Africa Cup of Nations Day 11: Ghana, Algeria survive Group C gauntlet

The Group of Death at the Africa Cup of Nations is now settled, and two of the biggest names at the competition made it out alive. For most of the day, it seemed as though one of the continent's most talented teams would not be so lucky.

But Ghana, powered by Andre Ayew, overturned a deficit against South Africa to top the group, while Algeria simultaneously joined them by virtue of their win over Senegal.

Here's how Group C played out on Tuesday in Equatorial Guinea:

Algeria 2, Senegal 0

The Fennec Foxes went into the final day of Group C action on the outside looking in, sitting in third place while their opponents Senegal sat atop the heap.

Goals from Riyad Mahrez and Nabil Bentaleb changed that.

The Leicester City winger opened the scoring in the 11th minute, finding himself in acres of space and calmly slotting the ball home after an impressive first touch.

That was good. Bentaleb's tally, in the 82nd minute, was better.

From first to third in 90 minutes. Poor Senegal.

Ghana 2, South Africa 1

The Black Stars were the big winners of the day, coming back from a goal down against South Africa to not only advance, but top the group.

While the South Africans will go home without a victory in the competition, at least they can take solace in knowing that, at the moment, they are responsible for the best goal of the group stage.

Meet Mandla Masango, everyone.

A running start is for suckers. 

But sadly for the 2010 World Cup hosts, that fantastic strike was not enough. John Boye found leveled proceedings in the 73rd minute, and Ayew completed the comeback ten minutes later.

That the Marseille attacker was involved in the goal should come as no surprise.

As for the team with the best nickname on the continent (Bafana Bafana), defensive solidity was not a strength at this tournament.

You simply can't expect to win when you give away goals as frequently as Oprah Winfrey gives away free gifts to her audience.

Here are the final standings from Group C, with Ghana edging out Algeria for top spot thanks to their 1-0 win over the North African side: