Ghana, Algeria into CAN Quarters; Côte d'Ivoire, Angola Out

The unpredictable nature of the 2010 Cup of African Nations predictably persisted Sunday, with the hosts and tournament favorites eliminated from the tournament.

In the day's first match, Angola lost to a Black Star team that continued treating the tournament as a try-out for June.  As a result, Matthew Amoah, Anthony Annan and Eric Addo started Ghana's quarterfinal on the bench.

Unfortunately for the Antelopes, Udinese's Kwadwo Asamoah was not one of the players Milovan Rajevac elected to sit.  The 21-year-old midfielder may be the tournament's best player, a case that got stronger on Sunday when a brilliant, 30-yard diagonal put Asamoah Gyan behind the Angola defense for the match's only goal.  Ghana is into the tournament's final four.

In Sunday's night-cap, Côte d'Ivoire was on top within four minutes through Salomon Kalou, the first of two Ivorian leads the Desert Foxes would vanquish.  Les Éléphants went ahead 2-1 on a 89th minute rocket from Abdul Kader Keïta only to have Mahjid Bougherra, unmarked, head the Algerians even.  

Three minutes into extra time, another unmarked Algerian heading home a cross, and the tournament favorites are out.

After the jump, more thoughts on Angola and Côte d'Ivoire's elimination, the semifinals prospects for Ghana and Algeria, and a look at Monday's matches

Angola had not lost a meaningful match on home soil since 1999.  Combined with Ghana's disposition, the Black Antelopes looked good bets to advance.  But the Black Stars' quality shined bright on their only goal, a brilliant ball from Asamoah combined with a clinical finish for Gyan.  When people want to undersell the effect of having world-class players, remember this match - where the only thing separating the two sides was two, strung-together, exhibitions of skill.

Angola could be said to be the better team, but part of that was Ghana permitting the Antelopes to control the match.  After gaining the lead, Ghana stopped pursuing the Angolans.  In position, Ghana became cautious, somewhat taking the air out of the ball.  The tenor of the match lent to the Angolans looking better, but it a tenor Ghana signed-off on, and in that way the match played out exactly as they planned.  They deserve credit for executing their plan.

I suspect Angola would not have been despondent if told two weeks ago that they would be eliminated in the knock-out rounds by Ghana, but with what we know today, the Angolans have to feel they've lost a brilliant opportunity.  The Black Antelopes are not going to be a significant contender for the 2012 Cup in Gabon/Equatorial Guinea.  They may not even qualify, but this year - on their home turf in a tournament where nobody was stepping-up - the Angolans could have won it.  Facing a Ghana side that had motives that conflicted with playing their best, today's loss looks like a missed opportunity.

Côte d'Ivoire must have similar regrets, particularly considering the close calls of 2008 and 2006.  At least they didn't lose to Egypt, again.

The Ivorian's defending cost them.  On the tying and winning goals, players were left virtually unmarked for textbook headers.  Is there ever a reason why a side should be losing their marks?  A side that is supposed to be a fringe contender for the upcoming World Cup?

As much as the Algerian's resiliency was a story in this match (a story I'll discuss in another post), the new questions surrounding the Ivorians demand attention.  

For the first twenty-five to thirty minutes of this match, Côte d'Ivoire was in control, showing an ambition to add to their one goal lead.  Then Algerian got the measure of the match, build to the equalizer, and the match took on a new tone.  

But what happened to that confident Ivorian team we saw in the first thirty minutes?  The Algerians have proven to be a mentally touch side, but are Cote d'Ivoire that easily knocked-back?  Where was the rebound?  The point in the match where they remembered who they were and started going back at their opponents?

That never happened.  Côte d'Ivoire seemed to break when the Algerians equalized in the first half.  The elephants did take a second lead, but it was off a long distance shot, not off the kind of pressure that led to this first goal.

Côte d'Ivoire was outplayed by a team that will be one of the least talented teams in the upcoming World Cup.  Both Brazil and Portugal, while possibly not possessing the same fortitude as the Algerians, are more technically capable than the Desert Foxes.

If the Ivorians hit a wall against Algeria - a debatable claim - how are they going to react against more skilled sides?

Perhaps they will rise to the occasion.  Perhaps they will be more focused, or perhaps the Ivorians just didn't play well as favorites (something that would also explain the Burkina Faso result).

Regardless, Côte d'Ivoire's status as Africa's most capable contender come June needs to be questioned in light of the inability to finish off Algeria.