The 34th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations has witnessed one of the most thrilling group stages of the competition. All so-called football giants of African football, except holders Senegal, have failed to win their group and some like Algeria, Tunisia and Ghana did not even qualify for the knockouts. Neither won a game while the former two finished bottom of their pile. The underdog stories have been in front and centre of this edition with Cape Verde topping a group containing Egypt and Ghana unbeaten with Equatorial Guinea doing the same over Nigeria and Ghana. Whereas, Namibia made history by qualifying for their first-ever knockout stage in the AFCON.
Now with 16 teams remaining from the 24 that began the tournament, the deciding period or the knockout stage will start on 27 January 2024 with Angola taking on Namibia. The last-16 stage will have two headlining fixtures, one of which is between former winners Nigeria and Cameroon. Both finished second in their group and only one can stay in the tournament now for quarterfinal at least. Defending champions Senegal will battle against the host Ivory Coast in the other high-voltage fixture. Senegal has a 100% record so far in the competition so it is a huge test for Les Elephants who managed just a win in the group stages. Meanwhile, record champions Egypt battles DR Congo with Morocco throwing up a challenge against South Africa in the final last-16 game.
Knockouts
Round of 16
Saturday, 27 January 2024
Angola vs Namibia - Stade de la Paix, Bouaké (22:30)
Sunday, 28 January 2024
Nigeria vs Cameroon - Le Félicia, Abidjan (01:30)
Equatoirial Guinea vs Guinea - Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan (22:30)
Monday, 29 January 2024
Egypt vs DR Congo - Laurent Pokou Stadium, San Pédro (01:30)
Cape Verde vs Mauritania - Stade de la Paix, Bouaké (22:30)
Tuesday, 30 January 2024
Senegal vs Ivory Coast - Konan Banny Stadium, Yamoussoukro (01:30)
Mali vs Bukina Faso - Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo (22:30)
Wednesday, 31 January 2024
Morocco vs South Africa - Laurent Pokou Stadium, San Pédro (01:30)
Quarterfinals
Friday, 2 February 2024
2A/2C vs 1D/3BEF - Stade de la Paix, Bouaké (22:30)
Saturday, 3 February 2024
2B/2F vs 1A/3CDE - Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan (01:30)
1E/2D vs 1C/3ABF - Stade de la Paix, Bouaké (22:30)
Sunday, 4 February 2024
1B/3ACD vs 1F/2E - Konan Banny Stadium, Yamoussoukro (01:30)
Semifinals
Wednesday, 7 February 2024
Winner QF1 vs Winner QF4 - Stade de la Paix, Bouaké (22:30)
Thursday, 8 February 2024
Winner QF3 vs Winner QF2 - Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan (01:30)
Third-Place
Sunday, 11 February 2024
Loser SF 1 vs Loser SF 2 - Stade de la Paix, Bouaké (01:30)
Final
Monday, 12 February 2024
Winner SF 1 vs Winner SF 2 - Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan (01:30)
Note: All Timings are in Indian Standard Time (IST)
