantastic save.
Just as it looked the Elephants would finally kick into gear, the team shot itself in the foot. Serey Die saw the yellow card for a harsh tackle on Yattara, and just minutes later, Gervinho was given a straight red for slapping his defender away from the ball. The Roma man was visibly frustrated, but Football 365's Daniel Storey showed little empathy:
KICK TV shared footage of the incident:
Without the only player showing some sense of urgency, Ivory Coast started to collapse. Ibrahima Traore and Kevin Constant both came close to doubling Guinea's advantage, with the team now bombarding the Ivorian goal.
A series of substitutions killed all momentum Guinea had, and after a momentary lapse of concentration, Ivory Coast were suddenly level. Bony pulled down a lofted pass and laid it off for substitute Seydou Doumbia, who didn't miss.
Soccer Laduma's Joe Crann shared the Vine:
Guinea had the better chances to steal the win in the final 10 minutes, but the pressure eased as Ivory Coast passed the ball around the back until the final whistle.
While most fans were very disappointed with the result, Toure told reporters a draw against Guinea was a good start for Ivory Coast, per Goal's Brian Oliver:
"It was a good point. We made a mistake for their goal, we lost a good player in Gervinho... there are still two games to come."
The Elephants will have expected a win against the Guineans, and with Cameroon and Mali still on the schedule, the road to the knockout stages just became a lot more difficult. Gervinho will be suspended for at least one match, and given the violent nature of his dismissal, he could miss several more.
Cameroon and Mali will play later on Tuesday.
