African Cup of Nations Quarter-finals.

And Gabon have put one over Mali! With their goal from Eric Mouloungui in the 55th minute they have really boosted their chances of qualifying but Mali still look threatening. Thus far though, they have only collected yellow cards. Gabon's captain Daniel Cousin has surprisingly been subbed out though, we'll have to wait and see what the impact of that will be. And it turns out that this tournament is just cruel to Gabon! After taking a well-deserved lead, they missed out on a chance to make it 2-0 in the 55th minute through Daniel Cousin which left the doorway open for the hard-fighting Malian side. They accepted this invitation with 6 minutes left in the game as Cheick Diabate collected comfortably in the box before effectively placing it in the back of the net. With no breakthrough in the rest of play, the two teams went to penalties. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was the Gabon player who was unlucky enough to miss his effort allowing Bakaye Traore and Seydou Keita to score their respective goals to the acclaim of the Malian supporters. In the other Quarter-final of the day, Ghana and Tunisia have been remarkably evenly matched as well with the scoreline 1-1 at the end of regulation. Ghana has taken a very tentative lead after Andre Ayew slotted home after a gift of an opportunity from Tunisia's keeper Mathlouthi in the 101st minute. With 3 minutes of stoppage time left, Tunisia are left both concerned about conceding more goals and scoring one of their own! I'd be really surprised if Ghana do end up letting this match get away from them. And it is over! Ghana will face Zambia in Bata for their Semi-final while Mali and Cote d'Ivoire face-off in Libreville. Hope you enjoyed the games!

Africa Cup of Nations 2012 Quarter-finals.

Well it has truly been a breathtaking tournament this year and the Quarter-finals are through! Zambia dealt a 3-0 blow to Sudan to knock them out of the competition. Stoppila Sunzu, Christopher Katongo, and James Chamanga were the scorers against the 10-man Sudanese side. The Ivory Coast are also through after a confident, comprehensive 3-0 win over Equatorial Guinea. Didier Drogba struck Cote de Ivoire's first two goals while Yaya Toure slotted home the third. Meanwhile, today in Libreville Gabon and Mali are level going in to half-time with Ghana and Tunisia set to play later. Enjoy!

Four Domestic Tables. 2/4/12.

Well, in England Manchester City and Manchester United are tied at the top with 54 points a piece while Tottenham are in 3rd position with 49 points. Chelsea meanwhile are in 4th with 42 while Arsenal are in striking distance just 2 points behind. Newcastle are still looking good just a point behind the Gunners in 6th while Liverpool are a point behind them! In the meantime in Italy Juventus has a 1 point hold on the top of the table with AC Milan just below them. Udinese are still a competitive side with 41 points to their name, 2 above Lazio in 4th while Inter Milan, Roma, and Napoli make up 5th, 6th, and 7th respectively. Dortmund currently lord it over Germany with 43 points after 20 matches while Bayern are right on their heels with a solid  40. Schalke are neck and neck with the Bavarians though! Borussia Monchengladbach are in 4th with 39 points as Werder Bremen round out the Top 5 with 31. Last but not least, Spain's domestic league has taken a very clear favor to Real Madrid who are now on top dominantly with 52 points. That is 7 points out of Barcelona's grasp after the Catalan side registered their 6th draw of the season. Valencia are still well a way off in 3rd position though with 36 points as Levante take 4th tied with Espanyol with 31 but separated by goal difference. Enjoy the weekend!

Euro Futsal 2012!!!

Always an exciting competition, the Futsal Euro has gotten off to a flying start in Croatia! In Group A the hosts are currently on a high after winning their first game with Romania in 2nd position despite having played a game more than the current leaders. The Czech Republic meanwhile is without a win after a disappointing opening match. In Group B,  Ukraine and Spain are essentially through after bottom-of-the-table Slovenia dug themselves into quite a hole: losing both of their two matches. Italy currently holds Group C after defeating Turkey 3-1 with the Russians not yet involved. Portugal are in a similar position at the top of Group D after a 4-1 victory over Azerbaijan with the Serbians yet to play their opening fixture.

In Memory of the 74 left dead in Egypt.

It should have been a moment of joyful celebration and surprised disappointment: Al-Masry's 3-1 upset of perennial favorites Al-Ahly in Port Said. Instead, it became the most violent episode of soccer violence since at least 1996. 74 fans lost their lives and many more than that were injured as riot police failed in their duties against a wave of Al-Masry fans. The riot police were also seen standing in lines doing nothing as violence swirled around them. This may have been the result of a ministry directive implementing a "do not engage" policy with civilians after violence on the Egyptian streets earlier this year. The violence also illustrated the power of the hooligan groups, known by some as ultras, in the protests that have grabbed news headlines around the world. It is unknown how political the violence at the Port Said game was, however the protesters seem to be adding it to their list of grievances against the military rulers.

African Cup of Nations 2/1/12.

And the Group stages are done! Group D finished with Ghana's 1-1 draw with Guinea leaving the Guineans 2 points shy of qualifying for the next round after Mali edged Botswana 1-2 to take 2nd place with 6 points. Ghana grabbed the top group spot with their draw giving them 7 points. As for the Quarter Finals, Zambia v.s. Sudan and Ivory Coast v.s. Equatorial Guinea make up the first round of matches with Zambia and Ivory Coast the respective favorites. Meanwhile, on the 5th, Gabon and Mali play at the same as Ghana and Tunisia. In those two matches, Gabon and Ghana are projected to maintain their unbeaten streaks. Make sure to watch the games!

African Cup update! 1/31/12.

Well, Group B has wrapped up in sensational style as Ivory Coast maintained their perfect record and grabbed 1st officially with a 2-0 win over Angola while Sudan leapfrogged the Angolans on the last day of the group after a close 2-1 encounter with Burkina Faso to grab 2nd place. Angola thus finish 3rd on goal difference while Burkina Faso are left empty handed and in 4th. Group C also had an unbeatable winner in Gabon who edged Tunisia 1-0 in a tight group-stage ending match. Despite the result, Tunisia also qualified for the next round while Morocco earned some self-respect as they beat Niger 0-1 to take 3 points and 3rd position. Look for the Group D games tomorrow and stay tuned!