Anything is possible in the semis

So, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Mali and Zambia all through to the semifinals of the Africa Cup of Nations. Not too much of a surprise about Ivory Coast and Ghana – the pre-tournament favourites – but a great effort from both Zambia and Mali.

I thought that Ghana made life difficult for themselves against Tunisia, going 1-0 up and then conceding an equaliser, which took the game into extra time. But, they got through and that’s all that counts. I think I was just expecting a more convincing performance, although, as I said in my last column, the Tunisians are an organised bunch.

No-one really doubted Ivory Coast going through against Equatorial Guinea, and they were certainly more convincing than their fellow favourites, winning 3-0. Didier Drogba again showed his quality with two of those three goals, and keeping him quiet must be Mali’s priority in Wednesday’s semifinal in Libreville.

With regards the Zambians, or ‘The Green Submarine’, their Afcon dream just goes from strength to strength. They were great in their 3-0 win over Sudan, and my old mate Chris Katongo got on the scoresheet once again – my old teammate just can’t stop scoring.

It was interesting seeing Zambia coach Herve Renard saying after the game that it was their most difficult game of the tournament, and that was despite the 3-0 scoreline. Now the Zambians have a really tough task against Ghana in Bata on Wednesday, but I think that it will suit them being the underdogs. They will probably take some heart from the fact that Ghana were a little unconvincing against Tunisia.

Mali did well to edge past Gabon on penalties, and it was a bit unfortunate for one of the hosts – those penalty shootouts are always a lottery. I felt a bit sorry for Gabon, as they were just five minutes away from a place in the semifinals, which would have been an unbelievable achievement for them. But, credit to Mali, they got that equaliser and then went on and won it, with Seydou Keita showing what experience playing for a team like Barcelona counts for, by slotting the winning spot-kick. If he’d missed that, it would have been sudden death. Mali are fortunate to be able to count on Keita, and he will need to have a big game against Ivory Coast’s stars on Wednesday.

Mali have actually gone about their business quite quietly and now they are suddenly in the last four, and in with a realistic chance of springing a surprise. In fact, I think that both Zambia and Mali have nothing to lose, as Ghana and Ivory Coast will be expected to win. Deep down, I think that will still be the case, but you’re always hearing about football being a funny game, so anything is possible. However, if I was a betting man, I would go for an Ivory Coast-Ghana final. That still seems like the most likely prospect.

My thoughts go out to both Gabon and Equatorial Guinea – the two host nations. They both did incredibly well to get to the quarterfinals, and that kept interest in the tournament alive. I just hope that continues with the two semifinals and the final, now that those two are out of the competition.

Lastly, I had to smile when I saw Senegal strikers Demba Ba and Papiss Demba Cisse score for Newcastle in the English Premier League this past weekend. I actually tweeted at the time that it was funny that two top strikers like that could score goals like that, but fail to perform at Afcon. I don’t know – does that bring into question whether or not they are committed to playing for their national team, or is the system they play with Newcastle more suited to their style? Maybe they are getting the service they need at Newcastle? I don’t know. What I do know is that Senegal supporters must be thinking that they could have done with that sort of form in what was a woeful Afcon campaign.

Looking forward to two great Afcon semifinals. It’s going to be interesting.