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Gervinho’s semi-final stunner & the top five goals of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations
The continental showpiece has been entertaining throughout, with a number of beautiful goals scored by stars of the African game
14 Feb 2012 13:38:00
SPECIAL
By Peter Pedroncelli | Africa Football Editor
After 32 games played throughout the Afcon, a number of goals stood out as special not only because of their significance within a specific match, but also for the pure skill and technical ability shown by the player who scored.
With the tournament having concluded, this seems to be the ideal moment in which to reflect on the best goals scored during the past three weeks in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. Goal.com presents a countdown of the top five goals of the 2012 Afcon.
The Barcelona midfielder was at his best for the Eagles during the tournament and he even scored, which is not a frequent occurrence in his role as a defensive midfielder. The goal was a well-worked team move with smooth passing that led to a strike from outside the area, which proved to be the winner for Mali against the Zebras.
The Udinese player is a very hard worker and a technically gifted individual, but the goal he scored to put the Black Stars in the lead against Guinea in the final group stage match was made to look so easy.
The Elephants star settled the semi-final against Mali with a piece of magic that proved enough to see his side qualify for the Afcon final.
Cote d'Ivoire ended the first period against Mali in the best possible way. The Arsenal ace collected the ball in his own half, showing incredible pace, skill and control to run half the length of the pitch before beating Eagles keeper Diakite on his far post and slotting in the goal with a piece of fine finishing.
Mbanangoye was one of the heroes for the co-hosts when they took on tournament dark horses Morocco in the group stages. The match proved to be one of the best out of the 32 that were played, and in fairy tale fashion an injury time winner from a stunning free kick settled the five-goal encounter.
African Player of the Year Yaya Toure is responsible for the best goal at the 2012 Afcon, with a sublime free kick to cap off a fine 3-0 victory against co-hosts Equatorial Guinea in the quarter-finals of the tournament.
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By Peter Pedroncelli | Africa Football Editor
The 2012 Africa Cup of Nations has come to an end, with Zambia crowned as champions of the continent following their victory over Cote d'Ivoire in a nail-biting penalty shoot-out that ended 8-7 in favour of the Chipolopolo after a goalless 120 minutes of play.
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After 32 games played throughout the Afcon, a number of goals stood out as special not only because of their significance within a specific match, but also for the pure skill and technical ability shown by the player who scored.
With the tournament having concluded, this seems to be the ideal moment in which to reflect on the best goals scored during the past three weeks in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. Goal.com presents a countdown of the top five goals of the 2012 Afcon.
| 5. SEYDOU KEITA (Mali 2-1 Botswana) |
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The goal served to send the Eagles into the quarter-finals of the Afcon, where they went on to face co-hosts Gabon.
| 4. EMMANUEL AGYEMANG-BADU (Ghana 1-1 Guinea) |
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Against the run of play with quick, neat passing, midfielder Agyemang-Badu fired a cracker into the back of the net after good work from Andre Ayew, as his pass to Kwadwo Asamoah was tipped to Agyemang-Badu who flicked the ball up and hammered it past Naby-Moussa Yattara in the Guinean goal.
| 3. GERVINHO (Cote d'Ivoire 1-0 Mali) |
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Cote d'Ivoire ended the first period against Mali in the best possible way. The Arsenal ace collected the ball in his own half, showing incredible pace, skill and control to run half the length of the pitch before beating Eagles keeper Diakite on his far post and slotting in the goal with a piece of fine finishing.
| 2. BRUNO ZITA MBANANGOYE (Gabon 3-2 Morocco) |
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Mbanangoye sparked a Gabonese outpouring of joy with a curling free kick past keeper Lamyaghari and into the back of the net, allowing the Panthers to progress to the quarter-finals.
| 1. YAYA TOURE (Cote d'Ivoire 3-0 Equatorial Guinea) |
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Following two goals from captain Didier Drogba, Toure stole the show with a perfectly-placed free kick that would have been virtually impossible for the most agile and experienced of goalkeepers to save, the powerful strike crashing off the inside of the post and into the top corner of the goal.
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Live!
England 1-0 Belgium, Netherlands 2-0 Northern Ireland - follow all the international action LIVE! ahead of Euro 2012
With countries across the continent gearing up for their final warm-up games ahead of Euro 2012, join us for all the action from Saturday's friendlies. Get in touch with us via Twitter with your reaction.
Hosted by Joe Doyle
Hosted by Joe Doyle
19:46 BST
Joe Hart has also been giving his thoughts after the Belgium game: "It was a really tough game, a good run out. I thought we played well, [but] we were a little bit bitty at times.
"But, we came through. Obviously there were a lot of changes so it's good to get the result.
"Belgium are a very, very strong side who are going to be really good in the future. Vincent [Kompany] told me about them and said that they were coming good and I totally agree with him."
"But, we came through. Obviously there were a lot of changes so it's good to get the result.
"Belgium are a very, very strong side who are going to be really good in the future. Vincent [Kompany] told me about them and said that they were coming good and I totally agree with him."
19:38 BST
Here's Roy Hodgson's reaction to the result and some injury chat: "I'm very pleased, it's been a hard week and we've used a lot of players. There was a lot of disruption in the second-half with substitutions – some forced upon us, some we wanted to do. But it's still a very good end to the week playing against a good Belgian team here. Arguably even stronger than the Norwegian team we played last week and I've got to be more than happy that we've come out with another victory."
"[Gary] Cahill I suppose is slightly more of a concern for me because it is a jaw injury. We're desperately hoping the CT scan doesn't show any fracture and it's just going to be a bruising situation, which will be bad enough, but won't stop him taking part in the tournament. As far as John's [Terry] concerned he felt his hamstring a little bit. Again it wasn't a major thing when he came off but we still need to scan it just to be 100 per cent sure."
Suffice to say, if Cahill has broken his jaw, he won't play any part in the tournament.
"[Gary] Cahill I suppose is slightly more of a concern for me because it is a jaw injury. We're desperately hoping the CT scan doesn't show any fracture and it's just going to be a bruising situation, which will be bad enough, but won't stop him taking part in the tournament. As far as John's [Terry] concerned he felt his hamstring a little bit. Again it wasn't a major thing when he came off but we still need to scan it just to be 100 per cent sure."
Suffice to say, if Cahill has broken his jaw, he won't play any part in the tournament.
19:35 BST
And another point from today: Eden Hazard wasn't great. Don't think you can judge him on one performance though. What do you think? Is it just a case of too much hype around the Chelsea-bound Belgian?
19:32 BST
We're getting plenty of people saying it was boring. PLENTY. But Spain scored seven goals in eight games at the World Cup and I didn't hear too many of their fans complaining. Or as Fran Stinchcombe points out on Twitter: "If we had lost but played free flowing attacking football would these people still have moaned?"
19:24 BST
No, no, no. I'll have none of that Emile Heskey shouting anymore! Hello, it's me, it's me, it's that D-O-Y-L-E. Yes, I'm Joe Doyle, and I'll be here for all the reaction to that England game. First things first, how did everyone see that game? Good performance? A touch boring? Let me know on Twitter.
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