Ivory Coast

Ivory Coast ended the dream of co-host Equatorial Guinea, while Zambia knocked out Sudan’s team of home-based players to make the last four for the first time in 16 years.

Ivory Coast awaits the winner of the Gabon-Mali match on Sunday, while Zambia will face either Ghana or Tunisia.

Ivory Coast captain Didier Drogba scored his team’s two opening goals in the 36th and 69th minutes to make amends for a 29th-minute penalty miss, and Yaya Toure fired a free kick in the 80th to put the cup-favorite through in Malabo.

Goals from Stophira Sunzu, Christopher Katongo and James Chamanga helped Zambia overwhelm 10-man Sudan in Bata.

“My teammates gave me a lot of encouragement after missing the penalty and I had to score for them,” Drogba said. “I owed it to them.”

The teams stood for a minute’s silence before each quarterfinal in memory of the more than 70 people killed at a football match in Egypt this week. Although Egypt did not qualify for the tournament, a handful of Egyptian fans displayed a flag with the words, “Miss you Egypt you still No. 1” at the Nuevo Estadio de Malabo.

Tunisia wants to wear black armbands in its quarterfinal against Ghana at Stade de Franceville on Sunday as a mark of respect, although it was unclear if tournament organizer, the Confederation of African Football, would permit the gesture.

Equatorial Guinea never really threatened Ivory Coast’s cast of Europe-based stars, but bowed out of the tournament with honor after making a mockery of its lowly ranking to reach the knockout stage.

“I’m satisfied with the work of my team today, but I’m not happy with the defeat,” coach Gilson Paulo said. “I knew it was going to be a very difficult game. We were playing a very technical team with a lot of experience.”

After crowd troubles outside the stadium before previous matches, police and soldiers again mounted a heavy security operation before the game in Malabo.

Armed riot police with body armor set up at least five different checkpoints and the stadium was still not quite full at kickoff, with fans dribbling in the gates throughout the first half.

A sign of how important the match was to the Equatorial Guinea players came as the crowd joined in a rousing rendition of the national anthem. Midfielder Ben Konate and defender Fousseny Kamissoko both appeared to have tears in their eyes as they sang along.

Equatorial Guinea president Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who has ruled the tiny west African nation since a 1979 coup, watched from a glass-fronted box.

The home side, ranked 133 places below Ivory Coast, knocked out Libya and Senegal to reach the quarterfinals from Group A with a tight defense forming the base for rapid counterattacks.

When Clementino saved Drogba’s penalty, the co-host looked capable of springing another shock, but the Ivory Coast captain responded almost immediately with a clinical finish to give his side the lead after a defensive error.

Drogba nodded a header into the net from Yaya Toure’s free kick in the second half to give Ivory Coast a cushion and prompt many home fans to leave the stadium.

“I was disappointed with the people in Malabo because of that,” Equatorial Guinea defender David Alvarez said. “They started to leave instead of giving the team more encouragement.”

Yaya Toure swerved a free kick into the top corner in the 81st minute to seal the victory.

“We have fantastic players and fantastic strikers, but we have to fight to make sure we win this competition,” Toure said.

In the Estadio de Bata, Sunzu headed in from a free kick in the 15th minute for Zambia against Sudan, and Katongo made it 2-0 in the 66th when he scored from a rebound after his penalty was saved.

Sudan made the knockout stage for the first time in 42 years, but was outclassed by an impressive Zambia team.

James Chamanga came off the bench to seal Zambia’s dominance in the 86th with a curling shot from the edge of the area that went in off the post.

Sudan’s hopes of an upset at a near-deserted stadium slipped away when defender Saifeldin Ali Idris was sent off in the 65th for a reckless foul on Rainford Kalaba that led to Katongo’s spot kick.

Chamanga’s late goal was the pick of the three as he controlled neatly and sent a curling right-footed effort toward the far corner that was too good for goalkeeper Akram El Hadi Salem. (AP)

U.S. soccer said in a release Thursday night the Americans will play its first match in Canada since 1997 as part of centennial celebrations for the Canada Soccer Association. The U.S. team then begins qualifying for the 2014 World Cup five days later at home against Antigua and Barbuda in Group A of the semifinal round.

Canada will go to Cuba for a Group C game.

The last time the teams met in Canada, the United States won 3-0 to qualify for the 1998 World Cup in France.

Ghana

Clashes between fans of clubs Al-Ahly and Al-Masry on Wednesday resulted in the sport’s worst violence since at least 78 people were killed during a stampede at a 1996 World Cup qualifier between Guatemala and Costa Rica in Guatemala City.

The Confederation of African Football, which organizes the African Cup, said a minute’s silence would be held before all quarterfinals this weekend as a mark of respect for the dead. About 1,000 people were injured.

In Gabon, Ghana drew 1-1 with Guinea to win Group D and set up a quarterfinal against Tunisia on Sunday. While Mali came from behind to beat Botswana 2-1 and advance in second spot to meet co-host Gabon, also on Sunday.

Zambia plays Sudan and tournament favorite Ivory Coast goes up against co-host Equatorial Guinea in Saturday’s quarterfinals.

But Africa’s showpiece event is bound to take on a more somber mood after the incidents in Egypt’s Mediterranean city of Port Said, where hundreds of fans clashed on the field and players and team officials were also in danger from the chaotic violence.

“This is a black day for football. Such a catastrophic situation is unimaginable and should not happen,” Blatter said in a statement.

CAF President Issa Hayatou said: “African football is in a state of mourning.”

At the African Cup, Ghana settled for a draw at a near-empty Stade de Franceville against a Guinea team desperate to continue at the tournament.

Ghana went ahead with a high-quality goal from Emmanuel Agyemang Badu in the 28th minute, the forward volleying into the top left corner from outside the penalty area to put the title contender in charge.

Guinea equalized through Abdoul Razzagui Camara’s lofted cross which sailed over goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey and into the far corner. The Guineans then piled forward in search of the victory that would revive their hopes of making the last eight, but they had Mamadou Dioulde Bah sent off with 20 minutes to go and their challenge faded.

In Libreville, goals from Garra Dembele and Barcelona’s Seydou Keita completed Mali’s fightback, leaving the Malians to watch a giant TV screen after fulltime at Stade de l’Amitie to see if the result in Franceville would send them through.

Even with five minutes of stoppage time left, the Guineans couldn’t overcome their one-man deficit with a winning goal that would have left all three teams on six points—and the last two quarterfinal places to be decided by number of goals scored.

Ghana went through, even if the four-time champion wasn’t overly impressive.

“It was just important that we qualified for the next stage. At the end of the day, the most important thing is making sure you qualify,” assistant coach Kwesi Appiah said.

Guinea coach Michel Dussuyer praised his team for its spirited performance but criticized the refereeing of South African Daniel Bennett.

“Fouls, fouls, fouls against us,” Dussuyer said. “We all know that Ghana is a great team but it didn’t need the help of the referee.”

The African Cup has two days off before Saturday’s first two quarterfinals, and the time will likely be spent reflecting on Egypt’s worst case of football violence and one of African football’s lowest moments. (AP)

Internacional of Brazil also advanced 3-2 on aggregate after holding Once Caldas to a 2-2 draw in Colombia.

Ronaldinho took the free kick that led to Leonardo Moura’s header to open the scoring in the 39th minute at the Engenhao stadium, squaring the tie at 2-2 and putting Flamengo up on the away goals rule.

Then the two-time FIFA player of the year sealed the victory in second-half stoppage time, dribbling past a defender and finding the net from inside the area.

“We reached our initial goal which was to reach the next round,” Ronaldinho told reporters.

Real Potosi had won the first leg 2-1 last week in Bolivia.

The Bolivians went a man down in the 78th after defender Claudio Centurion was sent off for a hard foul.

“We knew that if we played hard here it would be hard to lose this match and that’s what happened,” Moura said.

Flamengo will join Argentina’s Lanus, Paraguay’s Olimpia and Ecuador’s Emelec in the Group 2 of the premier club competition in Latin America.

Flamengo got the win despite an internal crisis due to delayed salaries to some of its top players, including former Brazil star Ronaldinho. Some fans had been pressuring club directors to fire coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo, and local media reported that former South Africa coach Joel Santana was set to take over his spot.

Flamengo, Brazil’s most popular club, won the Copa Libertadores in 1981 with a team led by former Brazil playmaker Zico.

Internacional, the Copa Libertadores champion in 2006 and 2010, reached the group stage with the 2-2 draw in Manizalez after it had won 1-0 at home last week in Porto Alegre.

Once Caldas, the champion in 2004, opened the scoring with a penalty converted by Paraguayan Jorge Daniel Nunez in the third minute, but Internacional took control with goals from Argentine playmaker Andres D’Alessandro in the 10th and midfielder Tinga in the 21st. Once Calda drew in the 24th with Mario Gonzalez.

“We deserved the victory,” D’Alessandro said. “We got behind early but we were able to recover.”

Inter will play in Group 1, along with defending champion Santos, Peru’s Juan Aurich and Bolivia’s The Strongest. (AP)

Terry’s lawyers entered a not guilty plea on his behalf at Westminster Magistrates Court and the case was adjourned for trial on July 9.

England boss Capello, who got the agreement of FA chairman David Bernstein for Terry to skipper the side against Sweden in November, less than a month after the alleged verbal assault on QPR’s Anton Ferdinand, has insisted he will stick to his opinion the 31-year-old is innocent until proven otherwise.

While it is likely that line will hold, senior FA figures are known to be concerned about the potential ramifications of England being led into the tournament by a player whose international future will be determined by the outcome of the trial.

Wembley chiefs will not make any definitive ruling at this stage, allowing time for ongoing assessment, discussions and conversations about the policy that may be adopted.

And one possible outcome could see Capello informed that he must either change his captain or even not select Terry for the squad.

Capello is reluctant to take that position, having previously let it be known he would not want to omit a player on grounds of the potential outcome of legal proceedings and then see him cleared of any charges.

After the hearing, Terry’s legal team released a statement which said the England captain “looks forward to the opportunity to clear his name”.

It added: “Mr Terry denies making any racist statement and will establish in court that he is not guilty of any such offence. Mr Terry has never racially abused another player in his entire career.”

But the FA did come under pressure to take a stronger line and announce Terry would not be selected for the tournament with former Blackburn striker Jason Roberts, now with Reading, demanding tough action.

Roberts Tweeted: “I have seen the Ferdinand case has been put back. On this basis, I do not believe that the England captain should go to the Euros.

“Innocent until proven guilty is not always the case in football, as Rio Ferdinand found out in his case. Also more importantly, believe me, the dressing room at the Euros will be TOXIC unless the correct decision is made.” (Mirror Football)

Sudan

Sudan are ahead in goal difference with Angola although both have four points and end as runner-up of group B.

Sudan, which needed to win to qualify for the quarter-finals played attacking football sing the first minute. Eithab Careca Mudathir gave hope for Sudan when he in the 33rd minute. In the second half, Mudathir scored again in the 80th minute and gave Sudan a 2-0 lead.

At the end of the game, Issiaka Ouedraogo scored for Burkina Faso in the 90th minute.

In the group B standings, Sudan are ranked second with four points and lead on goal difference over Angola

“If the Argentina soccer federation has enough money, Guardiola will be the national coach. This is a dream to appoint him as a coach,” said Grondona, according to Ona FM as reported by Goal.com.

Pep is expected to lead Argentina to win a World Cup title with Lionel Messi, who has expressed a commitment to play well. Grondona assess the 40-year-old coach is able to do it if we refer to his journey with Barca.

Pep started to coach Barcelona since 2008 and has led the “Catalan” to win 13 trophies, including three La Liga titles and two Champions League titles until now.

Argentina themselves had twice replaced national team coach since the 2010 World Cup in South America. Sergio Batista took over the the place of Diego Maradona before being replaced by Alejandro Sabella in the summer.

Equatorial Guinea

It is Brazilian coach Gilson Paulo who is believed to fill the place left by Henri Michel.

Michel himself resigned afrer arguing with the Equatorial Guinea national team management.

While Gilson Paulo admitted to be pleased to have confidence in handling the national team. He expressed his readiness to make history at the 2012 Africa Cup tournament, where Equatorial Guinea will be hosts with Gabon.

Gilson Paulo has coaching experience with Vasco Da Gama, Olara, Bangu and Portuguesa in Brazil.

Huntelaar became top scorer of the Euro qualifiers with 12 goals and helped the Netherlands qualify automatically for the finals. In Poland and Ukraine, the Netherlands joins a heavy group with Denmark, Germany, and Portugal.

“I want us to become champions,” said Huntelaar to Bild about his ambitions this year.

“We want to be champions of Europe despite having to face tough teams like Germany. There are only two teams that qualify from the group stage and I want to beat Germany. The defeat last November in a friendly is painful and is not a pleasant feeling. However, we learn from the defeat.”

Germany trashed the Netherlands 3-0 in friendly match in Hamburg last November.