Mali and Nigeria registered decisive victories on the final day of the group stages to qualify from Group B to the quarter final stage of the 26th MTN African Cup of Nations in Ghana.

At the Sekondi Sports Stadium, the Super Eagles of Nigeria beat Benin 2-0 to go on four points, while Cote d'Ivoire defeated Mali 3-0 to net the maximum nine points from three matches, scoring eight goals and conceding only one.

At the Ohene Djan Sports Stadium in Accra, the Malians, who needed at least a draw to make the round of eight, allowed Didier Drogba to put them behind on eight minutes.

In the second half, the Malians failed to fight back and allowed Marco Zoro to double the count for the Elephants on 53 minutes.

The Malian party was indeed over when Bubakar Songo ticked his name on the score sheet with an 85th minute strike, giving the Ivorians a 3-0 advantage, which they carried to the end of the game.

For the Super Eagles of Nigeria, they benefited from the lack of scoring ability on the part of the Benin players to squeeze past Mali into the knock out stage.

Benin controlled the midfield most of the time but lacked the finesse to score goals as they fluffed chance upon chance, particularly in the first half.

The more experienced Nigerians took their time and waited for their opportunities to score and John Mikel Obi, who played above the ordinary, confirmed his class with a header that gave them the lead on 62 minutes.

Yakubu Aiyegbeni latched onto a through pass on 86 minutes and scored the second for Nigeria to cement their victory.

Nigeria will now trek to Accra to play Ghana on Sunday, while Cote d'Ivoire will return to Sekondi to challenge Guinea.