Equatorial Guinea, Cape Verde and all the surprises of the Africa Cup of Nations, which reaches the decisive phase

Simultaneously with Asian Cupwhich is taking place in Qatar, and causing the annoyance of many clubs in Europe, which they grumble due to the absence of some of its protagonists, the 34th edition of African Cup The knockout phase will begin this Saturday with two matches in the round of 16. The ongoing competition in Côte d’Ivoire has seen the two main title contenders advance at a rapid pace, has prematurely sent out a select few teams with good records and has offered a couple of powerful surprises.

Angolaunexpected winner of group D, e Namibiawho proved to be one of the best third parties, will open the round of 16 in a duel at the Bouaké Peace Stadium which will see them face to face the two worst ranked teams in the FIFA rankings among the 16 still in the running: the Namibians, who in their three previous participations in this competition had never advanced beyond the first round, occupy 115th place and the Angolans, 117th.

The survival of these two teams is just one of the striking facts of the tournament. Among many bells, Senegal has ensured that no unpleasant surprises have been encountered so far in a journey that aims to culminate in the defense of the title obtained two years ago in Cameroon and which represented his first consecration in the Africa Cup of Nations.

With Sadio Mané as an emblem and with world-class figures such as defender Kalidou Koulibaly and midfielder Pape Matar Sarr, the cast that has led the team for nine years Aliou Cisse They finished top of their group with an ideal score (they were the only team to do so) thanks to victories over Gambia, Cameroon and Guinea, in which they scored eight goals and conceded just one.

Monday at 5pm at the Charles Konan Banny stadium in Yamoussoukro, capital of the Ivory Coast,You Lions of Teranga They will face the local teamwho reached the round of 16 by a small margin after an irregular first phase in which they also lost their coach, the Frenchman Jean-Louis Gasset.

Wednesday, two days after the sensational 4-0 defeat against Equatorial Guinea who had brought his team to the brink of elimination, the Ivorian Football Federation announced the dismissal of Gasset “due to insufficient results compared to the contractual objectives it had”. When the dismissal had already been finalized, the Elephants They achieved qualification thanks to Morocco’s 1–0 win over Zambia which allowed them to move up as one of the best third parties. On Monday, against Senegal, the team will be led by former midfielder Emerse Faé, coach of the Under 23s.

The other big favorite to retain the crown is Moroccowho faces this competition with a team that maintains the basis of the one obtained the historic fourth place at the Qatar 2022 World Championships and in which the goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, the wingers Achraf Hakimi and Hakim Ziyech, the midfielder Sofyan Amrabat and the striker Youssef En-Nesyri stand out. So far the Maghreb team has lived up to its candidacy: it won group F thanks to victories against Tanzania and Zambia and a draw with the Democratic Republic of Congo.

THE Lions of the Atlas They will clash on Tuesday at 5pm at the Laurent Pokou stadium in San Pedro South Africawho was Mali’s guard in group E. In that match the Moroccans will not have their coach on the bench, Walid Regragui, suspended by the Disciplinary Commission of the African Football Confederation after being involved in an argument with the Congolese captain, Chancel Mbemba, which led to a widespread thong on the playing field which then continued into the stadium tunnel. Although the boxing scenes involved several players, none of them were sanctioned.

Whistling softly he reached the round of 16 Nigeriawith which it will be measured Cameroon Saturday at 5pm at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan, the most populous city in Ivory Coast and the economic and financial heart of the country. THE Eagleswith the attacker Vittorio Osimhen AS franchise player, finished in second place in group A after beating Guinea-Bissau and Ivory Coast, and drawing with Equatorial Guinea. So far, those led by the Portuguese José Peseiro have shown great defensive solidity, but their figures (Ademola Lookman, Alex Iwobi and Samuel Chukwueze, in addition to Osimhen) have not yet exploded.

Access to this instance for Cameroonians was much more complicated. A header from defender Christopher Wooh in injury time and a subsequent providential intervention by the VAR managers, who instructed the Ethiopian referee Bamlak Tessema Weyesa to cancel with a flick of the hand a maneuver that ended with the ball inside the goal of the area Indomitable lionsthe team led by Rigobert Song gave a 3-2 victory over Gambia in the last match of group C and qualifying.

Egyptthe most successful team in the history of the tournament (obtained seven titles), advanced with three draws in zone B. Added to this poor performance was the loss of Mohamed Salah, who suffered a hamstring injury in his left leg during the match against Ghana and will not play again until his team reaches the final. Without the figure of him, THE Pharaohs They will face the Democratic Republic of Congo Sunday at 5pm in San Pedro.

Also on Sunday, but in Abidjan, one of the pleasant surprises of the competition will be presented, Equatorial Guinea, which finished first and undefeated in a competitive group it shared with Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Guinea-Bissau. He Thunderwhose best performance in this tournament was a fourth place in 2015, will face Guineathe best of the four thirds who passed the first round.

Much of the explanation for the good results obtained by the Equatoguinean national team in recent years lies in the policy of seducing the children of migrants originating from that country who live in Spain: 16 of the 25 members of the team were born on Spanish soil. Between them, striker Emilio Nsuéwho plays for Intercity in the Iberian third division and who scored five goals in the first round of this Africa Cup of Nations.

Another of the teams that made noise in the group stage was Cape Verde, which won zone B, relegating Egypt, Ghana and Mozambique. In their fourth participation in an African Cup of Nations and with a team without big names, i Blue sharks It will be played on Monday at 2pm in Abidjan against Mauritania, who finished third in group D behind Angola and Burkina Faso.

While all these selected teams still aspire to write their name in the final which will be played on February 11 at Alassane Ouattara Olympic Stadium in Abidjan, others who arrived in Ivory Coast with the idea of ​​being protagonists will have to follow the actions of the continental competition on television. One of these is Ghana, four times champion of the tournament: despite having figures such as Iñaki Williams (Athletic Club de Bilbao), Mohammed Kudus (West Ham United) and Jordan Ayew (Crystal Palace), the Black Stars They said goodbye after losing to Cape Verde and drawing with Egypt and Mozambique.

Captained by Riad MahrezAlgeria, champions of this tournament in 2019, saw their dream go out very quickly: a defeat against Mauritania in the last round left the team led by Djamel Belmadi, who was fired after the elimination. Even Tunisia, which has played in five of the last seven World Cups, finished at the bottom of its zone and said goodbye without even having won a match. His coach, Jalal El Kadriresigned on Wednesday after the 0-0 draw against South Africa which condemned the Eagles of Carthage.

Here’s how the round of 16 will be played

Saturday 27 January

2.00pm: Angola-Namibia

5pm: Nigeria – Cameroon

Sunday 28 January

2.00pm: Equatorial Guinea – Guinea

5pm: Egypt – Democratic Republic of Congo

Monday 29 January

2.00pm: Cape Verde – Mauritania

5pm: Senegal – Ivory Coast

Tuesday 30 January

2.00pm: Mali-Burkina Faso

5pm: Morocco – South Africa