ed his heel to slide the ball to Atsu for the goal.The match slowed

RENTON, Wash. -- Earl Thomas is the latest member of the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks to be locked up for the future. The best free safety in the NFL is getting rewarded quite well. Thomas and the Seahawks reached agreement Monday on a $40 million, four-year contract extension with just over $27.7 million guaranteed, according to two people with knowledge of the agreement. They spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because there had been no announcement from the team. The agreement was first reported by NFL.com. Thomas, a two-time first-team All-Pro, could have gone into the 2014 season with free agency on the horizon. Instead, Seattle made sure to keep the most important cog of its defence through the 2018 season. Its the latest move in a strong off-season for the defending champions. While there were losses in free agency and difficult roster decisions with expensive veterans released, Seattle re-signed defensive end Michael Bennett before free agency began, then locked up coach Pete Carroll with an extension through 2016. The debate was whether Seattle could get a long-term deal done with either Thomas or cornerback Richard Sherman before either became a free agent after the 2014 season. Thomas deal is finished and the Seahawks can turn their attention toward trying to get a deal done with Sherman and solidifying three-fourths of the top secondary in the NFL for years to come. Strong safety Kam Chancellor is already signed through the 2017 season. Thomas was Seattles second first-round pick in the 2010 draft, the first with Carroll and general manager John Schneider leading the franchise. Its turned out to be one of the most important selections the team has made since starting a makeover with the duo in charge of moulding the Seahawks into a championship club. "Earl is as serious a competitor as you could ever hope to be around. He is in it, and hes on it and dialed in," Carroll said before the Super Bowl. Thomas was Seattles second-leading tackler last season and added five interceptions, but its what his presence allows the Seahawks to do defensively that underscores his value. His speed in coverage and recognition in the secondary are among the best in the game. Much of what Seattle wants to do defensively is predicated on having Thomas on the roster. At one point early in his career, Carroll had to threaten Thomas with benching because he was trying to do too much. Thomas was getting out of position and being undisciplined in his assignments. As he matured, those mistakes became harder to find. Thomas recognition of what opponents were trying to run became so good that he could play alone in the back of Seattles defence. Often this past season, the Seahawks were able to move Chancellor closer to the line of scrimmage and ask Thomas to patrol the back end by himself. He did that job at an elite level and earned his second straight All-Pro selection. "In this defence, I think me and Kam do a lot. Sometimes dirty work, sometimes a lot of game-changing plays," Thomas said during Super Bowl week. "Everybody on the defence understands that. Thats why this defence is so compatible with each other. Its selfless guys. "Were going to put everything on the line for each other. Love is the highest frequency we have and we understand that, and thats what its all about. When youre filled up with gratitude, its a genuine appreciation for everybody around you. Thats the way I love it." Thomas has 15 career interceptions in the regular season and two more in the playoffs. Thomas will still only be 29 years old when his new deal expires after the 2018 season. MALABO, Equatorial Guinea - Didier Drogba is gone, and he might soon be forgotten when it comes to Ivory Coasts national soccer team.Wilfried Bony, the newest exceptional striker from the country that also produced Yaya Toure, scored a pair of goals Sunday to put his team into the semifinals of the African Cup of Nations.The Ivorians beat Algeria 3-1 at Malabo Stadium, and it was Bony who twice gave his team the lead with headers.I think the Ivory Coast team is very lucky, Ivory Coast coach Herve Renard said. He was the best scorer in England in 2014. I think when you just said that, you can explain everything.The soon-to-be Manchester City forward first headed in a cross from Max Gradel in the 26th minute after being left completely alone at the far post. Bony scored another in the 68th by nodding in a free kick taken by Toure, his new club teammate at City.The Ivorians, who won their only African Cup title in 1992, will next face Congo on Wednesday in Bata. Four-time champion Ghana, which beat Guinea 3-0 in the other quarterfinal match, will play tournament host Equatorial Guinea in the semifinals on Thursday in Malabo.With Drogba in the team, the Ivorians twice reached the African Cup final, but both times lost on penalties. The last time was in 2012, when Renard led Zambia to a surprising victory.If Didier Drogba is not there, its not because of us, Renard said. Its because he decided to stop his international career.The Ivory Coasts other goal came from Gervinho, the Roma forward who returned from a two-match suspension after getting a straight red card in the opening match.Hilal Soudani scored Algerias goal in the 51st, beating goalkeeper Sylvain Gbohouo after taking a pass from Riyad Mahrez that trickled through a weak Ivory Coast defence.In the earlier match, Christian Atsu scored two goals and Kwesi Appiah added the other to put Ghana into the African Cup semifinals for the fifth straight time.Atsu, who plays in Englland for Everton, gave the Black Stars the lead in the fourth minute by scoring after a backheel pass from Andre Ayew.dddddddddddd He added another in the 61st, whipping in a shot from the right side.Appiah scored the second goal of the match in the 44th, controlling a horrible defensive mistake from Baissama Sankoh and beating Guinea goalkeeper Naby Yattara.For us, I think we had a winning mentality, Atsu said. We went for a win and we worked hard for it. Thats why we won the game. Not because they are a bad team. We went for a win. Thats all.Guinea finished the match with 10 men after Yattara was given a red card in injury time for a foul on Asamoah Gyan. Abdoulaye Cisse then played in goal for the final seconds.Ghana came into the match as the favourite, and needed only a few minutes to take the lead. Appiah took the ball down the left side before passing to Ayew in the area, and the Marseille forward then used his heel to slide the ball to Atsu for the goal.The match slowed for most of the next 40 minutes, with Guinea captain Ibrahima Traore doing his best to create chances for his team.We lost a goal almost from kickoff, which hurt our confidence, and then lost another goal just before break, Guinea coach Michel Dussuyer said. It makes things complicated against a team with the talent of Ghana.Guinea needed a touch of luck just to make it this far. The team finished tied with Mali after both teams drew 1-1 in all three Group D matches. But Guinea advanced after winning a drawing of lots on Thursday.Just qualifying for the 2015 tournament was a surprise for many, however. Guinea is one of the three worst affected countries of the Ebola outbreak and the national team was forced to play its home qualifying matches outside its borders.We need to put things into perspective, Ghana are a great team, Dussuyer said. We go out with regrets in this match but must not forget the road we have come down before today. ' ' '