Also out is Burkina Faso, who impressed during qualifying but collapsed in Malabo, the victim of defensive miscues and breakdowns.
Ivory Coast and Ghana, consensus pre-tournament favorites, remain undefeated, each taking maximal points. The star-studded Elephants are through in Group B, while the Black Stars must still await the outcome of the final Group D matches.
Tunisia, also twice winners, is through as well. The Eagles of Carthage will play Gabon in Franceville on Tuesday for the top spot in Group C.
Zambia and Angola have played well and are likely quarterfinalists with four points apiece but need to take points in round three to confirm their spots.
The final knockout round berth is still up for grabs between Mali and Guinea, but Mali, facing winless Botswana on Wednesday, has the easier road. Mali will need to bring a more aggressive attitude than the timid approach adopted by coach Alain Giresse against Ghana.
In an odd confession after the match, the Frenchman defended his cautious tactics, “Ghana is a better team. We can’t play them even up.”
Goals have been plentiful, several of them spectacular, most notably David Alvarez’s long-range stoppage-time screamer for Equatorial Guinea to top Senegal and Bruno-Zita Mbanangoye’s curling free kick into the corner of the Morocco net that sent Gabon through.
Through two rounds, there've been only two draws, a 2-2 result between Libya and Zambia in a match played on a postdiluvian bog in Bata, and the same outcome between Angola and Sudan.
As with any international tournament, one of the pleasures is watching emerging young stars on the world stage.
Three have particularly impressed:
Andre “Dede” Ayew may have just turned 22 in December, but the attacking midfielder is already a bona fide star, earning 36 caps for Ghana, featuring in Ghana’s 2010 World Cup run, and being recognized by the BBC as its 2011 African Player of the Year. Like his father before him, the legendary Abedi “Pele” Ayew, Dede plays his club ball for Marseille, where his younger brother Jordan is also drawing praise.
