Johannesburg – As the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) group stage has wrapped up, the tournament now enters another phase of the contest, where teams will battle to remain victorious in the quarter-finals.
African teams cemented their place in the quarter-finals of the 2021 Afcon, following their successive qualifiers from the group stages.
However, it became a shocking moment that left many stunned, as the reigning champions, the Desert Foxes of Algeria and Black Stars of Ghana were booted out of the tournament in the group stages.
In the last leg of the groups, Ivory Coast and Equatorial Guinea qualified to the next phase, following their wins over Algeria and Sierra Leone, respectively.
Gambia and Mali were the last teams in the group to find their notch in the last 16.
The seven-time African champions, the reds of Pharaohs will have it tough, to make their way into the last quarter-finals, as they will face their arch-rivals Ivory Cost in the Last 16 of the ‘under-fire’ Afcon.
Egypt qualified to the quarter-finals by the tip of the nail, as they beat Sudan by 1-0.
The hosts, Cameroon were the first team in the group stages to make their mark in the tournament, as they registered the first spot to be in the last 16.
They will face Comoros, which left Ghana in tears after denying the Black Stars an opportunity to reach the round of lat 16.
However, they will have to make history to beat Indomitable Lions at their home ground, Paul Biya Stadium, in Yaounde, where the hosts have never suffered any defeat in their history.
A full round of 16 fixtures and dates:
Burkina Faso v Gabon (23 January)
Nigeria v Tunisia (23 January)
Guinea v Gambia (24 January)
Cameroon v Comoros (24 January)
Senegal v Cape Verde (25 January)
Morocco v Malawi (25 January)
Ivory Coast v Egypt (26 January)
Mail v Equatorial Guinea (26 January)
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