The knockout stage of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations was the second and final stage of the competition, following the group stage. It began on 31 January with the round of 16 and ended on 8 February 2015 with the final held at the Estadio de Bata in Bata. A total of 8 teams (the top two teams from each group) advanced to the knockout stage to compete in a single-elimination style tournament.
Format edit
In the knockout stage, except for the third place play-off, if a match was level at the end of 90 minutes of normal playing time, extra time was played (two periods of 15 minutes each). If still tied after extra time, the match was decided by a penalty shoot-out to determine the winner. In the third place play-off, if the scores remained level after 90 minutes the match would go directly to a penalty shoot-out, without any extra time being played.
Qualified teams edit
The top two placed teams from each of the four groups advanced to the knockout stage.
| Group | Winners | Runners-up |
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| A |  Congo
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 Equatorial Guinea
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| B |  Tunisia
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 DR Congo
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| C |  Ghana
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 Algeria
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| D |  Ivory Coast
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 Guinea
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Bracket edit
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 31 January – Bata | ||||||||||
| Congo | 2 | |||||||||
| 4 February – Bata | ||||||||||
| DR Congo | 4 | |||||||||
| DR Congo | 1 | |||||||||
| 1 February – Malabo | ||||||||||
| Ivory Coast | 3 | |||||||||
| Ivory Coast | 3 | |||||||||
| 8 February – Bata | ||||||||||
| Algeria | 1 | |||||||||
| Ivory Coast (p) | 0 (9) | |||||||||
| 1 February – Malabo | ||||||||||
| Ghana | 0 (8) | |||||||||
| Ghana | 3 | |||||||||
| 5 February – Malabo | ||||||||||
| Guinea | 0 | |||||||||
| Ghana | 3 | |||||||||
| 31 January – Bata | ||||||||||
| Equatorial Guinea | 0 | Third place play-off | ||||||||
| Tunisia | 1 | |||||||||
| 7 February – Malabo | ||||||||||
| Equatorial Guinea (a.e.t.) | 2 | |||||||||
| DR Congo (p) | 0 (4) | |||||||||
| Equatorial Guinea | 0 (2) | |||||||||
Quarter-finals edit
Congo vs DR Congo edit
Congo took the lead in the 55th minute, when Férébory Doré met Delvin N'Dinga's free kick to slot home. They increased the lead seven minutes later, when after they intercepted a DR Congo pass out of the defence, Thievy Bifouma scored from the rebound after Doré's shot was saved. DR Congo pulled a goal back in the 65th minute, when Dieumerci Mbokani converted from Yannick Bolasie's cross. The equalizer came ten minutes later when Jeremy Bokila scored from Cédric Makiadi's pass. DR Congo took the lead when Joël Kimwaki headed in Neeskens Kebano's free kick in the 81st minute, and completed the comeback after Mbokani converted his own rebound to score his second goal of the match in the first minute of injury time. This put them in the semi-finals for the first time since 1998.[1][2]
          Congo
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    DR Congo
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Man of the Match:
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Tunisia vs Equatorial Guinea edit
Tunisia took the lead in the 70th minute, when Ahmed Akaïchi flicked in Hamza Mathlouthi's cross from the right. Equatorial Guinea scored the equalizer in the third minute of injury time through Javier Balboa's penalty, which was awarded after Hamza Mathlouthi was ruled to have fouled Iván Bolado. The match went to extra time, and Balboa scored the winning goal in the 102nd minute with a direct free kick, sending the hosts to their first ever semi-finals.[4][5] The match had witnessed controversies regarding the Mauritian referee's bias refereeing in favor to the host nation, including the controversial penalty in the final minutes, resulting with Tunisian players attacking him in the end of the game. CAF decided to ban the referee for life as for the result.[6]
    Tunisia
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   Equatorial Guinea
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Man of the Match:
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Ghana vs Guinea edit
Ghana took the lead in the 4th minute, after André Ayew back-heeled the ball for Christian Atsu to convert from close range. Ghana increased the lead in the 44th minute, as Kwesi Appiah intercepted a missed pass from the Guinea defence to score. Atsu scored his second goal of the match in the 61st minute, when he received the ball from Mubarak Wakaso on the right flank, cut inside and curled the ball into the net. Guinea goalkeeper Naby Yattara was sent off in the fourth minute of injury time for bringing down Asamoah Gyan outside the penalty box. Ghana's win sent them to the semi-finals for the fifth consecutive tournament.[8][9]
    Ghana
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    Guinea
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Man of the Match:
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Ivory Coast vs Algeria edit
Ivory Coast took the lead in the 26th minute, when Wilfried Bony headed in Max Gradel's cross. Algeria equalized in the 51st minute, after Riyad Mahrez passed to Hillal Soudani to score. Bony scored his second goal of the match in the 68th minute with another header, this time from Yaya Touré's free kick. Ivory Coast sealed the win in the fourth minute of injury time, as Tallo Gadji set up Gervinho in a fast break, and they qualified for the semi-finals for the fourth time in six tournaments.[11][12]
   Ivory Coast
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     Algeria
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Semi-finals edit
DR Congo vs Ivory Coast edit
Ivory Coast took the lead in the 20th minute, when Yaya Touré slammed home a pass from Wilfried Bony. DR Congo equalized four minutes later through Dieumerci Mbokani's penalty, awarded for Eric Bailly's handball. Ivory Coast retook the lead in the 41st minute, as Bony set up Gervinho to score. Wilfried Kanon sealed the win in the 68th minute, as he scored from the rebound after Serge Aurier's header was saved. The win put the Ivorians into their fourth Africa Cup of Nations final.[14][15]
| DR Congo
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Ivory Coast
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Man of the Match:
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Ghana vs Equatorial Guinea edit
Ghana took the lead in the 42nd minute through Jordan Ayew's penalty, awarded after Kwesi Appiah was fouled by Felipe Ovono. In the first minute of first half injury time, Mubarak Wakaso finished Christian Atsu's pass in a counter-attack to double Ghana's lead. Ghana's third goal was scored by André Ayew from a cross by Appiah in the 75th minute. The win put the Ghanaians into a record ninth Africa Cup of Nations final.[17][18]
Crowd disturbances began after Ghana's first goal, culminating after the third in a 40-minute stoppage while security forces corralled the Ghanaian section from the rest of the crowd.[19] The hosts were fined US$100,000 by the CAF.[20]
| Ghana
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Equatorial Guinea
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Man of the Match:
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Third place play-off edit
After a goalless 90 minutes, the match was decided by a penalty shoot-out (no extra time was played as per regulations). Equatorial Guinea missed their first and second penalties by Javier Balboa and Raúl Fabiani, while DR Congo converted all four of their kicks, giving them their best finish in the Africa Cup of Nations since 1998 when they also finished third, while the fourth-placed finish for the hosts were still their best ever in the Africa Cup of Nations.[22][23]
| DR Congo | 0–0 | Equatorial Guinea |
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| Report | ||
| Penalties | ||
Mabwati  Mabidi Mbemba Mongongu |
4–2 |  Balboa Fabiani Juvenal Ellong |
| DR Congo
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 Equatorial Guinea
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Man of the Match:
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Final edit
After a goalless 120 minutes (regulation and extra time), the match was decided by a penalty shoot-out. Ivory Coast missed their first and second penalties by Wilfried Bony and Tallo Gadji, while Ghana missed their third and fourth penalties by Afriyie Acquah and Frank Acheampong. Both teams converted their kicks in the fifth to tenth rounds, and in the eleventh round, Ivorian goalkeeper Boubacar Barry saved from his counterpart Brimah Razak, diving to his left to push the ball around the post. He then scored his own penalty shooting to the right of the net. Ivory Coast won their second title and their first since 1992, where they also defeated Ghana in the final after a penalty shoot-out, while Ghana lost their third straight Africa Cup of Nations final after their last triumph in 1982.[25][26]
Details edit
| Ivory Coast
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Ghana
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References edit
- ^ "BBC Sport – Congo 2-4 DR Congo". BBC Sport. 31 January 2015.
- ^ "Congo – DR Congo". Youtube. 31 January 2015.
- ^ "Match report: Congo 2–4 DR Congo" (PDF). Confederation of African Football. 31 January 2015. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
- ^ "BBC Sport – Tunisia 1-2 Equatorial Guinea". BBC Sport. 31 January 2015.
- ^ "Tunisia – Equatorial Guinea". Youtube. 31 January 2015.
- ^ "Africa Cup of Nations referee banned for controversial Equatorial Guinea penalty". 3 February 2015.
- ^ "Match report: Tunisia 1–2 Equatorial Guinea" (PDF). Confederation of African Football. 31 January 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
- ^ "BBC Sport – Ghana 3-0 Guinea". BBC Sport. 1 February 2015.
- ^ "Ghana – Guinea". Youtube. 1 February 2015.
- ^ "Match report: Ghana 3–0 Guinea" (PDF). Confederation of African Football. 1 February 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
- ^ "BBC Sport – Ivory Coast 3-1 Algeria". BBC Sport. 1 February 2015.
- ^ "Ivory Coast – Algeria". Youtube. 1 February 2015.
- ^ "Match report: Ivory Coast 3–1 Algeria" (PDF). Confederation of African Football. 1 February 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
- ^ "BBC Sport – DR Congo 1-3 Ivory Coast". BBC Sport. 4 February 2015.
- ^ "DR Congo – Ivory Coast". Youtube. 4 February 2015.
- ^ "Match report: DR Congo 1–3 Ivory Coast" (PDF). Confederation of African Football. 4 February 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
- ^ "BBC Sport – Ghana 3-0 Equatorial Guinea". BBC Sport. 5 February 2015.
- ^ "Ghana – Equatorial Guinea". Youtube. 5 February 2015.
- ^ Ames, Nick (5 February 2015). "Ghana players, fans pelted with missiles in win over Equatorial Guinea". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
- ^ Press Association (6 February 2015). "Equatorial Guinea fined £65,000 over Africa Cup violence against Ghana". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
- ^ "AFCON 2015: Christian Atsu wins Man of the Match in Equatorial Guinea win". Ghana Soccernet. 6 February 2015. Archived from the original on 28 June 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
- ^ "BBC Sport – DR Congo 0-0 Equatorial Guinea". BBC Sport. 7 February 2015.
- ^ "DR Congo – Equatorial Guinea". Youtube. 7 February 2015.
- ^ "Match report: DR Congo 0–0 (4–2 pen.) Equatorial Guinea" (PDF). Confederation of African Football. 7 February 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
- ^ "BBC Sport – Ivory Coast 0-0 Ghana". BBC Sport. 8 February 2015.
- ^ "Ivory Coast – Ghana". YouTube. 8 February 2015.
- ^ "Orange AFCON 2015 Awards and Best XI". CAF. 12 February 2015.
External links edit
- Orange Africa Cup Of Nations, Equatorial Guinea 2015, CAFonline.com