- Nigeria’s Super Eagles face Carthage Eagles of Tunisia Jan 23
BY VICTOR OSOWOCHI – Now in the first knockout stage last 16 round, the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2021 tournament, despite its fair share of shocks, surprises, and controversies, still has some big footballing nations and names in the running for gold.
With pre-tournament favourites and heavyweights like Black Stars of Ghana and Cup holders, Desert Warriors of Algeria already eliminated, some relatively smaller teams and unknown quantities have now taken the stage to battle for the continental soccer glory.
Last 16 Teams
The six groups’ winners and runners-up, which qualified for the last 16 rounds of the competition, are joined by the four best-ranked third-place teams.
Group A had Cameroon and Burkina Faso as qualifiers, while Senegal and Guinea progressed from Group B. Morocco and Gabon qualified from Group C, with Nigeria and Egypt advancing out of Group D.
Similarly, Ivory Coast and Equatorial Guinea landed the first and second spots respectively in Group E with Mali finishing top of Group F ahead of The Gambia.
Group Winners And Runners-up
Group | Winners | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|
A | Cameroon | Burkina Faso |
B | Senegal | Guinea |
| C | Morocco | Gabon |
D | Nigeria | Egypt |
| E | Ivory Coast | Equatorial Guinea |
| F | Mali | The Gambia |
Best Third-Placed Teams
At the end of the group stage matches, Cape Verde, Malawi, Tunisia, and Comoros ended up as the best third-place finishers to progress further in the competition.
Below is the best third-placed teams’ ranking that saw Sierra Leone and Sudan both narrowly missing out on a last 16 berth.
| Rank | Team | Group |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Verde | A |
| 2 | Malawi | B |
| 3 | Tunisia | F |
| 4 | Comoros | C |
| 5 | Sierra Leone | E |
| 6 | Sudan | D |
Last 16 Pairings: Who Plays Who?
| Date | Fixture |
|---|---|
| January 23 | Burkina Faso vs Gabon |
| January 23 | Nigeria vs Tunisia |
| January 24 | Guinea vs The Gambia |
| January 24 | Cameroon vs Comoros |
| January 25 | Senegal vs Cape Verde |
| January 25 | Morocco vs Malawi |
| January 26 | Mali vs Equatorial Guinea |
| January 26 | Ivory Coast vs Egypt |
In what was the first knockout game to be confirmed by CAF as the tournament’s organisers, Burkina Faso will be taking on Gabon while Nigeria have a date with Tunisia.
For Guinea, they will line up against the runners-up from Group F, Gambia with Cameroon locking horns with Comoros that placed third in Group C.
Senegal, who advanced from Group B as winners, are scheduled to play Cape Verde that came third in Group A, while Group C winners Morocco must prove their mettle against one of the surprising qualifiers, Malawi.
The final two last-16 ties will feature Group E winners, Ivory Coast facing Egypt with Mali slated to slug it out with Equatorial Guinea as the competition heats up. – With Goal.com report
