Cheers for co-hosts, boos for Ba and Lions of Atl

[WINNERS & LOSERS] Co-hosts Equatorial Guinea and Gabon were the surprises of the Africa Cup of Nations, advancing to the quarterfinals that will be heldthis weekend. On the other hand, African powerhouses Senegal and Morocco exited quickly. For a look at the tournament's winners and losers ...

WINNERS

Brazilian Gilson Paulo took over as coach of co-host Equatorial Guinea two weeks before the start of the Africa Cup of Nationswhen he replaced Frenchman Henri Michel, but he was given a one-year extension after he led the Nzalang Nacional to wins over Libya and Senegal and a place inthe final eight.

French-born striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored in all three games to lead Gabon in thequarterfinals. Distinctive with his Mohawk, the 22-year-old Aubameyang is following in the footsteps of his father,world cup 2014 jerseys, Patrice, who captained Gabon at the 1994African championship.

Kily, one of the Spanish-based stars of Equatorial Guinea, qualified for Equatorial Guinea because his father is a native of theWest African country, hopes to parlay his success into a pro contract. He isn't picky. “I don’t need to earn millions and millions of euros, I would just be happy to have a professionalcontract and play football for a living,” Kily, who plays for Spanish fourth division club Langreo,Reuters.

Sudan is the only team at theAfrican Cup of Nations to be comprised exclusively of home-based players, but it ended its winless streak of nine matches in three previous African Cup appearances since its championship in 1970 witha 2-1 win over Burkina Faso to edge Angola for second place in Group B.

One of the celebrities of the African Cup of Nations has been Ivory Coast superstar Didier Drogba's mother, Clotilde,soccer jerseys cheap, who has been operating an outdoor kitchen under a gazebo for Ivory Coast fans who traveled to Equatorial Guinea forthe tournament. She says she is doing her part to support Ivory Coast. "The best moment is when you make a good meal and people are satisfied," Clotilde AP. "But it's even better when Didier scores and the teamwins."

LOSERS

Angola brought its own police as security to Equatorial Guinea,soccer jerseys cheap, and they wereneeded after the Palancas Negras were eliminated. About 20 truncheon-wielding police stopped journalists from asking players questions in the mixed zone following the 2-0 loss to Ivory Coast.

With 15 goals to his credit for Newcastle United of the English Premier League, Demba Ba was expected to be one of the stars of Africa Cup of Nations butwent scoreless as Senegal was knocked out after losing all three games. "We have to forget what has happened here," said the French-born striker.

One of the pre-tournament favorites wasMorocco, but the Lions of Atlas exited after losses in their first two games to Tunisia and Gabon. Coach Eric Geretsexpects to keep his job of preparing Morocco for World Cup qualifying,cheap soccer jerseys,world cup jerseys,world cup 2014 jerseys, but he is decidedly less optimistic than he was was a couple of weeks ago. "If you had asked me before the tournament whether Ithought we could qualify for Brazil, the answer would have been 'yes' but now we'll have to wait and see how the players bounce back," the Belgian said.