AFCON: Exciting clashes beckon at Round of 16
Anthony Nlebem
The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Ivory Coast has reached an exciting Round of 16 with teams battling to book a quarterfinal slot in a keenly contested tournament with remarkable upsets and results.
Cape Verde and Equatorial Guinea are the teams that shocked the football world as they both finished top in their respective groups.
But the biggest upset is the exit of four-time AFCON winners, the Black Stars of Ghana that shocked the football fans.
The exit of Algeria also came as a shock following the fact that they were champions in 2019, one would have expected them to at least book a spot in the competition’s round of 16.
Also, 2019 AFCON champions Algeria and Tunisia were knocked out by low-rated teams like Mauritania and Namibia in a tournament where underdogs created one of the biggest upsets in the tournament history.
No doubt that the tournament has lived up to the expectations of many football-loving supporters across the African continent and globally.
With unpredictable outcomes to games, top-notch officiating as well as class football.
The group stage came to an end on Wednesday teams will resume hostility in the knockout stage which kicks off on Saturday with an exciting fixture as Nigeria’s Super Eagles take on the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon.
Here are the fixtures for the Round of 16
Saturday, January 27
Angola vs Namibia (Stade de la Paix, Bouake, 5pm)
Nigeria vs Cameroon (Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan, 8pm)
Sunday, January 28
Equatorial Guinea vs Guinea (Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan, 5pm)
Egypt vs DR Congo (Laurent Pokou Stadium, San Pedro, 8pm)
Monday, January 29
Cape Verde vs Mauritania (Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan, 5pm)
Senegal vs Ivory Coast (Charles Konan Banny Stadium, Yamoussoukro, 8pm)
Tuesday, January 30
Mali vs Burkina Faso (Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo, 5pm)
Morocco vs South Africa (Laurent Pokou Stadium, San Pedro, 8pm)
