Burkina Faso tops Group C as Zambia and Nigeria draw

Burkina Faso beat Ethiopia 4-0 to go top of Group C with four points — two more than defending champion Zambia and continental power Nigeria.

Zambia and Nigeria drew 1-1 in the day's earlier game at Mbombela Stadium, leaving both teams needing a win in their final group matches to avoid an embarrassing first-round exit.

Burkina Faso had one the most convincing victory of the African Cup of Nations so far, despite having goalkeeper Abdoulaye Soulama sent off for handling the ball outside his penalty area. Having gone ahead 1-0 in the first half, Burkina Faso added three goals in the last 16 minutes to put the game away.

Alain Traore netted two of the goals and now tops the tournament scoring charts with three in two games.

The other match of the day was decided by two penalties, with Zambia goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene the winner in both instances.

Mweene first saw Nigeria's John Obi Mikel send a spot kick onto the outside of the post in the first half after diving the right way, and then scored one himself at the other end to equalize the game in the 85th minute.

Nigeria striker Emmanuel Emenike's smooth finish in the 57th minute had left Zambia's hopes of retaining its title hanging by a thread. But they were handed a lifeline when Egyptian referee Ghead Grisha awarded a penalty for a foul by Ogenyi Onazi — a decision which drew heavy criticism from the Nigerian camp.

On Saturday, Ivory Coast will play Tunisia in Group D with coach Sabri Lamouchi hoping the tournament favorite can improve on its underwhelming 2-1 win over Togo.

“This is not a life-or-death game,” Lamouchi said Friday through a translator. “Tomorrow, what is more important to me is the performance of the Elephants. Of course, taking the maximum points is also important, but we need to play better. We have to try to avoid making the same mistakes as we did the last time.”

The other Group D match in Rustenburg is between first-round losers Togo and Algeria.

Togo coach Didier Six missed the official pre-match press conference on Friday, sending an assistant in his place.

Six had walked out of the post-match news conference on Tuesday after saying just a few words, apparently upset with the referee's decision to disallow a Togo goal in the second half.

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