Henri Michel was the villain for Moroccan media after the Atlas Lions were stunned 3-2 by Guinea, whilst newspapers in Ghana were not convinced with the 1-0 win over outsiders Namibia. Man of the day: Guinea coach Robert Nouzaret deserved to be the man of the day after he managed to deal cleverly with the sending off of his captain and star man Pascal Feindouno in the second half of the game. The French manager led the 10-man Syli Nationale to holding firm against a full Morocco side, securing the vital three points in Accra. Nouzaret guided the Guineans to the Ghana finals after taking over from compatriot Patrice Neveu in 2006. Goal of the day: Another emphatic effort from distance. Morocco substitute Hicham Aboucherouane scored within five minutes of his introduction with a left-foot blaster, but his brilliant strike was not enough for the Atlas Lions. Moment of the day: As soon as Feindouno left the pitch, following his red card, the first one to console him was Ghana coach Claude Leroy. The Frenchman has been involved in a war of words with compatriot Nouzaret before the game, but it seems that he has no problems with the Guinea captain. Disappointment of the day: Feindouno was handed the first red card of the competition. A moment of madness marred his virtuoso performance, which saw him scoring two goals and setting up one to inspire Guinea to the 3-2 win over the Moroccans.
Feindouno: red-carded The Guinea skipper could have been easily the man of the day hadn't he unnecessarily lashed out at Morocco defender Amine Erbai, leaving the referee with no choice but to give him straight red for an off-the-ball challenge. What the Papers Said Frenchman Michel was vastly criticized for making all-round changes to the side that thrashed Namibia 5-1 last week. "Shame on you Michel, you let Moroccans down" read the headline of Annoukhba sports newspaper. Casafree said that Morocco could not qualify to the quarter-finals because of "Michel's strange selection" and the "players' poor display". On the other hand, Guinea News revealed that Syli Nationale fans filled the streets in jubilance after the massive win over Morocco. The Ghanaians were not that satisfied with the narrow victory over Namibia though, as Modern Ghana stated: ''Unimpressive Ghana cruise on''. On the contrary, some headlines of Namibian media reflected a state of contentment despite the defeat, Namibian New Era posted: ''Warriors go down fighting''. Namibia Sport Magazine also stated: ''Namibia lose after great display''.
