Ivory Coast will be sheepishly running back home

The Cameroon quickly got into their stride in group C to take spot with a show of strength and skill that crushed all before them. The DR Congo took second spot by victory in a winner takes all contest with Ivory Coast in the last group game.

It was tough on the Ivory Coast who ended up with nothing as they had matched Cameroon blow for blow until the strength of the current champions came through and in a 1-0 victory thanks to a late header from Patrick Mboma. In both this game and against DR Congo, Kader prompted away and ran his heart out to no avail upfront.

Mboma

Mboma had already shown what a deadly striker he is in the first game with a absolutely sumptuous left-foot strike to dispatch Togo. For many however the Lions lacked cohesion s lot of the time and slumped to a 3-1 defeat against DR Congo which enabled the Central Africans to claim the second place.

The DR Congo are very much a Jekyll and Hyde outfit. In Shabani Nonda they possess a striker of the highest quality, and his return to the fold after leaving for medical treatment in Monaco was important. Newcastle United's Lualua helps to provide pace and support. He was on hand to open the scoring against Ivory Coast. Their defence is not quite in the Cameroonian league for muscular abrasiveness, but they have their moments.

Togolese heads dropped after the second Cameroonian goal in the final game as they looked in vain for the offside flag. It was no surprise they
conceded a quick third to Samuel Eto'o. Having gone into the game with a point from the draw with Ivory Coast they had fancied their chances of getting the result they needed.

Group C never looked like deviating from the script.