Tournament debutants Cape Verde Islands saw off a relatively uninspiring side of Angola 2-1 to qualify to the last eight of the African Cup of Nations at the Nelson Mandela Bay in Port Elizabeth on Sunday night football in Africa.
Cape Verde which is located in west of Senegal on the Atlantic Ocean is a group of 10 Islands in West Africa with less than 1 million population and their qualification seems a surprise to football pundits in Africa even judging from the background that this is their first ever Nations cup in their football history.
Cape Verde were trailing 1-0 with just nine minutes of their final Group A tie left in Port Elizabeth which many thought Angola has sealed victory.
But the smallest country to ever compete at the Nations Cup staged a dramatic turnaround, with late goals from Gege and Heldon, to spark celebrations among the half a million inhabitants back home.
Coach Lucio Antunes dedicated Cape Verde’s historic passage to the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals to the inhabitants of his homeland.
“My team and I dedicate this victory to the wonderful people of Cape Verde, Our objective at this tournament has been achieved, we wanted to reach the quarter-finals”, coach Antunes said after the game.
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Meanwhile, the host South Africa struggled to snatch a point from a high spirited Morocco side to top group A in a 2-2 dramatic comeback.
Issam El Adoua shot Morocco in front with 10 minutes in the game but May Mahlangu curled home in fine style after 71 minutes to restore parity for the host.
Mehdi Namli put Morocco in front again but Siyabonga Sangweni broke North African hearts with a late equaliser in the 86th minutes which eventually knocked out Morocco out of the tournament.
“We feel very, very proud to have achieved our first objective. I must thank the players and the fans.
“Morocco was a very tough team. I do not want to point out mistakes, but we conceded two goals we should not have done. There are now two games to the final and I believe in my players.”
Coach Gordon Igesund of South Africa who was sitting on tenterhooks throughout the game told reporters after the game.
South Africa will now play the team which will place second in group B while Cape Verde takes on the winner of the same group.
South Africa 2 Morocco 2 match video
[media id=803 width=610 height=340]RESULTS (27TH JANUARY, 2013) SOUTH AFRICA: 2 MOROCCO: 2 CAPE VERDE: 2 ANGOLA: 1
FIXTURES (28TH JANUARY, 2013) GHANA VS NIGER DR.CONGO VS MALI
Issaka Adams / NationalTurk Africa Sports News
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