CAN - Côte d'Ivoire already have the championship glow

Five things we learned from Wednesday’s semi-finals.

Reuters/Louafi Larbi

• That Ghana need to find a decent striker to replace Asamoah Gyan when he is not on top form. The Al-Ain attacker has been a disappointment during the Africa Cup of Nations. To leave the tournament with one goal in the group stages and then a missed penalty in the sem- final is tough. But even Gyan’s skipper John Mensah scored more times than him – and he’s a defender.

• That exhaustion really does play a part. Ghana played 120 minutes against Tunisia in their 2-1 quarter final win on Sunday night in Franceville. Zambia played 90 minutes in their 3-0 breeze over Sudan on Saturday in Bata. Doesn’t take poor organisation to tell you who was at a disadvantage in Wednesday’s first semi-final in Bata.
  

• Côte d’Ivoire have the sheen of champions. They have scored nine goals in five matches and haven’t once been breached.

• Mali’s “Special K’s” of Cedric Kanté and Seydou Keita can ease away from international competition with their heads held high. They came out of retirement to help Mali’s youngsters achieve the country’s best result at the Cup of Nations for years. No shame in losing to Côte d’Ivoire in the semis.

• Ghana ran out of luck.