Nigeria qualify as Mali bow out

Nigeria scraped into the African Nations Cup quarter-finals on goal difference after beating Benin 2-0 yesterday to set up an appetising clash with hosts and arch-rivals Ghana.

The Super Eagles pipped Mali, thumped 3-0 by Ivory Coast in the other Group B game, after both finished level on four points. Captain Didier Drogba was on target as the Ivorians, already qualified, completed a clean sweep in the group.

Off the field, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) handed a dossier on attempted match-fixing to Ghanaian police, after Benin and Namibia last week said they were approached by an unidentified man and offered money to throw games.

CAF general secretary Mustapha Fahmy said the dossier included statements from those approached and contact details given by a man purporting to represent betting interests in Singapore.

"We have asked them to do a thorough investigation and have given them all the details we were able to collect," Fahmy told Reuters.

In Sekondi, Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel scored one goal and set up another as Nigeria won at last.

Obi Mikel headed in a Peter Odemwingie cross after Benin keeper Yoann Djidonou had failed to clear a Taye Taiwo free-kick in the 52nd minute, their first goal of the tournament. He then set up striker Yakubu Aiyegbeni for the second with four minutes left.

At the end of the match, members of the Nigerian technical staff lifted sheepish-looking coach Berti Vogts into the air in celebration.

Mali needed a draw in Accra but were quickly in trouble as Drogba marked his 50th cap with a 32nd international goal.

Marc Zoro, playing his first competitive match in more than six months, rose unmarked to head home from a corner in the 54th minute and Boubacar Sanogo scored his first international goal five minutes from the end.

"We are extremely disappointed," said Mali coach Jean-Francois Jodar. "My team did not play at all in the first half and with a lot of attackers in the second half we still failed to find the goal."

Ivory Coast face Guinea in their quarter-final while Nigeria travel to Accra to face the hosts, who have a 100 per cent record in the tournament.

Standings: Ivory Coast 9; Nigeria; Mali 4; Benin 0.

Manucho leads Angola's charge

Samuel Eto'o and Didier Drogba have found themselves upstaged at the African Nations Cup by previously little-known Angola striker Manucho.

The lanky 24-year-old, who is due to join Manchester United after the tournament, has scored three goals in two games to put his team on the brink of a place in the quarter-finals.

Having opened his account in a 1-1 draw with South Africa, Manucho added two more in a shock 3-1 win over much-fancied Senegal on Sunday that left Angola within one point of a first quarter-final appearance.

"My first priority is to help the team qualify for the quarter-finals but I would also like to be considered as one of the best players of the tournament," Manucho said.

Manucho's menacing presence in the air has given added bite to an Angola team who have emerged from the shadows of African football in the last few years, notably reaching the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

The striker was virtually unknown outside Angola, where he played for Luanda-based Petro Atletico and was the league's top scorer twice in a row, until he impressed United in a three-week trial. He is due to join the English champions once he has secured a work permit.

Angola are proof that having players from top-ranking clubs in Europe does not guarantee international success.

The Palancas Negras are a motley collection of players from Angolan-based clubs and others from lower league clubs in Europe, welded together by coach Luis Oliveira Goncalves, who has spent all of his career at home.