22 out of 22 - then Eto'o makes penalty howler
There are those who question the subtlety of Didier Drogba's touch and the accuracy of his finishing, but the tenacity of the Ivory Coast striker is not in doubt. Called upon twice in a marathon penalty shoot-out, he twice converted; while Cameroon's Samuel Eto'o - whom he will meet again in the Champions League in a little over a fortnight - could only send his second kick spiralling into the Cairo sky. So, 12-11 victors after a scarcely credible shoot-out, it was Ivory Coast who progressed to face Nigeria in the semi-final of the African Nations Cup on Tuesday.
Yesterday was the day of penalties in Egypt. Although it was to pale by comparison with what was to follow, the first quarter-final, between Nigeria - for whom Jay-Jay Okocha was again absent with a groin injury - and Tunisia in Port Said had seemed an exhausting affair. Obinna Nsofor had given Nigeria an early lead, but, after Clayton, Tunisia's Brazilian defender, had failed from the spot, Karim Haggui levelled just after half-time. When Tunisia went two up in the shoot-out, the defending champions looked to be heading into the last four. Two saves from Vincent Enyeama levelled the balance, though, and after Kanu had tucked in Nigeria's eighth penalty, it fell to the veteran Rahdi Bouazizi to suffer the ignominy of missing the decisive kick.
That, though, was nothing on what was to follow. At least there was the 90 minutes of normal time in the Military Stadium in which to catch the breath. The last quarter-final had been billed as the clash of the two strikers, and they added to that sense with a gladiatorial hug before kickoff, but neither was greatly involved in a game that was soon bogged down among a wealth of burly central midfielders. With extra-time, though, the match came alive. Ivory Coast took the lead after Arsenal's Emmanuel Eboue thundered a 30-yard drive against the bar, from where it rebounded to Bokari Kone on the edge of the box. He gathered and calmly steered a shot through a cluster of players and into a bottom corner. Two minutes later Geremi hit the bar, and two minutes after that, Cameroon were level, Albert Meyong Ze rolling home after Daniel Ngom Kone had taken down Jean Makoun's lofted pass.
In the shootout, Eto'o, with a little stutter, sent Jean-Jacques Tizie the wrong way with the first kick, but Drogba immediately levelled, initiating what was probably the most perfect sequence of penalties ever seen in an international. It was by an 11-10 margin that Ivory Coast won this tournament in Senegal in 1992, and once again their stamina was unimpeachable. Every player on both sides, including the two goalkeepers, scored - Geremi's effort was so powerful that it tore the net from its pegging; Alioum Saidou was permitted a second attempt after Jean-Jacques had saved his first effort, the goalkeeper having apparently strayed from his line. And so it fell, once again, to the two great icons of their teams. With the 41st penalty kick of an extraordinary day, Eto'o cracked and sent his kick high over the crossbar; with the 42nd, Drogba, calm amid the chaos, sent his nation into the semi-finals.