The African Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2023 group stage and round of 16 witnessed heartbreaks and upsets, leaving football fans in disbelief after the last matches were played on Wednesday night.
Despite only eight teams getting eliminated from the initial pool of 24, some major nations failed to make it through to the round of 16 – including football giants Ghana, Algeria, and Tunisia.
Eighty-nine goals were scored in total across the 36 group games.
A total of 16 teams secured qualification into the Round of 16 of the 2023 AFCON in Ivory Coast.
Powerhouses Crash Out
Title Defendants Senegal
Hosts Ivory Coast stunned Senegal at the Africa Cup of Nations on Monday, knocking out the reigning champions on penalties in the last 16 to keep their hopes of winning the title on home soil alive.
Habib Diallo had given Senegal the lead inside four minutes at the Charles Konan Banny Stadium only for the hosts level with four minutes remaining through a Franck Kessie penalty to force extra time.
Franck Kessie, the former Barcelona midfielder who played a pivotal role throughout the match, once again became the hero by scoring the decisive penalty.
Their rollercoaster journey continued as they managed to hold Senegal to a 1-1 draw at the end of extra time, paving the way for a tense penalty shootout.
The shootout unfolded in high drama, with Ivory Coast emerging victorious, triumphing 5-4 over Senegal.
Senegal goes out after being the only team to win all three games during the group stage, and their elimination means no reigning champion has made it beyond the first knockout round of a Cup of Nations since Egypt won a third consecutive title in 2010.
Egypt Sent away by DR Congo
Egypt was missing one of the early stars of the finals, Emam Ashour, because of concussion, while goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy, who suffered a dislocated shoulder during their final group-stage game, was replaced by Gabaski.
Their lead lasted nine minutes before Mostafa Mohamed converted a penalty on the stroke of half-time after Ahmed Hegazi was caught by a flailing arm from Dylan Batubinsika.
Egypt finished with 10 men after left-back Mohamed Hamdy was shown a second yellow card seven minutes into extra time for a mistimed lunge on Simon Banza.
The Pharaohs’ exit came in an 8-7 penalty shootout defeat to DR Congo after the tie ended 1-1 at the end of extra time.
Ghana
Ghana, once a powerhouse in African football, faced a bitter disappointment as their campaign ended abruptly for the second consecutive time without reaching the round of 16.
The Black Stars needed a victory in their final group match against Mozambique for them to advance to the knockout round.
They looked to be on their way to doing just that, taking a 2-0 lead into second-half injury time but disaster struck Ghana’s side as they conceded two late goals to the Mambas.
A draw result meant that the Black Stars needed the match between the Gambia and Cameroon to finish in a draw, and for a certain period, it looked like there was a path for Ghana to qualify for the last 16.
Their hopes were dashed, though, minutes later as Christopher Wooh scored a dramatic match-winner for Cameroon in second-half injury time sealing their fate as they fell at the first hurdle.
Morocco
The World Cup darlings remain without an AFCON title since 1976.
Evidence Makgopa and Teboho Mokoena scored second-half goals as South Africa shocked Morocco with a 2-0 victory to dump the World Cup semi-finalists out of the Africa Cup of Nations at the last-16 stage in San Pedro on Tuesday.
Morocco, who had Sofyan Amrabat sent off late on, were among the favorites at the tournament in the Ivory Coast, but their continental curse continues, and they remain without a Cup of Nations title since 1976, this time undone in the muggy heat of the Laurent Pokou Stadium.
Mali
Ivory Coast secured a spot in the semi-finals of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations with a thrilling 2-1 victory over Mali. The match took a dramatic turn after Adama Traore missed a crucial penalty for Mali. Nene Dorgeles believed he had sealed the win with a second-half goal, but Simon Adingra leveled the score in the final minute. As the game seemed destined for a penalty shootout, Oumar Diakite emerged as the hero, ensuring Ivory Coast’s dramatic triumph.
Also Read: Where Are They Now? 10 Last AFCON Golden Boot Winners
Algeria, Tunisia and Equitorial Guinea Crashed
Another shocking exit came from the 2019 champions, Algeria. Their campaign took an unexpected nosedive as they finished at the bottom of Group D.
They only needed a draw against Mauritania in their final group match for them to advance to the round of 16.
The Almoravids had other ideas, though, as they recorded their first-ever AFCON win, per CAF sending the Fennecs packing with a 1-0 victory.
Tunisia
The Eagles of Carthage failed to reach the round of 16 after they finished bottom of Group E.
They recorded two draws and one loss in the group stage to finish their AFCON 2023 campaign with two points.
A goalless draw against South Africa marked the end of their AFCON 2023 journey making them the only team in Group E that didn’t make it to the last 16.
Equitorial Guinea
The group stage highflyers Equatorial Guinea saw their AFCON campaign come to a gut-wrenching end after losing 1-0 to a last-gasp winner from Guinea.
The second half was far livelier than the first, and the complexion of the game changed further when Equatorial Guinea midfielder Federico Bikoro was sent off for a high challenge on Bayo.
Guinea ultimately had the last laugh as Bayo turned home a near post header deep into stoppage time to send his nation into the quarterfinals for the first time since 2015.
Cape Verde
The Bafana Bafana defeated the Blue Sharks 2-1 on penalties on Saturday night at Stade Charles Konan Banny de Yamoussoukro, securing their spot in the last four for the first time since the tournament’s 2000 edition.
Along with surprise package DR Congo, the three-time African champions had earlier defeated Angola on Friday night to secure their place in the round of four. They are currently the only undefeated team remaining
Also Read: Ghana Sacks Head Coach After AFCON Exit
Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, Gambia Eliminated
Guinea-Bissau was edged out of the tournament after finishing bottom of Group A.
The Djurtus failed to score a single point in this year’s AFCON, losing their matches against Ivory Coast (2-0), Equatorial Guinea (4-2), and Nigeria (1-0).
Mozambique
The Mambas failed to reach the round of 16 after they finished bottom of Group B. They recorded two draws and one loss in the group stage to finish the tournament with two points.
They ended their tournament with a bang, though, scoring two late goals against Ghana to deny the Black Stars a spot in the round of 16.
Gambia, Zambia, Tanzania, Mauritania Knocked Out
Gambia, despite a spirited effort, had a disappointing campaign, losing all their group matches. The Scorpions had a disappointing campaign at AFCON 2023.
They failed to score a single point in this year’s Africa Cup of Nations, losing all their group matches against Senegal, Cameroon, and Guinea.
Their tantalizing 2-1 lead against Cameroon in the 85th minute raised hopes, but the Indomitable Lions clawed back nabbing two late goals, dashing Gambia’s dreams of progressing.
Zambia
Zambia was kicked out of the tournament after finishing with two points in Group F.
The Chipolopolo needed a point from the Group F finale to deny the hosts the fourth and final qualification spot for the group stage’s best third-placed teams.
A 1-0 loss to Morocco in their final group match doomed their chances of claiming a spot in the knockout round.
Burkina Faso
Mali held on to beat Burkina Faso 2-1 to set up a quarter-final match against tournament hosts Ivory Coast.
An own goal from Edmond Tapsoba and second-half strike from Lassine Sinayoko were enough for the Eagles to win the round-of-16 game, the last match of the tournament to be played in Korhogo.
Burkina Faso, who have repeatedly gone close to winning their first Africa Cup title in recent years, will have to prolong their wait after a campaign that never really sparked into life.
The Stallions edged Mauritania 1-0, then drew 2-2 with Algeria, before losing their final group game 2-0 to Angola.
Tanzania
The Taifa Stars failed to secure a spot in the last 16 after they finished bottom of Group F.
They recorded one loss and two draws in the group stage to finish this year’s AFCON with two points.
Mauritania
Cape Verde won an Africa Cup of Nations knockout tie for the first time in their history on Monday as a late Ryan Mendes penalty gave them a 1-0 victory over Mauritania in the last 16.
The match at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium in Abidjan was drifting towards extra time when Cape Verde won a spot-kick and captain Mendes converted with just two minutes of the 90 remaining to break Mauritania’s resistance.
Mauritania had been hoping to extend their fine run in Ivory Coast, after they won a Cup of Nations match for the first time in nine attempts in their last group game, beating Algeria to eliminate one of the continent’s powerhouses.
