African News

Take a look at our player breakdown of Côte d'Ivoire and Nigeria during their 2013 Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final clash.

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Côte d'Ivoire

Boubacar Barry: Was at fault for Nigeria's opening goal and looked shaky throughout. 4/10

Emmanuel Eboue: Did not provide his usual attacking threat, and failed to cope with Emenike on more than one occasion. 5/10

Siaka Tiene: The left-back was effective going forward and had a few opportunities to create goalscoring opportunities, but like Gervinho, his end product was disappointing. 6/10

Sol Bamba: Was unfortunate with his deflection leading to the winning goal, otherwise fairly solid at the back for the Elephants. 6/10

Didier Zokora: "Maestro" was anything but, as he failed to stamp his authority on proceedings. 5/10

N'Dri Romaric: Had one free-kick that sailed harmlessly over the goal, but was relatively quiet for the most part. 5/10

Yaya Toure: Ivory Coast's best player in a losing effort as the midfield powerhouse bossed the midfield. Can hold his head up high despite the loss. 7/10

Cheick Tiote: Scored the equalising goal and was a threat at times, but had a tendency to drift in and out of the game. 6/10

Gervinho: The Arsenal attacker did not have his best game as he lacked the final product when in a position to threaten. 5/10

Salomon Kalou: The attacker flattered to deceived yet again and was rightly substituted after 68 minutes. His only real contribution was the yellow card he received for diving. 5/10

Didier Drogba: The captain failed to deliver in what will most likely be his last appearance on the big stage for the Ivory Coast. 5/10

Substitutes:

Max Gradel: The second half substitute provided an attacking outlet down the wing, and was fairly industrious in his time on the pitch. 6/10

Lacina Traore: Late introduction to the game for Romaric and did not have much of impact on the game. 5/10

Nigeria :

Vincent Enyeama: The keeper stood up to the challenge posed by Drogba et al and was not at fault for Tiote's eqauliser. 7/10

Efe Ambrose: The defender was solid throughout the game at the back for the Nigerians. 7/10

Kenneth Omeruo: Struggled at times with the physicality of the Ivorians, but came up trumps when needed most. 6/10

Godfrey Obobona: Like his defensive partner Omeruo, the physical aspect was too much to handle on occasion, but did not let his team down. 6/10

Elderson Echiejile: The left-back was as dependable as ever and looked good going forward. 6/10

Ogenyi Onazi: Given a yellow card for a rash challenge on Kalou early in the first half and was somewhat subdued for the remainder of the match. 5/10

John Obi Mikel: Dependable in the heart of midfield. Not the flashiest of players, but his last-ditch tackle to deny Traore a certain goal was as good as you're likely to see. 7/10

Brown Ideye: Ideye's performance was overshadowed by that of his attacking partners Emmanuel Emenike and Victor Moses, but his contribution was an important one nonetheless. 6/10

Sunday Mba: Scored a wonderful solo goal, albeit via a deflection, and the midfielder looks like a potential star for Nigeria going forward. 7/10

Victor Moses: Fantastic performance form the attacker as his pace and vision threatened throughout. The Chelsea star was easily the best player on the pitch. 9/10

Emmanuel Emenike: The powerful attacker was a constant threat and his 30 yard thunderbolt opened the scoring for the eventual winners. 7/10

Substitutes:

Joseph Yobo: The captain came on with five minutes left to protect the lead, and did that job as well would have been expected. 6/10