IVORY Coast topped Group B of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations with a perfect record, while Sudan sneaked through thanks to Les Elephants' two-goal margin of victory. Coming into the final two group stage games, Sudan needed not only a win and an Angola loss, but a two-goal margin of victory in one of the two games to advance. They got just that when Wilfried Bony scored Ivory Coast's second goal, putting his team 2-0 up while Sudan led 1-0.

Bony had a hand in both goals. In the 33rd minute, he played a cross from the left across the face of goal to the back post, where Emmanuel Eboue had made an intelligent run forward. He was poorly marked and had a simple tap-in to put his team ahead. Simultaneously, less than 30 seconds of real time after that goal, Eithab Careca Mudathir put Sudan up 1-0.

Ivory Coast's second came on a terrible defensive error. On a long ball over the top of the defense in the 64th minute, Dani Massunguna took a horrible touch back towards his net. It would have gone in for an own goal, but Bony followed up and tapped the ball in to claim a goal for himself and put Sudan in a position to go through. Angola would fight desperately to the end, but couldn't find a goal as Les Elephants captured a 2-0 victory to finish on nine points.

Mudathir completed a brace for his team in the 80th minute, giving Sudan an insurance goal and a 2-0 victory over Burkina Faso, who exit the tournament with zero points, despite being favorites to finish second in Group B.

Agencies