Group A of the

2015 Africa Cup of Nations The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations, Equatorial Guinea 2015 for sponsorship reasons, was the 30th staging of the Africa Cup of Nations, the international men's football championship of Africa. It was orga ...

was played from 17 January until 25 January in

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...

. The group consisted of the hosts

, Burkina Faso, Gabon, and

Congo Congo or The Congo may refer to either of two countries that border the Congo River in central Africa: * Democratic Republic of the Congo, the larger country to the southeast, capital Kinshasa, formerly known as Zaire, sometimes referred to a ...

. Congo and Equatorial Guinea advanced as group winners and runners-up respectively, while Gabon and Burkina Faso were eliminated.

Teams

;Notes

Standings

In the quarter-finals: *Congo advanced to play DR Congo (runner-up of Group B). *Equatorial Guinea advanced to play Tunisia (winner of Group B).

Matches

All times local, WAT ( UTC+1).

Equatorial Guinea vs Congo

The first goal of the tournament was scored by Emilio Nsue. Receiving a through ball from Kike, he slotted the ball low past the goalkeeper with his right foot from six yards out to open the scoring for the hosts after 16 minutes. Thievy Bifouma scored the equalizer for Congo with three minutes left, after being played in by

Dominique Malonga Dominique Sossorobla Malonga (born 8 January 1989) is a Congolese professional footballer who plays as a striker for Icelandic club Þór Akureyri. Malonga has previously played for Italian sides Torino, Foggia, Cesena, Vicenza and Pro Vercel ...

, he slotted it low into the net from the right of the six yard box.

Burkina Faso vs Gabon

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang opened the scoring in the 19th minute, as after his initial shot was saved, he collected the rebound and calmly slotted home from seven yards out with his right foot. Gabon sealed the win in the 72nd minute with

Malick Evouna Malick Evouna (born 28 November 1992) is a Gabonese professional footballer who plays as a striker for Egyptian club Aswan SC Career After scoring twelve goals in 17 matches in 2012–13 season for CF Mounana, Evouna joined Moroccan side Wyda ...

's header from

Frédéric Bulot Frédéric Bulot Wagha (born 27 September 1990), better known as Frédéric Bulot, is a Gabonese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Doxa Katokopias. He was a French youth international, having earned caps with all levels, beg ...

's cross.

Equatorial Guinea vs Burkina Faso

In the first goalless draw of the tournament, Burkina Faso hit the post twice, first through a free kick by Alain Traoré, then later when his shot was tipped to the post by

Felipe Ovono Felipe Ovono Ovono Mbang (born 26 July 1993) is an Equatorial Guinean professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Ethiopian Premier League club Sidama Coffee SC and the Equatorial Guinea national team. He was part of the squad at t ...

Gabon vs Congo

Congo secured their first win in the Africa Cup of Nations since 1974, as

Prince Oniangué Prince Alban Oniangué (born 4 November 1988) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder. Born in France, he plays for the Congo national football team, Republic of the Congo at international level. Club career Born in Paris, Oniangu ...

scored the only goal in the 48th minute after the Gabon defence failed to clear a corner.

Gabon vs Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea took the lead in the 55th minute through Javier Balboa's penalty, awarded after he was brought down by

Lloyd Palun Lloyd Palun (born 28 November 1988) is a professional footballer who most recently played for Ligue 2 club Bastia. Born in France, he represents Gabon at international level. He plays as a right-back or as a defensive midfielder. Club career P ...

. They sealed the win in the 86th minute, as Ibán converted the rebound after Emilio Nsue's shot was saved, confirming their qualification to the knockout stage and eliminating Gabon.

Congo vs Burkina Faso

Congo took the lead in the 51st minute, when Férébory Doré crossed for Thievy Bifouma to convert from close range. Burkina Faso equalized in the 86th minute, after Aristide Bancé scored from

Issiaka Ouédraogo Issiaka Ouédraogo (born 19 August 1988) is a Burkinabé footballer who plays as a forward for the Austrian 2. Landesliga The Austrian 2. Landesliga is the fifth tier of football in Austria. It is divided among the Austrian states by one or m ...

's cross, but Congo retook the lead one minute later, as from a Congo free kick, Burkina Faso goalkeeper

Germain Sanou Moussa Germain Sanou (born 26 May 1992) is a Burkinabé professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Paris 13 Atletico. Club career Sanou has played in Burkino Faso for Centre Saint-Étienne Bobo, and in France for Saint-Étienn ...

punched the ball and it hit Fabrice Ondama and went into the net. As a result, Congo qualified as group winners while Burkina Faso were eliminated.

References

External links

Orange Africa Cup Of Nations, Equatorial Guinea 2015
CAFonline.com {{2015 Africa Cup of Nations Group A