I thought Benin played with a lot of heart, a lot of drive. Though Chrysostome (as much as I love defending tall, thin people such as myself) got away with a lot, he really could have been sent off in the first half-hour. Razak Omotoyossi though, a very good little player. He could become a folk hero in Benin if he keeps this up.
Toure's injury sullied the match a bit for me, not just because I'm a Gooner but because he's a really good guy and you hate to see the nice guys get injured in this age of millionaire playboys. I smiled when he hugged Yaya after Yaya scored, he was so excited for him.
CIV's only glaring weakness is Barry, unfortunately for them he's the goalkeeper, the most vulnerable position on the pitch. If Kolo is going to miss the knockout stage they could be on shaky ground.
Nigeria, that's just inexcusable. Berti Vogts is an awful manager. How can you NEED a goal and not only remove Martins, a genuine goal threat, but later take off Odemwingie AND leave Kanu, a player with a penchant for scoring as a sub, on the bench? He needs to be fired tomorrow morning. A big team like Nigeria shouldn't be out this early.
That said Mali earned the draw and you could argue did enough for a win, but they're done, the group belongs to the Elephants.