ACCRA, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Ghana and Guinea on Monday defeated their respective opponents _ Morocco and Namibia, gaining the first two berths of the quarterfinals of the 26th Africa Nations Cup.
The Black Stars beat Morocco 2-0 in the Ghanaian capital of Accra, proving its capability with a clear sweep in Group A matches.
The Atlas Lions of Morocco faced a "must-win" challenge before the match if they wanted to progress from the group stage, but had to concede two goals in the first half under the fierce attacks of host Ghana.
Coincidentally, both goals were attributed to the perfect cooperation between Chelsea striker Michael Essien and Portsmouth's Sully Mungari.
Mungari gained a free kick in the 26th minute. Faced with compact defense from the Morocco side, Mungari passed the ball to Essien and enabled the Chelsea man to give a successful low shot from the right.
Just before halftime, Mungari controlled a pass from Essien after a strong run and kicked the ball to the left corner of the net. Although the goalkeeper extended his arms to an extreme to save, the ball passed between his fingertips and the post.
Meanwhile, Guinea became the other team entering the quarter-finals in Group A following a 1-1 draw against Namibia in the southern Ghanaian city of Sekondi.
Before the matches, both Morocco and Guinea had gained three points, but as Guinea will face the challenge of Namibia which is regarded to be easily handled, it stood better change to progress out of group matches.
Without influential captain Pascal Feindouno who began to serve his two-match suspension, Guinea did not relent in its attacks. Souleymane Youla received a curling pass from his teammate and slipped the ball into the left corner in the second half.
Namibia proved its words that it is qualified for the finals of the Africa Nations Cup. Striker Brian Brendell fired with his left foot successfully with just minutes left. It was the second goal of Brendell in the group matches. The first one came in the game against Morocco.
