Ivory Coast v Angola live!

52 Those must have been some pretty inspiring words by Angola coach Lito Vidigal during the half-time team talk and the players have responded fantastically, working hard for the ball, and each other, although they're dealing with an Ivory Coast team supremely high on confidence and leading by a goal to nil.

48 A corner for Angola early on in the second-half now, and a decoy run draws two men out of the area, allowing Djalma to whip a dangerous ball into a crowd of white shirts, but he can't get enough height on his delivery and the first defender is there to head away.

46 Referee Slim Jedidi blows his whistle and Angola, who have never made it past the quarter-final stages, get the second-half up and running. No changes by either side at the break.

HT So the half finishes with the scoreline at 1-0 to the Ivory Coast, who are currently heading into the quarter-finals as Group B winners. Angola, meanwhile, have Sudan snapping at their heels for the final qualifying position, with the Falcons of Jediane also leading 1-0 in their clash against Burkina Faso. That score leaves Sudan level on points with Angola in second, and with only a goal difference of +1 separating the sides, it's too tight to call just yet. Join me after the break for the second half.

45 The fourth official shows we will have just one minute of time added on before the break.

42 Shantu believes that Ivory Coast goal was just the first of many, and writes: Hi Ryan, the goal will wake the mighty elephants up and I think we can expect a few more goals here. If Drogba comes on will definitely get a show, but if we at 3-0 already he won't be needed.

40 No time for Angola to feel sorry for themselves here, and they know it. There's still everything to play for and they're looking to keep their heads up and find a way back into the match. Five minutes left of regulation time in the first-half.

33 Curse of the commentator there I'm afraid, and Ivory Coast make the break through. It comes rather fortuitously though as Miguel gets his feet twisted in knots in the area, allowing Wilfried Bony's weak delivery to creep through to Emmanuel Eboue who came sliding in at the back post to give the Elephants the lead.

32 GOAL! Ivory Coast 1-0 Angola! Emmanuel Eboue!

30 It's just gone 30 minutes and it's still Ivory Coast on top, although the mighty Elephants have not threatened too much, and the longer is stays 0-0 the more chance Angola will have of sneaking something special here tonight.

27 Signs of what the Angolans can do now as some good work down the left ends with Macanga being teed up on the edge of the area, but the captain will have to work on his shooting if he hopes to breach the Elephants defence today as he slices his shot horribly wide.

22 Palancas Negras are coming more into this game as the half draws on, and Cote d'Ivoire would do well to try disrupt the steady tempo Lito Vidigal's men are beginning to build on. It's also 0-0 in the night's other Group B encounter between Sudan and Burkina Faso. Back in Malabo, Macanga becomes the first Angola player to go into the referee's book for a cynical challenge outside the area.

16 First shot of the game, and first save. The Ivory Coast move the play up the field swiftly and the ball is fed through to Wilfried Bony who sprints through on goal before unleashing a stinging low drive. Wilson is equal to the challenge though and gets down well to tip the ball to safety, but the warning signs are there of what the Elephants are capable of.

13 Angola venture forward on a rare attack, and they win a free-kick in a dangerous area on the left flank. Djalma looks to play a clever ball square across the area, but the Elephants defenders are quick to react and nip in to rob back possession. Bit of a waste of a set-piece if I'm to be honest.

9 Angola are beginning to win the ball at more regular intervals now, but they all too quickly concede possession back to the Ivorians, with sloppy passing the biggest culprit for the central Africans at the moment.

5 As expected the Elephants have controlled the lion's share of possession in the early stages of the match, although they are yet to mount an attack with any real intent. That is mostly down to some good organisation at the back by Angola though, and coach Lito Vidigal has done his homework it seems.

1 The referee blows his whistle and the Ivory Coast get this final Group B match under way.

The two sets of players have taken to the field and line up for the respective anthems. The stadium is barely at one-third capacity, but the supporters who have made it out there tonight are in fine voice and ready to cheer their side to victory.

Meanwhile, Angola make just two changes to the side that drew against Sudan last time out, with Wilson coming in for suspended goalkeeper Carlos, while Flavio's lackluster performances so far have seen him switched out in favour of Dede.

So let's quickly digest those team sheets then. The Elephants make no fewer than nine changes to their squad for tonight's match, with Kolo Toure and Sol Bamba the sole remaining survivors from the win over Burkina Faso, while the likes of Chelsea strike duo Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou, and Arsenal hitman Gervinho, are all rested.

Ivory Coast: Daniel Yeboah, Arthur Boka, Kolo Toure, Sol Bamba, Igor Lolo, Emmanuel Eboue, Max Gradel, Wilfried Bony, Kafoumba Coulibaly, Didier Ya Konan, Seydou Doumbia

Angola: Wilson, Airosa, Massunguna, Dede, Djalma, Macanga, Manucho, Zuela, Gilberto, Miguel, Mateus

The teams are in...

The team sheets should be coming across my desk any moment now, but before we delve into that why not first take the chance to get involved by dropping me a line at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and share your thoughts, predictions or footballing whatevers with Africa, and the rest of the world.

Care to make it a little more interesting? Well, our friends at Sky Bet reckon the Ivory Coast have this one in the bag as 4/5 favourites, while Angola are at 5/1 to cause an upset. But with Didier Drogba 4/5 to score in 90 minutes, the writing could be on the wall for Lito Vidigal's men.

Angola, meanwhile, can progress to the last-eight with a draw, or even a loss, but the latter is only possible provided Sudan fail in their bid to wrench all three points away from Group B basement dwellers Burkina Faso. The two AFCON encounters kick-off simultaneously, and I'll do my best to keep you updated with the evening's other score.

We've got top spot up for grabs in Group B tonight, plus a skirmish for the final qualifying spot, so buckle up, cause this one could get bumpy. Cote d'Ivoire are already guaranteed their place in the quarter-finals, but that won't stop Francois Zahoui's men from looking to maintain their 100% record in the group and secure their spot at the summit.

Good evening ladies and gentlemen, I'm Ryan Gordon and I'll be taking you through what promises to be a barnstorming Africa Cup of Nations clash between one of the favourites Ivory Coast and 2010 AFCON hosts Angola.

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