AFCON 2021: Who faces who in the round of 16?

An exciting phase of the group stages of the delayed 2021 Africa Cup of Nations concluded on Thursday evening, shaping up for the knockout phase of the competition which starts on Sunday with the round of 16 matches.

SportsLeo takes a stock of what has transpired in the first round of group matches and what to expect in the round of 16.

-Biggest casualties-

Dejected Algeria players after the match

Arguably, the biggest casualties coming out of the group stage matches are defending champions Algeria and Ghana who bowed out of the tournament with a single point each.

Algeria, winners of the title in 2019, arrived in Cameroon with a massive pedigree of an enviable unbeaten run, chasing Italy’s record of 37 matches without a loss. They were also coming in to Cameroon just a few weeks after winning the FIFA Arab Cup.

However, they couldn’t match up with the demands at AFCON as they started off with a dour draw against Sierra Leone before back to back defeats against lowly Equatorial Guinea and Ivory Coast dumped them out.

Head coach Djamel Belmadi admitted that it was a failure on his side, but was also quick to state that the preparation for the tournament wasn’t perfect.

He didn’t have his full squad in training until three days before their first match, and this, Belmadi said played a huge role in their exit.

Ghana on the other hand came in with expectation lowered, but always felt they could give a push with the returning coach Milovan Rajevac who led them to the quarters of the World Cup in 2010.

Ghana during a training session in Cameroon. PHOTO/GFA Communications

The Black Stars held a closed camp in Doha, Qatar, before travelling to Cameroon, but all this ended with just a point from their draw against Gabon. They lost to Comoros and Morocco.

Now, the pressure is on the Ghana Football Association to sack Rajevac before they start the World Cup qualifiers in March.

Meanwhile, Mauritania were eliminated from the tournament with the worst record, having failed to win a single match or score any goal and conceded seven, the highest in the competition.

-Top scorers, clean sheets-

Vincent Aboubakar celebrates

Cameroon skipper Vincent Aboubakar is currently the top scorer at the Africa Cup of Nations with five goals in three matches. This is the same number of goals scored by the top scorer at the 2019 AFCON in Egypt, Odion Ighalo of Nigeria.

Aboubakar scored a brace against Ethiopia and Burkina Faso, as well as the single goal in their 1-1 draw with Cape Verde. He is involved in 72pc of the goals Cameroon have scored in the tournament.

Mali’s Ibrahim Kamara has three goals, the next best scorer of the tournament.

Meanwhile, Senegal has the record of not conceding yet in  this tournament. They have drawn 0-0 twice and won 1-0 against Zimbabwe. They have had two goalkeepers, QPR shotstopper Seny Dieng having played the first two matches while regular starter Edouard Mendy was recovering from COVID-19.

Mendy played the last group match, a 0-0 draw with Malawi.

-Round of 16 match ups-

Burkina Faso v Gabon, Nigeria v Tunisia, Senegal v Cape Verde, Mali v Equatorial Guinea, Guinea v Gambia, Cameroon v Comoros, Ivory Coast v Egypt, Morocco v Malawi.

Among the most interesting ties for the round of 16, Guinea will take on debutants and tournament surprise package Gambia in the round of 16. Guinea will be without their influential skipper Naby Keita for the match.

The Sylli Natiinale qualified as second from Group B while Gambia, in their debut made it after also finishing second in their group.

Gambia picked wins over Tunisia and Mauritania and held group winners Mali to a draw and so will not be easy pushovers.

Meanwhile, Nigeria who have been one of the most impressive sides in the tournament have set up a mouth watering clash against 2004 champions Tunisia.

Nigeria players celebrate their win over Sudan

This will be a repeat of the 2019 third and fourth place play-off in which Nigeria triumphed by a solitary goal scored by Ighalo in the third minute.

The Carthage Eagles played their last match against Zambia with up to 10 players sidelined with COVID, but they will be hoping for their return before they clash with Nigeria on Sunday in Garoua.

Meanwhile, hosts Cameroon have set up a date against another debuting team, Comoros. The islanders progressed as one of the best four third placed teams having picked three points.

On paper, Cameroon are the overwhelming favourites but on the pitch, Comoros have proved a problem.

Another tie to watch out for will be the match pitting Ivory Coast and Egypt on Wednesday in Douala. The Ivorians showed their mettle with the 3-1 thrashing of defending champions Algeria while Egypt have not been convincing enough.

A pair of 1-0 victories over Sudan and Guinea Bissau sailed them through to the quarters, but they need to up their game ahead of the meeting with Les Elephants.