Yaya Toure was on the scoresheet again as the Ivory Coast surged towards the quarter finals of the Africa Cup of Nations with victory over Tunisia.

The Manchester City midfielder scored his second goal of the competition as part of a 3-0 win, which left the Elephants on the verge of qualification for the next stage.  

The Ivory Coast picked up three points in their opener against Togo, but produced a rather stuttering performance, and looked keen to showcase their attacking prowess second time out.

The team selection sounded a surprising note, with Sabri Lamouchi opting to leave Kolo Toure and Didier Drogba on the bench alongside City’s Abdul Razak.

Yaya Toure resumed his midfield role for his country after a silky showing in the previous game, and he enjoyed an attacking influence once more.

The tournament favourites were quick to seize control, and early dominance was converted into a lead by the 21^st minute, Gervinho firing home for his second goal in two games.

It took until the 87^th minute for the younger Toure to make the game safe, with a delicious left foot shot from outside the area which left no chance for the goalkeeper.

Should see Yaya Toure's goal in the African Cup of Nations. BRILLANT!

— Saad Mahmood (@SaadMahmood10) January 26, 2013

Yaya had already offered a glimpse of his threat going forward, threading several fine through balls which his strikers couldn’t make the most of. His powerful counter-attacking run from a Tunisia corner lasted nearly the entire length of the pitch, but the City man couldn’t quite complete the final pass.

Although Didier Ya Konan added a third in the 90^th minute, Drogba’s introduction midway through the second half had been designed to address an authoritative performance which lacked the killer goal.

Two efforts had previously been disallowed for offside, and Salomon Kalou will feel particularly aggrieved as replays showed that Gervinho was onside when he pulled the ball back for the former Chelsea man to fire home.

But largely the Elephants exerted their considerable influence but lacked sparkle in the final third.  

In the first half, any threat from Tunisia was neutralised without the goalkeeper having any significant test.

Another impressive midfield showing in the second period did slip on occasion, and Tunisia were afforded a few opportunities to snatch an equaliser before the late brace from the victors.

With two wins in their first two games, the Ivory Coast are on the verge of a quarter finals place ahead of their final group game against Algeria on Wednesday.

They will be hoping to reproduce such a confident performance to ensure their further participation in the competition. 

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