AFCON
AFCON Enters Knockout Rounds With Mouthwatering Fixtures –
The group stage of the Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023, concluded on Wednesday night, setting up some highly anticipated knock-out stage clashes.
The group stage produced everything expected of the grit the AFCON is made of; stellar shocks, goals, records, history and passionate fans turning up at match venues.
In the marquee match of the round, defending champions Senegal will take on tournament hosts Cote d’Ivoire.
The Elephants suffered a shock 4-0 thrashing by Equatorial Guinea in their final group game but still advanced. They now face the daunting task of overcoming an in-form Senegalese side yet to drop points.
Two more African heavyweights will collide when Nigeria meets Cameroon. Both teams had uneven group stages but remain continental powerhouses.
Elsewhere, Morocco topped their group without conceding and will look to continue their fine form against South Africa.
After surprisingly winning Group A undefeated, underdogs Equatorial Guinea will try to cause another upset against Guinea. First-time knockouts Namibia face a stern challenge from two-time quarterfinalists Angola.
Despite an underwhelming group stage, Egypt’s pedigree as the most successful AFCON nation makes them dangerous opponents for DR Congo.
Other intriguing clashes see Mali take on Burkina Faso while Cape Verde battle Mauritania.
With sudden-death matches between some of Africa’s top sides, the AFCON Round of 16 promises pulsating action and drama as heavy favourites and plucky underdogs collide.
Below are the interesting fixtures to look out for:
- Saturday 27 January, Bouake: (6pm) Angola v Namibia
Namibia made history by qualifying to the knockout stage of the AFCON for the first time in their history since debuting in 1998. They face Angola who topped a group involving Burkina Faso, Burkina Faso and Mauritania with 7 points.
Angola will want more based on their record in the history of the competition; two times quarter finalist. The game is scheduled to take place at Stade de la paix in Bouake on January 27.
- Saturday 27 January: Abidjan (9pm) Nigeria v Cameroon
Despite a shaky start, the two giants managed their qualification to the round of 16 after their final round of matches.
Nigeria are hoping to end a decade of no AFCON trophy.
Rigobert Song is under pressure to give Cameroonians a better performance in the knockout stage after struggling in the group stage, where they won just a game.
Obviously, one of the powerhouses will be crashed out in the round of 16.
The game is on Saturday, January 27 at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium in Abidjan
- Sunday 28 January: Abidjan (6pm) Equatorial Guinea v Guinea
Equatorial Guinea shockingly managed to top a group involving hosts Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria. They face a Guinean side who haven’t been consistent with results in this year’s AFCON.
The Syli Nationals will have the competition’s top scorer, Emilio Nsue to deal with in this fixture. The game is at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium on Sunday, January 28.
- Sunday 28 January: San Pedro (8pm) Egypt vs D.R Congo
Egypt qualified after drawing all group games, it was obviously not a good one for the Pharaohs. As the most successful country in the history of the competition, their presence in the knockout stage is a threat to any team they face and D.R Congo is no exception. The game will be played on January 28 at the Laurent Pokou Stadium.
- Monday 29 January: Abidjan (6pm): Cape Verde v Mauritania
After a shocking run in the group stage, which saw Cape Verde going unbeaten and leading a group involving two previous AFCON champions , Egypt and Ghana, the Blue Sharks will have Mauritania to deal with in the round of 16. Amir Abdou has already exceeded expectations by getting this far with Mauritania.
They can however write more history as they face Cape Verde. The game is on the Monday, January 29 at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium.
- Monday 29 January: Yamoussoukro(8pm) Senegal vs Côte d’lvoire
Following their disappointing 4-0 defeat on the final day, host Côte d’lvoire only progressed after Zambia lost to Morocco in their final group F game. They have been handed a tough test against defending champions, Senegal.Senegal have a 100% record in the tournament and the fixture is a tough one for the host.
The game will be played at the Charles Konan Banny Stadium on January, 29.
- Tuesday 30 January: Korhogo(6pm); Mali v Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso brought their group stage games to a disappointing end after losing 2-0 to Angola. Mali went unbeaten in all their group stage games and will have the advantage of playing at the Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium in Kohorgo. The venue they played most of their group games at. The game is on the January 29 at the Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium.
- Tuesday 30 January: San Pedro(8pm) Morocco vs South Africa
The 2022 FIFA World Cup semifinalists are on track to win the AFCON Côte d’lvoire 2023. On their way to achieving the feat, they will face South Africa in the Round of 16. The South Africa attack with Percy Tau and Themba Zwane will give the Moroccans lot of problems to deal with. The game is on January 30 at the Laurent Pokou Stadium.
The Libyan Football Federation (LFF) has sacked its Serbian coach, Milutin Sredojević who is popularly known as Micho.
This is coming ahead of Libya’s back-to-back Africa Cup of Nations clashes with Nigeria next month.
Paradoxically, Sports Village Square gathered that the coach’s contract was only recently renewed for six months before the axe fell on the Serbian.
His sack was precipitated by the results obtained in their teo matches of the AFCON qualifiers.
Libya drew 1-1 with Rwanda at home and lost 2-1 away to Benin Republic despite beig a goal up at half time.
The Libyan side, Mediterranean Knights are due to play against the Nigeria Super Eagles in Uyo on 6 October while the return leg holds on 14 October at the 11 July Stadium in Tripoli.
According to information Sports Village Square gathered from Tripoli, the Mediterranean Knights’ coach, Micho led the Libyan national team to win nine matches since taking over in October of last year, he failed to build a strong team due to his poor choices.
He also took a risk with the footballers chosen in the AFCON qualifiers, and the result was shocking to the Libyan sports audience.
According to sources close to the Libyan Football Federation, there is a strong tendency to sign a national coach to lead the Libyan team during the remaining qualifiers for the African Cup of Nations.
CAF President Patrice Motsepe has lashed out at Ghana and some other African countries whose home grounds were recently banned from hosting CAF matches owing to inadequate facilities. He made the remarks in Nairobi, Kenya during a press conference,
After the MatchDay 2 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, CAF ruled Ghana’s Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi as being inadequate to host international matches. Being the only approved ground in the country, Ghana will now look towards either Cote d’Ivoire or Togo for their remaining home matches of the Afcon qualifiers.
Other African countries without approved home grounds are: Djibouti, Chad, Niger, Eritrea, Gabon, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, São Tomé and Burundi.
Motsepe voiced his frustration over the recurring issue of nations being unable to host home games.
“Nothing frustrates me more than a national team or club side having to play home matches outside,” he stated.
He stressed the significance of playing in front of home fans, adding, “You can’t grow football if the national teams or club sides aren’t playing in front of their home fans.”
Motsepe reiterated CAF’s commitment to working with countries to ensure they have at least one suitable stadium to host international fixtures.
“Our conversations in every country are to make sure there is at least one stadium capable of hosting a CAF category C game,” he emphasized.
The on-going CAF AFCON Cote d’Ivoire 2023 Coaches Symposium in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire has brought together, the last three coaches that handled the Nigeria national football team.
Gernot Rohr, Jose Peseiro and Austin Eguavoen are part of the the elite coaches currently gathered in Abidjan.
Gernot Rohr whose tenure of 5 years and 55 matches is the longest ever by any coach in Nigeria, is currently handling Nigeria’s Africa Cupof Nations and World Cup qualifying rivals, Benin Republic. He was succeeded in the interim by Austin Eguavoen who is currently having another interim stint.
Peseiro left his position after the Africa Cup of Nations
Many fans risk missing 2026 World Cup as Visa window for visitors is closing
Nigeria’s Victor Olatunji becomes third African scoring debutant in Uefa Champions League
Lagos sports writers mourn Adeyinka Adebayo
Breaking! Uzoho suspended from Super Eagles’ next match with Sierra Leone
No longer Super League as CAF changes name of its new clubs competition
AIU releases its report on Tobi Amusan
-
AFCON1 week agoSuper Eagles lead Afcon Group D qualifiers despite Benin’s defeat of Libya
-
AFCON1 week agoAustin Eguavoen remains the ‘Big Boss’, says NFF
-
AFCON1 week agoWhy I benched Osimhen again – Eguavoen
-
AFCON1 week agoRwanda newspaper gives 5 lessons gleaned from Rwanda-Nigeria clash
-
Nigerian Football1 week agoWesterhof recommends Siasia for Super Eagles’ job
-
AFCON1 week agoNigeria’s managerial crisis resumes as Eguavoen reportedly declines to continue
-
AFCON1 week agoPresent and Past as CAF Coaches Symposium unites Rohr, Peseiro and Eguavoen
-
CAF Confederation Cup7 days agoEnyimba continues unbeaten run against Burkina Faso clubs