Recent posts by Mike Eckel:
Hosts Equatorial Guinea Fined for Semifinal Match Violence
Africa Cup organizers hit hosts Equatorial Guinea with a $100,000 fine Friday for not doing more to control the fan violence that erupted during Ghana’s semifinal trouncing of Equatorial Guinea. With Ghana leading 2-0 at the half during the match Thursday, home field fans began to get unruly, pelting Ghanian players with bottles and other […]
Ghana Heads to Finals After Downing Equatorial Guinea 3-0
Last summer, Ghana’s high hopes for World Cup glory were quashed during a decidedly unimpressive group stage performance, when they were outplayed not only by the eventual winners, Germany, but by the perennial upstarts, the United States. Now, they are on the verge of replacing that memory with a new one, as a decisive 3-0 […]
Cote D’Ivoire Trounces Top-rated Algeria; Ghana Pounds Guinea
Before the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations tournament started earlier this month, Wilfried Bony had been newly minted as the best paid African footballer in history, with his signing by Manchester City. His performance leading Les Elephants to a 3-1 victory over Algeria shows why. Bony scored twice Sunday to silence The Desert Foxes– Africa’s […]
Algeria, Ghana Advance to Knockout Round
Algeria and Ghana advanced to the knockout round of the Africa Cup of Nations Tuesday, with the Desert Foxes winning a decisive 2-0 victory over Senegal Tuesday and the Black Stars beating South Africa 2-1. Ghana ended the group stage atop Group C on goal differentials, even though Algeria is currently the top rated African […]
Rain Dampens Zambia-Cape Verde Match… And Neither Side Advances
Zambia and Cape Verde battled to a rain-soaked goal-less draw Monday, sending Zambia, the 2012 champions, homeward. The tie resulted in both teams at the bottom of Group B, meaning Cape Verde also failed to advance. In the other Group B match-up, however, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tunisia drew at 1 apiece, giving […]
Equatorial Guinea Reaches Knockout Round with Win Over Gabon
Equatorial Guinea sent hometown fans into exultation Sunday, with a 2-0 win over Gabon that sent the Africa Cup of Nations host advancing to the knockout round. A 55th minute foul by Lloyd Palun against striker Javier Balboa led to a penalty and a goal by Balboa. Gabon, led by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, struggled to match […]
Mali Frustrates Cote D’Ivoire; Cameroon, Guinea Tie
Les Elephants continued to show middling results in Africa Cup of Nations 2015, as a dogged Malian side scored early and then held off repeated attacks until a late goal from Max Gradel. Saturday’s 1-1 draw put Mali and Cote D’Ivoire tied at the top of Group D, along with the other teams in the […]
Ghana Stuns Algeria; South Africa, Senegal Draw
When Ghana announced that Asamoah Gyan had contracted malaria on the eve of this year’s Africa Cup of Nations, fans of the Black Stars were understandably discouraged. The striker who plays in the UAE Pro League was forced to watch his side’s opening 2-1 loss to Senegal from the sidelines. But the Ghanian captain silenced […]
The White Witch Speaks: “This is a Very Nice AFCON!”
Congo has already seen historic success in this year’s Africa Cup of Nations, its first appearance in the tournament since 2000. Under the experienced eyes of Frenchman Claude Leroy, the Red Devils opened their bid for trophy with a 1-1 tie against Equatorial Guinea, but then notched a 1-0 victory against Gabon. Leroy, who’s known […]
