Ibrahima Sory Sankhon’s goal at the stroke of halftime was enough to earn Guinea a quarterfinal spot at the expense of Africa’s powerhouse Nigeria, in the ongoing Orange African Nations Championship (CHAN) in Rwanda.

Nigeria, who started the day top of Group C, had been considered favourites by many but a resilient Guinea side, who are CHAN debutants, played their hearts out, especially in the second half, to make it to the last eight.

The second half started with Nigeria introducing Elvis Chisom Chikatara, the tournament’s leading scorer, who came on for Onobi Paul Odeh.

Chikatara tried to threaten the Guinea defence in his first minutes on the pitch but that was it.

In the other Group C game, Tunisia thrashed Niger 5-0 to top the group going into the knockout rounds. Saad Bguir scored a brace while Ahmed Akaichi, Mohamed Ben Amor and Essif Hichem added one each.

Tunisia face the runners-up in Group D while Guinea will play the leaders of Group D in the quarterfinals.

Group D is comprised of Zambia, Mali, Uganda and Zimbabwe, who have already been eliminated from the biennial tournament. The group play their final matches today.

The other teams that have already progressed to the next stage include Rwanda, Morocco, Cameroon and DR Congo.

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