Top five Africa Cup of Nations matches of the last decade

2006 Afcon quarter-final:
Cameroon 1–1 Cote D'Ivoire (11-12 pens)

Although this 2006 Afcon quarter-final did not live up to high-scoring expectations in regular time, the real fireworks were saved for extra periods and the penalty shootout that followed.

Bakari Kone opened the scoring for the Elephants on 92 minutes, latching onto the rebound of an Emmanuel Eboue missile that clanged off the crossbar.

The Ivorians’ lead barely lasted three minutes, though, as substitute Meyong Ze finished from close range to equalise for the Lions. Penalty kicks were needed and Samuel Eto’o scored first for Cameroon but, amazingly, he had to step up again after a full rotation of shooters was completed. Eto’o’s hesitated on his second attempt and blasted his shot into the Cairo sky, allowing Drogba to offer his side a semi-final qualification by sending Souleymanou Hamidou the wrong way with his effort.

Billed as a battle of the heavyweights, this 2008 Afcon quarter-final began with one side clearly in the ascendancy. Just short of half an hour in, Cameroon were already two goals up thanks to a Stephane Mbia header and a stunning Geremi free-kick.

The west Africans were dominating and the result seemed settled but the Carthage Eagles’ chances were resurrected by a lovely Chaouki Ben Saadi curler that found the top corner of Carlos Kameni’s goal just before half-time.

Roger Lemerre’s men pressed for an equaliser in the second half and appeared to be running out of steam when Sabeur Ben Frej dispossessed his marker and passed to an open Yassine Chikhaoui, who calmly slotted the ball past a forest of defenders. The Tunisians had the momentum going into extra-time and were poised to get their first win over Cameroon in their history, but Mbia was on hand to knock them out with a close-range volley.

Although the second half was action packed, the final minutes were most memorable as Abdul Kader Keita’s unstoppable blast was cancelled out on the last move of normal time by an acute Madjid Bougherra header.

Then, early in the extra period, Hameur Bouazza put his side up for good with another header, leaving the Elephants absolutely stunned. Not only were they knocked out, but the last-minute collapse cost Vahid Halilhodzic his job despite this being the sole loss of his tenure!

Here was a continental final where a youthful Ghanaian side always looked more likely to score against an ageing Egyptian team that were nearing the end of a generational cycle.

Despite the best efforts of Milovan Rajevac’s men, the experience and composure of the Pharaohs proved its worth yet again. Ironically, the only fresh face in the Egyptian team made the difference with just five minutes remaining.

Revelation Gedo played a clever one-two with Mohamed Zidan and scored his tournament-high fifth goal of the competition to offer the Arab representatives their unprecedented third title in a row. Ghana fought hard but the Egyptians were worthy winners, as it was astonishingly their 19 consecutive Afcon match without a loss and a record ninth win in a row as well.

It’s not often that a tournament opener tops a list like this but this was no regular encounter. Mali looked completely lost against their Angolan hosts in Luanda and were behind 4-0 until the closing 15 minutes of the match.

Flavio Amado had scored two trademark headers in the first half before Gilberto and Manucho added number three and four from the penalty spot. With a seemingly unassailable lead, the Palancas Negras made the mistake of switching off mentally and the Malians came roaring back to leave the Estadio 11 de Novembro crowd completely dumbfounded.

Seydou Keita began the improbable comeback in minute 78 when he poked home following a defensive lapse by the Angolans. The Barcelona man looked like he had just saved the west Africans some face and the Frederic Kanoute header four minutes from regular time didn't seem threatening either. By the time Keita struck again in stoppage time to reduce the deficit to one, the home side were in full-fledged panic mode. Mustapha Yatabare confirmed Angolan nightmares with just one minute of extra-time remaining to cap off the proceedings and confirm the result of one of the most memorable Afcon matches of all-time.

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