Ghana earned a semifinal clash with hosts Equatorial Guinea after dispatching a disappointing Guinea 3-0 in the Africa Cup of Nations Sunday.
The comfortable victory lifted the Black Stars into the last four of the competition for the fifth straight time and the result was scarcely in doubt once Christian Atsu had scored the first of his two goals after just four minutes.
Atsu connected with Andre Ayew’s neat backheel to beat Naby-Moussa Yattara in the Guinea goal.
Guinea, who only made the last eight at the expense of Mali after lots were drawn, fell further behind when defender Baissama Sankoh made a horrible hash of a clearance.
To the dismay of his teammates and Guinea supporters, he sliced it into the path of Kwesi Appiah, who added the second just before halftime.
Atsu, on loan at English Premier League Everton from Chelsea, sealed the victory with a stunning long range effort into the top corner on the hour mark.
There was still time for Yattara to complete a miserable evening for his team after recklessly hacking down Asamoah Gyan in stoppage time and earning a deserved red card.
Avram Grant’s men face the home nation Thursday, Equatorial Guinea earning its passage after a controversial 2-1 win over Tunisia.
Bony at the double
Sunday’s other quarterfinal saw two goals from new Manchester City signing Wilfried Bony lift the Ivory Coast to a 3-1 victory over Algeria.
Bony struck for the first time in the competition as he headed home in the 26th minute to put the Elephants on the front foot.
But sloppy defending allowed Hilal Soudani to equalize for Algeria early in the second half.
Boney then used his aerial power to connect with a free kick from new club teammate Yaya Toure to restore the lead for the Ivorians.
Gervinho added a late third on a counter attack at the death as Ivory Coast revenged an extra time defeat by Algeria at the same stage of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations.
Wednesday will see Herve Renard’s side face DR Congo in the semifinals in Bata.
