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The remaining 16 teams at the African Cup of Nations (AFCON 2023) have been decided.
While some ‘heavyweights’ have been eliminated, other teams have taken us by surprise following their stupendous performances.
The officiating at the tournament so far has been highly commendable. We have also witnessed some eye-catching and exhilarating matches and we expect more as the tournament progresses.
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Here is a comprehensive group-by-group review of the ongoing AFCON 2023.
Group A
This group is one of the most interesting groups that surprisingly saw Equatorial Guinea emerge group winners.
Equatorial Guinea finished first ahead of heavyweights Nigeria and tournament hosts Ivory Coast.
The hosts Ivory Coast we’re almost eliminated from the group stage but for the grace of being one of the best third-placed teams.
Having won their opening match 2-0 against Guinea-Bissau, the hosts lost the remaining two group matches.
The Elephants lost 1-0 to Nigeria before being embarrassed 4-0 by the Equatorial Guinea.
Nigeria, who finished second with seven points, will face Cameroon in the round of 16. Equatorial Guinea will combat Guinea while Ivory Coast will trade tackles with defending champions Senegal.
Group B
Egypt and Ghana were favourites heading into this tournament. However, the most disappointing team in group B was Ghana.
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Kudos must be given to Cape Verde who did brilliantly to avoid defeat and advance into the knockout stages. They topped the group with seven points after beating Ghana 2-1, walloped Mozambique 3-0 before drawing 2-2 with Egypt.
Egypt lost Mohamed Salah to injury during their second match against Ghana but managed to scale through the group stages.
The Pharaohs drew all their three group games 2-2 each. They neither won nor lost any of their matches, finishing second with three points.
Ghana threw away a big chance to make the knockouts right at the death. The Black Stars only had one point after their first two matches.
The team was leading 2-0 against Mozambique in their last game before conceding twice in injury time. It was a tale of triumph to tragedy as Ghana finished the group in third spots, garnering only two points. The West African country was not one of the best four third-placed teams and have been eliminated.
Mozambique also had two points after their draws against Egypt and Ghana. The Pharaohs needed a last-gasp Mohamed Salah penalty to salvage a draw against the Mozambicans.
Group C
Senegal ranked first in Group C after a dominant first phase. Many consider the Lions of Teranga favourites especially with the array of stars the team possesses.
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Being the defending champions, it is not so surprising to witness the team emerge group winners. The team kicked off their campaign with a fantastic 3-0 bashing of Gambia before a 3-1 triumph over Cameroon.
A 2-0 victory against Guinea in the final group encounter sealed nine maximum points for Aliou Cisse’s team. Senegal are the only team that ended the group phases with maximum points.
The indomitable Lions started slowly, drawing their first match against Guinea 1-1 before losing the second to Senegal.
Cameroon rallied two late goals, coming from behind to beat Gambia 3-2 in the last group game and claim an all-important three points.
The team finished second with four points, ahead of Guinea who finished third with the same number of points.
Guinea are one of the best four third-placed teams and have progressed to the last 16. Gambia ended the group with no point.
Group D
The group makes for interesting reading. It’s such an unbelievable tale that Algeria finished last in a group that at had Angola (1st) Burkina Faso (2nd) and Mauritania (3rd).
Angola, the only team without any loss in the group, beat both Mauritania and Burkina Faso. The team drew 1-1 with Algeria.
2013 runners-up Burkina Faso finished with four points – one win, one draw, and one loss.
Mauritania are definitely the surprise package in this group, successfully navigating their way into the knockouts. Their most important moment was their narrow 1-0 last group game win over the Desert Warriors.
After losing their first two matches, albeit narrowly, the Lions of Chinguetti displayed a great level of resoluteness to see out their 1-0 scoreline against the Algerians, a historic feat.
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Group E
Mali, South Africa, and Namibia all qualified for the last 16 in one of the tightest groups.
Another African football bigwig Tunisia ended their AFCON 2023 campaign in the group, finishing bottom of the log.
It all began with the Carthage Eagles’ slim 1-0 loss to Namibia. Draws against Mali and South Africa could do nothing to see the 2019 semifinalists qualify from the group.
After losing 2-0 to Mali, Bafana Bafana whitewashed Namibia 4-0 before settling for a goalless draw against Tunisia.
Group F
Only Morocco and the Democratic Republic of Congo successfully scaled through in group F. They achieved that after a lot of hard work.
The Congolese side were a tough nut to crack as they drew all their matches, accruing three points. Morocco needed two wins – 3-0 win over Tanzania and 1-0 victory against Zambia – and a draw to seal top spot.
Zambia and Tanzania finished with two points each.
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