The favourites were upset as Nigeria and
Burkina Faso progressed to the final of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations
(Afcon) in South Africa on Wednesday night. Nigeria were superb in a 4-1
win over Mali, while Burkina Faso saw off Ghana 3-2 on penalties, with
one kick in hand, after the teams had ended extra time level at 1-1.
For the Nigerians, it was a case of the Super Eagles being better than the Eagles as they advanced to their first Afcon final since 2000. For the Burkinabe, the victory ensured their best ever result in the continental finals. Their previous best of fourth place in 1998 was achieved on home soil in 1998.
Durban's Moses Mabhida Stadium hosted the early semi-final between Mali, the highest ranked team remaining in the tournament and Nigeria, who had defeated the top ranked team in Africa, Côte d'Ivoire, in the previous round. A tight contest was predicted, but it failed to materialise as the Super Eagles netted three times in the last 20 minutes of the first half to take a 3-0 lead into the break. It was too much for the Malians to overcome.
'Nigerians have waited a long time for this'
"Nigerians have waited a long time for this moment," coach Stephen Keshi said after the match. "Nigerians have missed out a great deal in the last few years. My goal was to put a smile on the faces of Nigerians.
"We knew that Mali would give us a tough time, but we knew that they are a little bit slow and we took advantage of that."
Mali's coach Patrice Carteron tried to put a positive spin on a bad result. "We are proud of the fact that we have been able to play well. I'm proud of my team, even though we did not go to the final. We have to remain positive.
'We lost against a good team'
"We lost against a good team that was full of confidence tonight. We played a team that just beat Côte d'Ivoire and you could see their confidence on the night. What happened to us tonight is very difficult. Mali has been able to reach the semi- finals before and we also achieved that, which is good."
Eagles' skipper Seydou Keita, one of the tournament's most outstanding players, admitted Nigeria outplayed Mali, but was disappointed in his side's performance. "We were very happy against South Africa because we played as a team," he said. "Tonight we didn't play well and we must all share responsibility."
For the Nigerians, it was a case of the Super Eagles being better than the Eagles as they advanced to their first Afcon final since 2000. For the Burkinabe, the victory ensured their best ever result in the continental finals. Their previous best of fourth place in 1998 was achieved on home soil in 1998.
Durban's Moses Mabhida Stadium hosted the early semi-final between Mali, the highest ranked team remaining in the tournament and Nigeria, who had defeated the top ranked team in Africa, Côte d'Ivoire, in the previous round. A tight contest was predicted, but it failed to materialise as the Super Eagles netted three times in the last 20 minutes of the first half to take a 3-0 lead into the break. It was too much for the Malians to overcome.
'Nigerians have waited a long time for this'
"Nigerians have waited a long time for this moment," coach Stephen Keshi said after the match. "Nigerians have missed out a great deal in the last few years. My goal was to put a smile on the faces of Nigerians.
"We knew that Mali would give us a tough time, but we knew that they are a little bit slow and we took advantage of that."
Mali's coach Patrice Carteron tried to put a positive spin on a bad result. "We are proud of the fact that we have been able to play well. I'm proud of my team, even though we did not go to the final. We have to remain positive.
'We lost against a good team'
"We lost against a good team that was full of confidence tonight. We played a team that just beat Côte d'Ivoire and you could see their confidence on the night. What happened to us tonight is very difficult. Mali has been able to reach the semi- finals before and we also achieved that, which is good."
Eagles' skipper Seydou Keita, one of the tournament's most outstanding players, admitted Nigeria outplayed Mali, but was disappointed in his side's performance. "We were very happy against South Africa because we played as a team," he said. "Tonight we didn't play well and we must all share responsibility."
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