The most interesting thing about African Cup of Nation is its utter unpredictability. Giants like Egypt, Cameroon, Morocco, and Ghana have been eliminated. Debutants like Madagascar and Benin have taken center-stage and have proceeded to the quarter-finals. As we enter the last 8 berths, here are some of the developments so far.
The quarter-finals line up is out
After a long tussle in the round of 16, 8 teams that will be featured in the quarter-finals include; Senegal, Benin, Nigeria, South Africa, Ivory Coast, Algeria, Madagascar and Tunisia.
Here is the schedule for matches.
Top scorers so far
African football has really changed and teams no longer rely on one player to lead them to glory. Every player seems to be going out to look for goals, which is why until now, it is very difficult to predict who will be the top-scorer after the final. Four players are currently leading with 3 goals each then followed by several players with two goals each.
Odion Ighalo- Nigeria 3
Adam Ounas- Algeria 3
Sadio Mane- Senegal 3
Cedric Bakambu- Congo 3
Andriamahitsinoro- Madagascar 2
Riyad Mahrez- Algeria 2
Wilfried Zaha- Ivory Coast 2
Jordan Ayew- Ghana 2
Youcef Belaili- Algeria 2
Michael Olunga- Kenya 2
Tunisia and Benin fairy-tails
Tunisia and Benin are through to the quarter-finals but have not won a match.
Benin
The West African debutants began their campaign against giants, Ghana and in fact, they were the possible underdogs. But they stunned the 4-times champions by equalizing in the 63rd minute to secure a 2-2 draw.
Their fight went on against Guinea Bissau, who they held with a barren draw. The Squirrels were called to action again against Cameroon where they used the Indomitable Lions to achieve their target of finishing as one of the best third-placed teams. They only wanted a barren draw, which they got and advanced to the round of 16.
Surprisingly, Michel Dussuyer’s boys went against all odds to eliminate 1976 AFCON champions, Morocco after drawing 1-1 in the normal time. This is despite their player, Khaled Adenon being sent out for a red card in the 97th minute. They ended up outscoring the heavily-fancied Morocco 4-1 in the shootouts.
Tunisia
Tunisia began their AFCON campaign against Angola where they held their opener opponents to a 1-1 draw. The Eagles of Carthage were the first to score in the 34th minute through a penalty by Youssef Msakni. But the Angolans leveled in the 70th minute through Djalma Campos.
The North African team then struggled to hold Mali to a 1-1 draw after equalizing Malians 60th-minute goal in the 70th-minute through Wahbi Khazri. They concluded their group stage campaign with the match against Mauritania, where they managed a barren draw.
With their no- so-good group stage results, the Eagles of Carthage knocked out Ghana in the round of 16. They were the first to score in the 73rd-minute through Taha Yassine Khenissi before the Black Stars equalized in the added minute. They then eliminated the West African nation (5-4) through penalty shootouts.
Will Tunisia and Benin’s fairy-tail continue as they enter the quarter-final phase?
We’ll continue giving you more updates on the quarter-finals match reports, top scorers and the teams that will proceed to the semi-finals.
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