PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa -- Asamoah Gyan powered Ghana into the knockout rounds and Mahamadou Samassa's equalizer squeezed Mali through as the first two quarterfinal lineups were decided at the African Cup of Nations on Monday.
Nearing top gear, Ghana will face Cape Verde in a match pitting the four-time champion against the tournament debutant in Port Elizabeth.
Because of its problems back home, Mali will have the support of many neutrals in a meeting with host South Africa, which will have the overwhelming backing of a 50,000-strong crowd in Durban.
Gyan scored one and set up two as Ghana finally announced itself as a genuine title contender with a 3-0 win over Niger to finish top of Group B. Mali's 1-1 draw with Congo saw it qualify second in the group.
