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2015 Africa Cup of Nations

Copa Africana de Naciones 2015 Campeonato Africano das Nações de 2015 Coupe d'Afrique des Nations 2015 AFCON 2015 CAN 2015
Tournament details
Host country	Equatorial Guinea
Dates	17 January – 8 February
Teams	16 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)	4 (in 4 host cities)
Final positions
Champions	Ivory Coast (2nd title)
Runners-up	Ghana
Third place	DR Congo
Fourth place	Equatorial Guinea
Tournament statistics
Matches played	32
Goals scored	68 (2.13 per match)
Attendance	617,374 (19,293 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Ahmed Akaïchi André Ayew Javier Balboa Thievy Bifouma Dieumerci Mbokani (3 goals each)
Best player(s)	Christian Atsu
Best goalkeeper	Sylvain Gbohouo
Fair play award	DR Congo
← 2013 2017 →

The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations, Equatorial Guinea 2015 for sponsorship reasons, was the 30th staging of the Africa Cup of Nations, the international men’s football championship of Africa. It was organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and was held from 17 January to 8 February 2015.

The tournament was initially scheduled to be hosted by Morocco who later demanded postponement of the event because of the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa; subsequently Morocco was ruled out as a host country and replaced by Equatorial Guinea.

Ivory Coast won the tournament for their second Africa Cup of Nations title, defeating Ghana 9–8 in a penalty shoot-out after the final finished goalless following extra time. The DR Congo came third and the hosts Equatorial Guinea fourth, while defending champions Nigeria did not qualify.

Host selection

Bids:

CAF received 3 bids before 30 September 2010, the deadline, to host either the 2015 or 2017 Africa Cup of Nations from DR Congo, Morocco and South Africa. All three bids were originally put on a shortlist. CAF then began an inspection procedure, on November and December 2010, intending to visit each bidding country to view stadiums, infrastructure, and football interest. They inspected the DR Congo first. Shortly after the inspection, DR Congo informed CAF that they would be withdrawing their bids for both the 2015 and 2017 Africa Cup of Nations tournaments. Morocco was the next country to be inspected, with CAF visiting the country in early November 2010. South Africa was inspected in December 2010.

On 29 January, during the 2011 CAF Super Cup, the CAF Board decided that Morocco would host the 2015 African Cup of Nations, while the 2017 edition would be held in South Africa. The four Morocco host cities which were scheduled to host the tournament were Rabat, Marrakesh, Agadir and Tangier, as announced by the CAF Executive Committee on 23 September 2013. Casablanca would serve as an alternative venue.

Moroccan withdrawal

In October 2014, the government of Morocco requested a postponement of the tournament due to the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa. After the matter was discussed at the Executive Committee meeting on 2 November 2014, CAF decided to keep the date of the tournament, while also asking for a clarification from the Royal Moroccan Football Federation of whether they still wish to host the tournament. On 8 November, Morocco failed to meet this deadline to confirm it would host the tournament. Three days later CAF confirmed that Morocco would not host the tournament and a new host would be chosen from a list of countries which have expressed interest. Morocco, who had previously qualified as hosts, were disqualified from participation at the tournament. CAF confirmed legal action against Morocco due to a contract signed in April 2014. Moroccan Sports Minister Mohamed Ouzzine said that CAF had falsely accused his country of "refusing" to host the tournament when it wanted it postponed, and justified the decision by citing that the World Health Organization gives every country the right to protect its citizens. On 6 February 2015, CAF announced that Morocco had been banned from the next two AFCON tournaments, fined 1 million US dollars, as well as demanding 9 million US dollars in compensation. However, the ban was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, meaning Morocco may enter the tournaments.

Egypt, Ghana, South Africa and Sudan all declined to take over as hosts. Angola, the hosts of the 2010 edition, were spoken of as a potential replacement due to existing stadia and infrastructure in the country. However, a member of the Angolan Football Federation stated that it could not be possible as the new government budget did not include any tournaments.

On 14 November 2014, CAF announced that Equatorial Guinea would host the tournament.

Qualification

Qualification for the tournament were made up of four stages, three preliminary rounds and a final group stage. The 21 best-ranked teams were given a bye to the group stage, while the next 26 teams began play in the second preliminary round, and four lowest ranked teams started at the first round. The three preliminary rounds were a series of playoffs, with the winners advancing.

51 nations entered the tournament (excluding initial hosts Morocco). It was the competitive debut of South Sudan. Djibouti and Somalia declined to enter.

Morocco would have automatically qualified as hosts; however, after their refusal to host, they were expelled from the tournament by the CAF. Equatorial Guinea was chosen as the new host, and despite having played in the qualifiers and been disqualified due to fielding an ineligible player, they qualified for the tournament automatically.

The defending champions Nigeria failed to qualify for the tournament.

Qualified teams

The following sixteen teams qualified for the tournament.

Country	Qualified as	Qualified on	Previous appearance in tournament
Equatorial Guinea	Hosts	14 November 2014	1 (2012)
South Africa	Group A winners	15 November 2014	8 (1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2013)
Congo	Group A runners-up	19 November 2014	6 (1968, 1972, 1974, 1978, 1992, 2000)
Algeria	Group B winners	15 October 2014	15 (1968, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2010, 2013)
Mali	Group B runners-up	19 November 2014	8 (1972, 1994, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013)
Gabon	Group C winners	15 November 2014	5 (1994, 1996, 2000, 2010, 2012)
Burkina Faso	Group C runners-up	15 November 2014	9 (1978, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2010, 2012, 2013)
Cameroon	Group D winners	15 November 2014	16 (1970, 1972, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010)
Ivory Coast	Group D runners-up	19 November 2014	20 (1965, 1968, 1970, 1974, 1980, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013)
Ghana	Group E winners	19 November 2014	19 (1963, 1965, 1968, 1970, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013)
Guinea	Group E runners-up	19 November 2014	10 (1970, 1974, 1976, 1980, 1994, 1998, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2012)
Cape Verde	Group F winners	15 October 2014	1 (2013)
Zambia	Group F runners-up	15 November 2014	16 (1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013)
Tunisia	Group G winners	14 November 2014	16 (1962, 1963, 1965, 1978, 1982, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013)
Senegal	Group G runners-up	15 November 2014	12 (1965, 1968, 1986, 1990, 1992, 1994, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2012)
DR Congo	Best third placed team	19 November 2014	16 (1965, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1988, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2013)

Bold indicates champion for that year.

Italic indicates host for that year.

Venues

Download coordinates as:

• KML
• GPX (all coordinates)
• GPX (primary coordinates)
• GPX (secondary coordinates)

The four Equatorial Guinean cities selected to host the tournament were Malabo, Bata, Mongomo and Ebebiyín.

Malabo and Bata were also host venues for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.

Screening for Ebola was given to all spectators attending matches.

Bata	Malabo	MongomoBataMalaboEbebiyín	Mongomo	Ebebiyín
Estadio de Bata	Nuevo Estadio de Malabo		Estadio de Mongomo	Estadio Mannuel Enguru
Capacity: 41,000	Capacity: 15,250		Capacity: 15,000	Capacity: 8,000

Format

Only the hosts got an automatic qualification spot, the other 15 teams qualified through qualification tournament. At the finals, the 16 teams were drawn into four groups of four teams each. The teams in each group played a single round robin. After the group stage, the top two teams from each group advanced to the quarterfinals. The quarterfinal winners advanced to the semifinals. The semifinal losers played in the third place match, while the semifinal winners played in the final.

Draw

The finals draw was held on 3 December 2014 in Malabo. It was initially to be held on 26 November 2014 in Rabat before the change of host country.

The 16 teams were divided into four pots based on the CAF Ranking, with the hosts Equatorial Guinea placed in Pot 1 automatically. The ranking was computed using the teams' results in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers (weighted by 2), 2013 Africa Cup of Nations finals (weighted by 3) and qualifiers (weighted by 1), the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations finals (weighted by 2) and qualifiers (weighted by 0.5), the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations finals (weighted by 1), and the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Match officials

The following referees were chosen for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.

Referees

Assistant referees

Squads

Each team could register a squad of 23 players.

Group stage

The group winners and runners-up advance to the quarter-finals.

Tiebreakers

The teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:

1. Number of points obtained in games between the teams concerned;
2. Goal difference in games between the teams concerned;
3. Goals scored in games between the teams concerned;
4. If, after applying criteria 1 to 3 to teams concerned, two or three teams still have an equal ranking, criteria 1 to 3 are reapplied exclusively to the matches between these teams in question to determine their final rankings. If this procedure does not lead to a decision, criteria 5 to 7 will apply;
5. Goal difference in all games;
6. Goals scored in all games;
7. Drawing of lots.

Group A

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Congo	3	2	1	0	4	2	+2	7	Advance to knockout stage
2	Equatorial Guinea (H)	3	1	2	0	3	1	+2	5
3	Gabon	3	1	0	2	2	3	−1	3
4	Burkina Faso	3	0	1	2	1	4	−3	1

Equatorial Guinea	1–1	Congo
Nsue 16'	Report	Bifouma 87'

Burkina Faso	0–2	Gabon
	Report	Aubameyang 19' Evouna 72'

Equatorial Guinea	0–0	Burkina Faso
	Report

Gabon	0–1	Congo
	Report	Oniangué 48'

Gabon	0–2	Equatorial Guinea
	Report	Balboa 55' (pen.) Ibán 85'

Congo	2–1	Burkina Faso
Bifouma 51' Ondama 87'	Report	Bancé 86'

17 January 2015
Equatorial Guinea	1–1	Congo	Estadio de Bata, Bata
Burkina Faso	0–2	Gabon	Estadio de Bata, Bata
21 January 2015
Equatorial Guinea	0–0	Burkina Faso	Estadio de Bata, Bata
Gabon	0–1	Congo	Estadio de Bata, Bata
25 January 2015
Gabon	0–2	Equatorial Guinea	Estadio de Bata, Bata
Congo	2–1	Burkina Faso	Nuevo Estadio de Ebebiyín, Ebebiyín

Group B

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Tunisia	3	1	2	0	4	3	+1	5	Advance to knockout stage
2	DR Congo	3	0	3	0	2	2	0	3
3	Cape Verde	3	0	3	0	1	1	0	3
4	Zambia	3	0	2	1	2	3	−1	2

Zambia	1–1	DR Congo
Singuluma 2'	Report	Bolasie 66'

Tunisia	1–1	Cape Verde
Manser 70'	Report	Héldon 78' (pen.)

Zambia	1–2	Tunisia
Mayuka 60'	Report	Akaïchi 70' Chikhaoui 89'

Cape Verde	0–0	DR Congo
	Report

Cape Verde	0–0	Zambia
	Report

DR Congo	1–1	Tunisia
Bokila 66'	Report	Akaïchi 31'

18 January 2015
Zambia	1–1	DR Congo	Nuevo Estadio de Ebebiyín, Ebebiyín
Tunisia	1–1	Cape Verde	Nuevo Estadio de Ebebiyín, Ebebiyín
22 January 2015
Zambia	1–2	Tunisia	Nuevo Estadio de Ebebiyín, Ebebiyín
Cape Verde	0–0	DR Congo	Nuevo Estadio de Ebebiyín, Ebebiyín
26 January 2015
Cape Verde	0–0	Zambia	Nuevo Estadio de Ebebiyín, Ebebiyín
DR Congo	1–1	Tunisia	Estadio de Bata, Bata

Group C

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Ghana	3	2	0	1	4	3	+1	6	Advance to knockout stage
2	Algeria	3	2	0	1	5	2	+3	6
3	Senegal	3	1	1	1	3	4	−1	4
4	South Africa	3	0	1	2	3	6	−3	1

Ghana	1–2	Senegal
A. Ayew 14' (pen.)	Report	Diouf 58' Sow 90+3'

Algeria	3–1	South Africa
Hlatshwayo 67' (o.g.) Ghoulam 72' Slimani 83'	Report	Phala 51'

Ghana	1–0	Algeria
Gyan 90+2'	Report

South Africa	1–1	Senegal
Manyisa 47'	Report	Mbodj 60'

South Africa	1–2	Ghana
Masango 17'	Report	Boye 73' A. Ayew 83'

Senegal	0–2	Algeria
	Report	Mahrez 11' Bentaleb 82'

19 January 2015
Ghana	1–2	Senegal	Estadio de Mongomo, Mongomo
Algeria	3–1	South Africa	Estadio de Mongomo, Mongomo
23 January 2015
Ghana	1–0	Algeria	Estadio de Mongomo, Mongomo
South Africa	1–1	Senegal	Estadio de Mongomo, Mongomo
27 January 2015
South Africa	1–2	Ghana	Estadio de Mongomo, Mongomo
Senegal	0–2	Algeria	Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo

Group D

Guinea and Mali finished level on the second spot after the group stage, making the first drawing of lots needed at the tournament since 1988. Unlike some other international tournaments, 2015 Africa Cup of Nations tournament regulations would not use fair-play criteria or a penalty shoot-out after the teams met on the last match day to determine the final group ranking. Both head coaches have openly criticised the regulations.

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Ivory Coast	3	1	2	0	3	2	+1	5	Advance to knockout stage
2	Guinea	3	0	3	0	3	3	0	3
3	Mali	3	0	3	0	3	3	0	3
4	Cameroon	3	0	2	1	2	3	−1	2

1. ^ Guinea and Mali were tied on head-to-head record, overall goal difference, and overall goals scored. A drawing of lots took place on 29 January 2015, 16:00 local time at the Hilton Malabo. Guinea selected the lot for 2nd place and advanced to the quarter-finals as the group runner-up.

Ivory Coast	1–1	Guinea
Doumbia 72'	Report	M. Yattara 36'

Mali	1–1	Cameroon
S. Yatabaré 71'	Report	Oyongo 84'

Ivory Coast	1–1	Mali
Gradel 86'	Report	Sako 7'

Cameroon	1–1	Guinea
Moukandjo 13'	Report	Traoré 42'

Cameroon	0–1	Ivory Coast
	Report	Gradel 35'

Guinea	1–1	Mali
Constant 15' (pen.)	Report	Maïga 47'

20 January 2015
Ivory Coast	1–1	Guinea	Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo
Mali	1–1	Cameroon	Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo
24 January 2015
Ivory Coast	1–1	Mali	Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo
Cameroon	1–1	Guinea	Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo
28 January 2015
Cameroon	0–1	Ivory Coast	Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo
Guinea	1–1	Mali	Estadio de Mongomo, Mongomo

Knockout stage

In the knockout stages, if a match is level at the end of normal playing time, extra time shall be played (two periods of 15 minutes each) and followed, if necessary, by kicks from the penalty mark to determine the winner, except for the play-off for third place where no extra time shall be played.

On 27 January 2015, the CAF announced that they had relocated the venues of two of the quarter-finals:

• The venue of quarter-final 2 is relocated from Nuevo Estadio de Ebebiyín, Ebebiyín to Estadio de Bata, Bata.
• The venue of quarter-final 3 is relocated from Estadio de Mongomo, Mongomo to Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo.

The kick-off time of quarter-finals 2 and 4 are also changed from 20:00 to 20:30 local time. The knockout stage of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations was the second and final stage of the competition, following the group stage. It began on 31 January with the round of 16 and ended on 8 February 2015 with the final held at the Estadio de Bata in Bata. A total of 8 teams (the top two teams from each group) advanced to the knockout stage to compete in a single-elimination style tournament.

All match times are local, WAT (UTC+1).

Format

In the knockout stage, except for the third place play-off, if a match was level at the end of 90 minutes of normal playing time, extra time was played (two periods of 15 minutes each). If still tied after extra time, the match was decided by a penalty shoot-out to determine the winner. In the third place play-off, if the scores remained level after 90 minutes the match would go directly to a penalty shoot-out, without any extra time being played.

Qualified teams

The top two placed teams from each of the four groups advanced to the knockout stage.

Group	Winners	Runners-up
A	Congo	Equatorial Guinea
B	Tunisia	DR Congo
C	Ghana	Algeria
D	Ivory Coast	Guinea

Bracket

	Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Final
	31 January – Bata
	Congo	2
					4 February – Bata
	DR Congo	4
					DR Congo	1
	1 February – Malabo
					Ivory Coast	3
	Ivory Coast	3
									8 February – Bata
	Algeria	1
									Ivory Coast (p)	0 (9)
	1 February – Malabo
									Ghana	0 (8)
	Ghana	3
					5 February – Malabo
	Guinea	0
					Ghana	3
	31 January – Bata
					Equatorial Guinea	0			Third place play-off
	Tunisia	1
									7 February – Malabo
	Equatorial Guinea (a.e.t.)	2
									DR Congo (p)	0 (4)
									Equatorial Guinea	0 (2)

All times local, WAT (UTC+1).

Quarter-finals

Congo vs DR Congo

Congo took the lead in the 55th minute, when Férébory Doré met Delvin N'Dinga's free kick to slot home. They increased the lead seven minutes later, when after they intercepted a DR Congo pass out of the defence, Thievy Bifouma scored from the rebound after Doré's shot was saved. DR Congo pulled a goal back in the 65th minute, when Dieumerci Mbokani converted from Yannick Bolasie's cross. The equalizer came ten minutes later when Jeremy Bokila scored from Cédric Makiadi's pass. DR Congo took the lead when Joël Kimwaki headed in Neeskens Kebano's free kick in the 81st minute, and completed the comeback after Mbokani converted his own rebound to score his second goal of the match in the first minute of injury time. This put them in the semi-finals for the first time since 1998.

Congo	2–4	DR Congo
Doré 55' Bifouma 62'	Report	Mbokani 65', 90+1' Bokila 75' Kimwaki 81'

Congo

DR Congo

GK 1 Christoffer Mafoumbi RB 18 Marvin Baudry CB 21 Sagesse Babélé CB 4 Boris Moubhibo LB 6 Dimitri Bissiki DM 8 Delvin N'Dinga  83' RW 12 Francis Litsingi  84' AM 7 Prince Oniangué (c) LW 5 Bouka Moutou  84' CF 13 Thievy Bifouma CF 10 Férébory Doré  76' Substitutions: FW 19 Dominique Malonga  76' MF 14 Césaire Gandzé  84' FW 11 Fabrice Ondama  84' Manager: Claude Le Roy

GK 1 Robert Kidiaba (c) RB 2 Issama Mpeko CB 17 Cédric Mongongu CB 14 Gabriel Zakuani  50' LB 3 Jean Kasusula CM 22 Chancel Mbemba CM 6 Cédric Makiadi  40'  89' RW 19 Jeremy Bokila AM 18 Cedrick Mabwati  66' LW 11 Yannick Bolasie CF 9 Dieumerci Mbokani Substitutions: DF 15 Joël Kimwaki  50' MF 10 Neeskens Kebano  66' MF 5 Nelson Munganga  89' Manager: Florent Ibengé

Tunisia vs Equatorial Guinea

Tunisia took the lead in the 70th minute, when Ahmed Akaïchi flicked in Hamza Mathlouthi's cross from the right. Equatorial Guinea scored the equalizer in the third minute of injury time through Javier Balboa's penalty, which was awarded after Hamza Mathlouthi was ruled to have fouled Iván Bolado. The match went to extra time, and Balboa scored the winning goal in the 102nd minute with a direct free kick, sending the hosts to their first ever semi-finals. The match had witnessed controversies regarding the Mauritian referee's bias refereeing in favor to the host nation, including the controversial penalty in the final minutes, resulting with Tunisian players attacking him in the end of the game. CAF decided to ban the referee for life as for the result.

Tunisia	1–2 (a.e.t.)	Equatorial Guinea
Akaïchi 70'	Report	Balboa 90+3' (pen.), 102'

Tunisia

Equatorial Guinea

GK 16 Aymen Mathlouthi RB 17 Hamza Mathlouthi CB 3 Aymen Abdennour CB 2 Syam Ben Youssef LB 12 Ali Maâloul CM 20 Mohamed Ali Yacoubi  63'  104' CM 6 Hocine Ragued  9' RW 19 Ahmed Akaïchi  66'  85' AM 13 Ferjani Sassi  90+6' LW 9 Yassine Chikhaoui (c) CF 18 Wahbi Khazri  85' Substitutions: MF 15 Mohamed Ali Manser  85' FW 11 Amine Chermiti  86'  85' MF 7 Youssef Msakni  104' Manager: Georges Leekens

GK 1 Felipe Ovono RB 8 Randy  80' CB 5 Diosdado Mbele CB 4 Rui LB 16 Sipo  86' RM 14 Kike CM 18 Viera Ellong CM 21 Iván Zarandona LM 11 Javier Balboa CF 10 Emilio Nsue (c) CF 9 Raúl Fabiani  61' Substitutions: FW 15 Ibán  90+6'  61' FW 12 Iván Bolado  80' MF 7 Rubén Belima  86' Manager: Esteban Becker

Ghana vs Guinea

Ghana took the lead in the 4th minute, after André Ayew back-heeled the ball for Christian Atsu to convert from close range. Ghana increased the lead in the 44th minute, as Kwesi Appiah intercepted a missed pass from the Guinea defence to score. Atsu scored his second goal of the match in the 61st minute, when he received the ball from Mubarak Wakaso on the right flank, cut inside and curled the ball into the net. Guinea goalkeeper Naby Yattara was sent off in the fourth minute of injury time for bringing down Asamoah Gyan outside the penalty box. Ghana's win sent them to the semi-finals for the fifth consecutive tournament.

Ghana	3–0	Guinea
Atsu 4', 61' Appiah 44'	Report

Ghana

Guinea

GK 1 Brimah Razak RB 23 Harrison Afful CB 21 John Boye CB 19 Jonathan Mensah LB 17 Baba Rahman DM 6 Afriyie Acquah  86' RW 7 Christian Atsu  79' AM 11 Mubarak Wakaso LW 10 André Ayew CF 3 Asamoah Gyan (c) CF 2 Kwesi Appiah Substitutions: MF 22 Frank Acheampong  79' MF 13 Mohammed Rabiu  86' Manager: Avram Grant

GK 1 Naby Yattara  33'  90+4' RB 13 Abdoulaye Cissé CB 20 Baissama Sankoh CB 5 Fodé Camara  49' LB 23 Djibril Tamsir Paye  90' DM 17 Boubacar Fofana  70' CM 12 Ibrahima Conté CM 10 Kévin Constant  21'  56' RW 8 Ibrahima Traoré (c) LW 7 Abdoul Camara  81' CF 11 Idrissa Sylla  45' Substitutions: FW 2 Mohamed Yattara  45' MF 15 Naby Keïta  56' FW 19 François Kamano  81' Manager: Michel Dussuyer

Ivory Coast vs Algeria

Ivory Coast took the lead in the 26th minute, when Wilfried Bony headed in Max Gradel's cross. Algeria equalized in the 51st minute, after Riyad Mahrez passed to Hillal Soudani to score. Bony scored his second goal of the match in the 68th minute with another header, this time from Yaya Touré's free kick. Ivory Coast sealed the win in the fourth minute of injury time, as Tallo Gadji set up Gervinho in a fast break, and they qualified for the semi-finals for the fourth time in six tournaments.

Ivory Coast	3–1	Algeria
Bony 26', 68' Gervinho 90+4'	Report	Soudani 51'

Ivory Coast

Algeria

GK 16 Sylvain Gbohouo CB 17 Serge Aurier CB 22 Wilfried Kanon CB 4 Kolo Touré RWB 21 Eric Bailly LWB 5 Siaka Tiéné  67' CM 20 Serey Dié CM 19 Yaya Touré (c) CM 15 Max Gradel CF 12 Wilfried Bony  90+1' CF 10 Gervinho Substitutions: MF 6 Cheick Doukouré  67' FW 11 Tallo Gadji  90+1' Manager: Hervé Renard

GK 23 Raïs M'Bolhi RB 3 Faouzi Ghoulam CB 2 Madjid Bougherra (c) CB 20 Aïssa Mandi LB 12 Carl Medjani DM 14 Nabil Bentaleb  78' RM 19 Saphir Taïder  90' LM 11 Yacine Brahimi AM 10 Sofiane Feghouli CF 7 Riyad Mahrez  72' CF 15 Hillal Soudani  72' Substitutions: FW 9 Ishak Belfodil  72' FW 13 Islam Slimani  72' Manager: Christian Gourcuff

Semi-finals

DR Congo vs Ivory Coast

Ivory Coast took the lead in the 20th minute, when Yaya Touré slammed home a pass from Wilfried Bony. DR Congo equalized four minutes later through Dieumerci Mbokani's penalty, awarded for Eric Bailly's handball. Ivory Coast retook the lead in the 41st minute, as Bony set up Gervinho to score. Wilfried Kanon sealed the win in the 68th minute, as he scored from the rebound after Serge Aurier's header was saved. The win put the Ivorians into their fourth Africa Cup of Nations final.

DR Congo	1–3	Ivory Coast
Mbokani 24' (pen.)	Report	Y. Touré 20' Gervinho 41' Kanon 68'

DR Congo

Ivory Coast

GK 1 Robert Kidiaba (c) RB 2 Issama Mpeko CB 15 Joël Kimwaki CB 14 Gabriel Zakuani LB 3 Jean Kasusula  67' CM 22 Chancel Mbemba CM 6 Cédric Makiadi  79' RW 19 Jeremy Bokila AM 18 Cedrick Mabwati  69' LW 11 Yannick Bolasie CF 9 Dieumerci Mbokani  61' Substitutions: FW 13 Junior Kabananga  71'  61' MF 10 Neeskens Kebano  69' FW 21 Firmin Ndombe Mubele  79' Manager: Florent Ibengé

GK 16 Sylvain Gbohouo RB 17 Serge Aurier  76' CB 21 Eric Bailly CB 4 Kolo Touré LB 22 Wilfried Kanon  26' CM 20 Serey Dié  70' CM 19 Yaya Touré (c)  28' RW 15 Max Gradel  62' LW 5 Siaka Tiéné  72' CF 12 Wilfried Bony  90+2' CF 10 Gervinho Substitutions: FW 8 Salomon Kalou  62' DF 2 Ousmane Viera  72' FW 18 Lacina Traoré  90+2' Manager: Hervé Renard

Ghana vs Equatorial Guinea

Ghana took the lead in the 42nd minute through Jordan Ayew's penalty, awarded after Kwesi Appiah was fouled by Felipe Ovono. In the first minute of first half injury time, Mubarak Wakaso finished Christian Atsu's pass in a counter-attack to double Ghana's lead. Ghana's third goal was scored by André Ayew from a cross by Appiah in the 75th minute. The win put the Ghanaians into a record ninth Africa Cup of Nations final.

Crowd disturbances began after Ghana's first goal, culminating after the third in a 40-minute stoppage while security forces corralled the Ghanaian section from the rest of the crowd. The hosts were fined US$100,000 by the CAF.

Ghana	3–0	Equatorial Guinea
J. Ayew 42' (pen.) Wakaso 45+1' A. Ayew 75'	Report

Ghana

Equatorial Guinea

GK 1 Brimah Razak RB 23 Harrison Afful  44' CB 21 John Boye CB 19 Jonathan Mensah LB 17 Baba Rahman CM 6 Afriyie Acquah  68' CM 11 Mubarak Wakaso  18'  76' RW 7 Christian Atsu AM 9 Jordan Ayew LW 10 André Ayew (c)  66'  82' CF 2 Kwesi Appiah Substitutions: MF 8 Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu  76' MF 22 Frank Acheampong  82' Manager: Avram Grant

GK 1 Felipe Ovono  41' RB 2 Dani Evuy  37'  58' CB 5 Diosdado Mbele CB 4 Rui LB 7 Rubén Belima CM 21 Iván Zarandona  82' CM 18 Viera Ellong RW 14 Kike LW 11 Javier Balboa CF 15 Ibán  68'  74' CF 10 Emilio Nsue (c) Substitutions: FW 9 Raúl Fabiani  58' DF 16 Sipo  74' DF 22 Pablo Ganet  82' Manager: Esteban Becker

Third place play-off

After a goalless 90 minutes, the match was decided by a penalty shoot-out (no extra time was played as per regulations). Equatorial Guinea missed their first and second penalties by Javier Balboa and Raúl Fabiani, while DR Congo converted all four of their kicks, giving them their best finish in the Africa Cup of Nations since 1998 when they also finished third, while the fourth-placed finish for the hosts were still their best ever in the Africa Cup of Nations.

DR Congo	0–0	Equatorial Guinea
	Report
Penalties
Mabwati Mabidi Mbemba Mongongu	4–2	Balboa Fabiani Juvenal Ellong

DR Congo

Equatorial Guinea

GK 1 Robert Kidiaba (c) RB 2 Issama Mpeko CB 17 Cédric Mongongu CB 14 Gabriel Zakuani LB 3 Jean Kasusula RM 18 Cedrick Mabwati  87' CM 22 Chancel Mbemba CM 6 Cédric Makiadi  51'  72' LM 11 Yannick Bolasie AM 8 Hervé Kage  46' CF 19 Jeremy Bokila  74' Substitutions: FW 9 Dieumerci Mbokani  46' MF 20 Lema Mabidi  72' FW 13 Junior Kabananga  74' Manager: Florent Ibengé

GK 1 Felipe Ovono RB 8 Randy CB 2 Dani Evuy CB 4 Rui LB 16 Sipo RM 14 Kike  46' CM 21 Iván Zarandona  46' CM 6 Juvenal (c) LM 7 Rubén Belima  85' CF 10 Emilio Nsue CF 11 Javier Balboa Substitutions: DF 20 Miguel Ángel  46' MF 18 Viera Ellong  46' FW 9 Raúl Fabiani  85' Manager: Esteban Becker

Final

After a goalless 120 minutes (regulation and extra time), the match was decided by a penalty shoot-out. Ivory Coast missed their first and second penalties by Wilfried Bony and Tallo Gadji, while Ghana missed their third and fourth penalties by Afriyie Acquah and Frank Acheampong. Both teams converted their kicks in the fifth to tenth rounds, and in the eleventh round, Ivorian goalkeeper Boubacar Barry saved from his counterpart Brimah Razak, diving to his left to push the ball around the post. He then scored his own penalty shooting to the right of the net. Ivory Coast won their second title and their first since 1992, where they also defeated Ghana in the final after a penalty shoot-out, while Ghana lost their third straight Africa Cup of Nations final after their last triumph in 1982.

Details

Ivory Coast	0–0 (a.e.t.)	Ghana
	Report
Penalties
Bony Gadji Aurier Doumbia Y. Touré Kalou K. Touré Kanon Bailly Dié Barry	9–8	Wakaso J. Ayew Acquah Acheampong A. Ayew Mensah Badu Afful Rahman Boye Razak

Ivory Coast

Ghana

GK 1 Boubacar Barry CB 21 Eric Bailly  105+1' CB 4 Kolo Touré CB 22 Wilfried Kanon  87' RM 17 Serge Aurier CM 20 Serey Dié  14' CM 19 Yaya Touré (c) LM 5 Siaka Tiéné  57'  116' RF 15 Max Gradel  67' CF 12 Wilfried Bony LF 10 Gervinho  120+2' Substitutions: FW 7 Seydou Doumbia  67' FW 8 Salomon Kalou  116' FW 11 Tallo Gadji  120+2' Manager: Hervé Renard

GK 1 Brimah Razak RB 23 Harrison Afful CB 21 John Boye CB 19 Jonathan Mensah LB 17 Baba Rahman CM 11 Mubarak Wakaso CM 6 Afriyie Acquah RW 7 Christian Atsu  116' AM 2 Kwesi Appiah  99' LW 10 André Ayew CF 3 Asamoah Gyan (c)  120+1' Substitutions: FW 9 Jordan Ayew  99' FW 22 Frank Acheampong  116' MF 8 Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu  120+1' Manager: Avram Grant

References

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External links

• Orange Africa Cup Of Nations, Equatorial Guinea 2015, CAFonline.com

Scores after extra time are indicated by (a.e.t.), and penalty shoot-out are indicated by (pen.).

All times local, WAT (UTC+1).

Quarter-finals

Congo	2–4	DR Congo
Doré 55' Bifouma 62'	Report	Mbokani 65', 90+1' Bokila 75' Kimwaki 81'

Tunisia	1–2 (a.e.t.)	Equatorial Guinea
Akaïchi 70'	Report	Balboa 90+3' (pen.), 102'

Ghana	3–0	Guinea
Atsu 4', 61' Appiah 44'	Report

Ivory Coast	3–1	Algeria
Bony 26', 68' Gervinho 90+4'	Report	Soudani 51'

Semi-finals

DR Congo	1–3	Ivory Coast
Mbokani 24' (pen.)	Report	Y. Touré 20' Gervinho 41' Kanon 68'

Ghana	3–0	Equatorial Guinea
J. Ayew 42' (pen.) Mubarak 45+1' A. Ayew 75'	Report

Third place play-off

DR Congo	0–0	Equatorial Guinea
	Report
Penalties
Mabwati Mabidi Mbemba Mongongu	4–2	Balboa Fabiani Juvenal Ellong

Note: no extra-time was played

Final

Ivory Coast	0–0 (a.e.t.)	Ghana
	Report
Penalties
Bony Tallo Aurier Doumbia Y. Touré Kalou K. Touré Kanon Bailly Die Barry	9–8	Wakaso J. Ayew Acquah Acheampong A. Ayew Mensah Badu Afful Baba Boye Razak

Statistics

Goalscorers

3 goals

• Thievy Bifouma
• Dieumerci Mbokani
• Javier Balboa
• André Ayew
• Ahmed Akaïchi

2 goals

• Jeremy Bokila
• Christian Atsu
• Wilfried Bony
• Gervinho
• Max Gradel

1 goal

• Nabil Bentaleb
• Faouzi Ghoulam
• Riyad Mahrez
• Islam Slimani
• Hillal Soudani
• Aristide Bancé
• Benjamin Moukandjo
• Ambroise Oyongo
• Héldon
• Férébory Doré
• Fabrice Ondama
• Prince Oniangue
• Yannick Bolasie
• Joël Kimwaki
• Emilio Nsue
• Ibán Edú
• Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
• Malick Evouna
• Kwesi Appiah
• Jordan Ayew
• John Boye
• Asamoah Gyan
• Wakaso Mubarak
• Kévin Constant
• Ibrahima Traoré
• Mohamed Yattara
• Seydou Doumbia
• Wilfried Kanon
• Yaya Touré
• Bakary Sako
• Modibo Maïga
• Sambou Yatabaré
• Mame Biram Diouf
• Kara Mbodj
• Moussa Sow
• Oupa Manyisa
• Mandla Masango
• Thuso Phala
• Yassine Chikhaoui
• Mohamed Ali Moncer
• Emmanuel Mayuka
• Given Singuluma

1 own goal

• Thulani Hlatshwayo (playing against Algeria)

Awards

Pepsi Highest Scorer

• André Ayew

Player name	Games played	Goals scored	Assists	Minutes played	Source
André Ayew	6	3	2
Thievy Bifouma	4	3
Ahmed Akaïchi	4	3
Dieumerci Mbokani	6	3	1
Javier Balboa	6	3

Orange Man of the Competition

• Christian Atsu

Best Goalkeeper

• Sylvain Gbohouo

Nissan Goal of the tournament

• Christian Atsu vs. Guinea (3rd goal of the match)

Samsung Fair Player of the Tournament

• Kwesi Appiah

Fair Play of the tournament

 DR Congo

CAF Team of the Tournament

Goalkeeper	Defenders	Midfielders	Forwards
Sylvain Gbohouo Robert Kidiaba (tie)	Serge Aurier Harrison Afful Kolo Touré	André Ayew Yaya Touré Max Gradel Yannick Bolasie Gervinho	Christian Atsu Wilfried Bony

Discipline

In the final tournament, a player was suspended for the subsequent match in the competition for either getting red card or accumulating two yellow cards in two different matches. The disciplinary panel has the ability to increase the automatic one match ban for a red card (e.g. for violent conduct). Single yellow card cautions were erased at the conclusion of the group stage, and were not carried over to the knockout stage. The following players were or are suspended during the final tournament – for one or more games – as a result of red cards or yellow card accumulations:

Player	Offence	Suspension
Florent Rouamba	Carried over from qualification	Group A vs Gabon
Donashano Malama		Group B vs DR Congo
Eric Mathoho		Group C vs Algeria
Reneilwe Letsholonyane
Seydouba Soumah		Group D vs Ivory Coast
Gervinho	vs Guinea	Group D vs Mali Group D vs Cameroon
Diosdado Mbele	vs Congo vs Burkina Faso	Group A vs Gabon
Boris Moubhibo	vs Equatorial Guinea vs Gabon	Group A vs Burkina Faso
Cheick Tioté	vs Guinea vs Mali	Group D vs Cameroon
Naby Yattara	vs Ghana	Africa Cup of Nations qualifying
Ibán	vs Tunisia vs Ghana	Third place play-off vs DR Congo

Tournament team rankings

As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Final result
1	Ivory Coast	6	3	3	0	9	4	+5	12	Champions
2	Ghana	6	4	1	1	10	3	+7	13	Runner-up
3	DR Congo	6	1	4	1	7	7	0	7	Third place
4	Equatorial Guinea (H)	6	2	3	1	5	5	0	9	Fourth place
5	Congo	4	2	1	1	6	6	0	7	Eliminated in Quarter-finals
6	Algeria	4	2	0	2	6	5	+1	6
7	Tunisia	4	1	2	1	5	5	0	5
8	Guinea	4	0	3	1	3	6	−3	3
9	Senegal	3	1	1	1	3	4	−1	4	Eliminated in Group stage
10	Mali	3	0	3	0	3	3	0	3
11	Cape Verde	3	0	3	0	1	1	0	3
12	Gabon	3	1	0	2	2	3	−1	3
13(T)	Cameroon	3	0	2	1	2	3	−1	2
13(T)	Zambia	3	0	2	1	2	3	−1	2
15	South Africa	3	0	1	2	3	6	−3	1
16	Burkina Faso	3	0	1	2	1	4	−3	1

Marketing

Sponsorship

The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations has one title sponsor and seven official sponsors as shown below.

Match ball

The new Adidas Africa Cup Ball is called Adidas Marhaba (meaning Welcome, in Arabic). The Africa Cup 2015 Ball was unveiled 26 November 2014 following the controversy about the host situation for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.

Mascot

The official mascot of the tournament was "Chuku Chuku", a porcupine.

Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations took place on 17 January, at the Estadio de Bata, before the opening match of the tournament between hosts Equatorial Guinea and Congo.

Controversies

Drawing of lots

Guinea and Mali finished with equal records in Group D, thus the drawing of lots was required to choose who would advance into the quarter-finals. Prior to the draw, Mali coach Henri Kasperczak said that the tournament "must find a more sporting way , fairer...This does not correspond to a sporting spirit". His Guinean counterpart Michel Dussuyer said that neither team deserved to be eliminated in that manner.

Guinea won the draw, causing a complaint from Boubacar Diarra, president of the Malian FA. Issa Haytou, president of CAF, defended the process as the only option.

The CAF Disciplinary Committee's South African President Raymond Hack stated that CAF's Member Associations had chosen the option of picking lots ahead of penalties six months prior. He also said that the "Fair Play table was to be used but the countries object to that and they said the table must be taken out of the rules. Had the Fair play table been used, Guinea would have qualified ahead of Mali with a better disciplinary record."

Tunisia vs. Equatorial Guinea refereeing

Wadie Jary, the president of the Tunisian Football Federation, claimed that there was a bias against Tunisia following their controversial quarter-final defeat to Equatorial Guinea on 31 January 2015. He was banned from CAF competitions and activities. Rajindraparsad Seechurn, the Mauritian referee who gave a penalty to Equatorial Guinea in that match, was banned from officiating for six months and removed from CAF's elite register of referees. The Tunisian FA was fined $50,000 for confronting the referee during the match, in addition to damage to changing room facilities, while Equatorial Guinea was fined $5,000 for inadequate security at the stadium.

Equatorial Guinea vs. Ghana crowd incidents

During the semi-final fixture between host nation of Equatorial Guinea and Ghana several incidents occurred between the home fans, visiting fans and police. At the half-time break with Ghana leading the game 2-0, the Ghanaian players were protected from hostile Equatoguinean fans by police using plastic shields.

During the 82nd minute in the second half, fans rushed onto the pitch and missiles were thrown at the Ghanaian substitute players. The players moved onto the pitch to escape the missiles. The travelling Ghanaian fans were also targets and took shelter near the goal of the pitch, out of the range of those throwing objects. A helicopter was dispatched and used to disperse spectators out of the stadium by hovering at a low height above them. The Ghanaian FA described the incident as being similar to a "war zone".

Equatorial Guinea's Police force had fired smoke bombs into the stands in an attempt to bring order. The game was stopped for about 30 minutes, before recommencing for a few minutes.

CAF imposed a US$100k fine on the Equatoguinean Football Federation and were informed an 'official match' in Equatorial Guinea must be held 'behind closed doors' after the tournament's completion.

DR Congo defender Gabriel Zakuani stated that he would rather his team forfeit the third-place playoff instead of play in front of Equatorial Guinea's fans, an opinion which was not shared by his manager Florent Ibengé.

References

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2. "Atsu, Ayew win mvp and top scorer awards". CAFonline.com. 8 February 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
3. "Orange AFCON 2015 Awards and Best XI". CAF. 12 February 2015.
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13. "Mali and Guinea coaches unhappy at drawing lots for AFCON quarter-final place". The National. Agence France-Presse. 29 January 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
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17. ^ "Africa Cup of Nations: Referee banned for six months". BBC Sport. 4 February 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
18. "Africa Cup of Nations: Semi-final was 'war zone', says Ghana FA". BBC. 5 February 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
19. Ames, Nick (5 February 2015). "Ghana players, fans pelted with missiles in win over Equatorial Guinea". The Guardian. Guardian (UK). Retrieved 6 February 2015.
20. "SANCTIONS FOLLOWING THE INCIDENTS IN MATCH 30 GHANA-EQUATORIAL GUINEA". CAF. 6 February 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
21. "Africa Cup of Nations riot: DR Congo's Zakuani wants game off". BBC Sport. 6 February 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2015.

External links

• Orange Africa Cup Of Nations, Equatorial Guinea 2015, CAFonline.com

• 2015 Africa Cup of Nations
• 2014–15 in Algerian football
• 2014–15 in Tunisian football
• Ghana at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations
• Ivory Coast at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations
• 2015 in African football
• 2015 in Equatoguinean sport
• Africa Cup of Nations tournaments
• International association football competitions hosted by Equatorial Guinea
• January 2015 sports events in Africa
• February 2015 sports events in Africa