Five teams have already booked their spot in the quarter-finals.
Angola cruised through with a 3-0 victory against Namibia. They will face Nigeria, who booked their spot after beating Cameroon 2-0 in what is often dubbed the biggest football rivalry in modern sub-Saharan Africa.
Mabululu has scored three goals for Angola at this year’s tournament. Photograph: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP/Getty Images
A picture that tells two tales. Photograph: Issouf Sanogo/AFP/Getty Images
In the Guinea derby, it was Guinea who scraped through with a 1-0 win against Equatorial Guinea. They face DR Congo, who beat Egypt 8-7 on penalties.
Penalty joy. Photograph: Sunday Alamba/AP
Earlier this evening, Cape Verde nicked a 1-0 win against Mauritania with an 88th minute penalty scored by their captain and all-time top scorer Ryan Mendes. A massive result for the Blue Sharks who make their first quarter-final appearance since their debut in the 2013 edition.
"WHAT A MISTAKE" 😲
Ryan Mendes scores the goal that could send Cape Verde through to the last eight! 👏️🔥 pic.twitter.com/wkVJozAOIv
Hosts Ivory Coast had a tumultuous group stage at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations and their tricky run continues.
They started their campaign with a comfortable 2-0 win over Guinea-Bissau before falling short to Nigeria and being thumped, rather unexpectedly, 4-0 by Equatorial Guinea.
The tournament’s format allowed four of the six third-placed teams in the groups a spot in the knockouts. But because they put themselves in such a sticky situation, the Elephants had to wait until the final matchday to know whether they would face a disastrous group stage exit. Morocco’s 1-0 win against Zambia confirmed Ivory Coast’s spot in the last 16 by the skin of their teeth.
All this drama would be more than enough for anyone. But the Afcon powers that be have given Ivory Coast the ever so easy task of facing the defending champions Senegal tonight for a spot in the quarter-final. The last time Ivory Coast beat the Lions of Teranga was nine years ago.
Oh, and after the group stages the Ivorian Football Federation sacked their manager Jean-Louis Gasset. In the middle of the tournament. ‘What a mess’ is an understatement. But we love it.
