Ivory Coast secured a place in the African Cup of Nations quarter-finals after beating Burkina Faso 2-0 on Thursday.
Salomon Kalou opened the scoring in the 16th minute and Bakary Kone headed in an own goal in the 82nd to hand victory to the pre-tournament favourites despite another unconvincing performance from its English Premier League-based stars.
Earlier, Sudan twice rallied from defensive errors to draw 2-2 with Angola in the other Group B match at Nuevo Estadio de Malabo.
The results mean Angola and Sudan retained hopes of progressing, but Burkina Faso was eliminated with a match to go.
'It was an incredible injustice that we lost this match,' said Burkina Faso coach Paulo Duarte, who refused to talk about his future. 'Burkina Faso played a great match, had a great attitude, but they scored two goals. Football is like that. What more can I say?'
Didier Zokora returned to the Ivory Coast starting lineup after serving a suspension and was the only change from the 1-0 win against Sudan, with Igor Lolo dropping to the bench.
Duarte made three alterations to the team that lost 2-1 against Angola, including forward Prejuce Nakoulma to provide more support for Moumouni Dagano in attack.
Ivory Coast took the lead when Kalou pounced on a low cross that brushed off Yaya Toure, and hit a left-foot shot past Daouda Diakite in the Burkina Faso goal.
Salomon Kalou opened the scoring in the 16th minute and Bakary Kone headed in an own goal in the 82nd to hand victory to the pre-tournament favourites despite another unconvincing performance from its English Premier League-based stars.
Party time: Ivory Coast celebrate Salomon Kalou's strike
The results mean Angola and Sudan retained hopes of progressing, but Burkina Faso was eliminated with a match to go.
'It was an incredible injustice that we lost this match,' said Burkina Faso coach Paulo Duarte, who refused to talk about his future. 'Burkina Faso played a great match, had a great attitude, but they scored two goals. Football is like that. What more can I say?'
Close marking: Ivory Coast midfielder Yaya Toure is held by Mahamadou Kere
Duarte made three alterations to the team that lost 2-1 against Angola, including forward Prejuce Nakoulma to provide more support for Moumouni Dagano in attack.
Ivory Coast took the lead when Kalou pounced on a low cross that brushed off Yaya Toure, and hit a left-foot shot past Daouda Diakite in the Burkina Faso goal.
Hakuna maoni:
Chapisha Maoni