The African Cup group stage meet its end with many surprises. Now, we cannot wait to see what the round of 16 prepares for us.
African Cup 2023 Draw and Group Stage Quick Round-up:
In our tournament preview, we had a favorite to make it to the round of 16 in each group. Let’s take a look at how each group ended.
Group A had Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria taking the top spots, with our favorite and hosts, Ivory Coast, making it to the third spot and barely clinging to a spot in the round of 16th.
Group B did end up a little closer to what we expected, as Egypt did manage to get a clean spot in the round of 16, landing three draws for second place right behind Cape Verde.
For Group C, the defending champions, Senegal, managed to get a flawless run with three victories and leaving the second spot up for grabs, something that Cameroon managed.
Algeria did not manage to make it through, as group D had Angola and Burkina Faso landing the top spots. The third spot in the group was taken by Mauritania, who did land their ticket to the round of 16.
Mali and South Africa managed to take over Group E, leaving our expected favorites, Tunisia, at the bottom of the standings with no chance to move forward.
Group F was led by Morocco, which was our expected favorite, and the second spot was taken over by DR Congo, being the last team to score clean spots into the round of 16.
Games:
Angola vs. Namibia
Nigeria vs. Cameroon
Equatorial Guinea vs. Guinea
Egypt vs. DR Congo
Cape Verde vs. Mauritania
Senegal vs. Ivory Coast
Mali vs. Burkina Faso
Morocco vs. South Africa
African Cup Round of 16 – Angola vs. Namibia
When:
Saturday, January 27th, noon ET at Stade BouakéÂ
Moneyline odds:
Angola 2.2
Namibia 3.945
Draw Offs:
2.91
Where can I Watch it?
These two humble teams surprised everyone by reaching these instances. Something to point out is that they have never won a direct elimination game in an African Cup, so it’s clear they are inexperienced in this sense. However, this trend will have to end for one of them.
Angola led a group where the favorite was, no doubt, the Argelia of Riyad Mahrez and co., winners of the competition not long ago. However, the vast West African nation took the draw in the first match, then won its next two games and came here as group winners.
Namibia qualified after beating another group favorite, Tunisia, and getting a draw against Mali. That gave them the chance to enter the knockout stage through the back door, in the third place. The issue is that 4-0 lost to South Africa, as it shows certain mental fragility.
Just for context, these two nations are neighbors, so this is a kind of derby. We’ll bet on a win for Angola.
Angola vs. Namibia Betting Pick: Angola
African Cup Round of 16 – Egypt vs. DR Congo
When:
Sunday, January 28th, 3:00 PM ET at Stade de San Pédro
Moneyline odds:
Egypt 2.41
DR Congo 3.46
Draw Offs:
 2.875
Where can I Watch it?
Egypt has had a convoluted tournament, to say the least. However, they face a team in the same circumstances that gives them a chance to recover.
The pharaons lost Mohamed Salah to injury early on. That hit to the team morale was felt, and even if their offensive output didn’t diminish (they scored two goals in all the group stage games), they couldn’t make the difference. With three draws, they come here after getting the second place in their group, behind the surprising Cape Verde.
DR Congo, meanwhile, suffered the same fate, tying their three games and getting second place in their group. However, their offensive output has been much worse, scoring just two goals in three games and relying on their defense.
Even without Salah, the North Africans have the tools to breach Congo’s defense enough to advance, so we are backing them for the win.
Egypt vs. DR Congo Betting Pick: Egypt
African Cup Round of 16 – Senegal vs. Ivory Coast
When:
Monday, January 29th, 3:00 PM ET at Stade Charles Konan Banny de Yamoussoukro
Moneyline odds:
Senegal 2.5
Ivory Coast 3.225
Draw Offs:
 2.93
Where can I Watch it?
The best game of the round of sixteen will feature two historic nations of the AFCON, that have had periods of great power and glory, although, one of them comes far from its best.
The defending champions have taken some hits as of late, as their best players, once bright starts in Europe, are all now in the Saudi Pro League. However, their level at the international stage has not diminished, as they have been a machine and reached this round of sixteen as the best team, with nine wins.
Ivory Coast, on the contrary, has had a terrible time as locals and entered this stage as one of the best third (if the term is appropriate). After a good win against Guinea-Bissau, they were outclassed by Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea, so they just got three points.
Ivory Coast will hope to get the necessary impulse from its people to win, but this Senegal team is too much, and they will, probably, get thrashed.
Senegal vs. Ivory Coast Betting Pick: Senegal
African Cup Round of 16 – Morocco vs. South Africa
When:
Tuesday, January 30th, 3:00 PM ET at Stade de San Pédro
Moneyline odds:
Morocco 1.59
South Africa 6.4
Draw Offs:
 3.75
Where can I Watch it?
Morocco entered the cup as one of the favorites, considering their historic participation in the World Cup a little over a year ago. To this point, they have not disappointed but must face a South African that wants to surprise.
The Maghrebis steamrolled Tanzania, tied with Congo, and got over Namibia to take the leadership of the group. We still feel they are a little below their full potential, but have the weapons to fight for the title.
South Africa, on the contrary, had a roller coaster of a group phase, as their thrashing of Namibia was an oasis between a loss against Mali and a tie versus Tunisia. Still, this was enough to get the second place in the group, but they equally landed a difficult rival.
There’s too much difference between these two teams at the moment, so we’ll go with Morocco.
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