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Mohamed Bayo broke the hearts of Equatorial Guinea on Sunday evening with just seconds left on the clock to snath a late 1-0 victory for Guinea in a TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire Round of 16 clash played at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Ebimpe.

The Guinea derby had all the ingredients of a knockout encounter, with both sides having a go at each other from the onset.

Equatorial Guinea came into the clash with good momentum following their impressive first place finish in a tough Group A consisting of Cote d’Ivoire and Nigeria while Guinea snuck into the round of 16 as one of the four best third finishers of the group stages.

With both sides creating chances, a golden opportunity was presented to Equatorial Guinea just after the hour mark when Ivan Salvador was fouled in the box for the in-form Emilio Nsue to step up but saw his penalty denied by the woodwork to the relief of Guinea.

The missed penalty would have been a huge advantage to Equatorial Guinea who were a man-down following the sending off of Frederico Nchama.

With just a few seconds before the end of the ninety minutes, a swift build up by Guinea concluded with Ibrahim Diakite sending a delightful ball into the area which was cleverly headed into the near post by Bayo to seal a place in the quarter-finals for the seventh time in 14 appearances.

The fourth match in the round of 16 at the Africa Cup of Nations will see Egypt take on Congo DR at Stade Laurent Pokou on Sunday evening.

The winner of this match will move on to the quarter-final, where they will face either Equatorial Guinea or Guinea, who square off earlier in the day in Abidjan.

The game will kick off at 20:00 GMT.

Match preview

Before the tournament commenced, few would have envisioned that Egypt, the seven-time champions, would secure qualification to the last 16 of this competition without winning a single match in the group stages.

However, that is exactly what ended up happening as The Pharaohs managed just three points in their three group stage matches, drawing each of their games by the same scoreline of 2-2.

During the group stages, Rui Vitoria‘s side displayed a mixed bag of performances, which included a resilient showing against Ghana, where they had to come from behind twice in the game, while against Cape Verde, they surrendered the lead on two occasions.

After a frantic end to their final group stage fixture, the Egyptians will be hoping for a more straightforward result here, but history suggests that may not be the case, with four out of their last seven AFCON knockout ties having gone to a penalty shootout.

However, history will also give The Pharaohs confidence heading into Sunday’s showdown, as they have only lost one of their five Africa Cup of Nations encounters against this opponent while winning three and drawing the other.

Meanwhile, Congo DR’s passage to the last 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations was very similar to Egypt’s as they also failed to win a match in the group stages, drawing each of their three round-robin fixtures.

The Leopards kicked off their AFCON campaign with a 1-1 draw against Zambia before holding the group winners Morocco to a 1-1 draw and eventually got over the line with a stalemate against Tanzania in match three.

With those results, Sebastien Desabre‘s side have now failed to win any of their last six matches in all competitions and have only managed one victory in their last 10, which came against Mauritania in World Cup qualifying back in November.

Of all 16 teams that qualified for the round of 16 in this year’s AFCON, Congo DR scored the second-fewest goals in the group stage matches (2), with only Namibia posting a lower tally over the same period (1).

The Leopards have advanced from the group stage in their last four AFCON appearances, but they were ousted in the first knockout match in both 2019 (drawing 2-2 and losing 4-2 on penalties against Madagascar) and 2017 (losing 2-1 against Ghana in the quarter-final).

Egypt Africa Cup of Nations form:

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Egypt form (all competitions):

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• D

Congo DR Africa Cup of Nations form:

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Congo DR form (all competitions):

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Team News

Egypt will remain without their talisman Mohamed Salah, who sustained an injury against Ghana, and the side will likely rely on Mostafa Mohamed to lead the attack, having scored in each of the three group-stage matches.

Vitoria will also have to make do without first-choice goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shennawy, who picked up an injury in the last match against Cape Verde, which should see Mohamed Abou Gabal line up between the sticks in this match.

In addition, midfielder Emam Ashour has also been ruled out of this match after suffering a concussion while trying to perform an overhead kick in training in midweek.

For Congo DR, defender Henock Inonga was forced to sit out their last match against Tanzania due to a head injury, and it is still unclear if he will be fit to feature in Sunday’s fixture against The Pharaohs.

Yoane Wissa scored The Leopards’ opening goal in this competition and will spearhead the attack once again, while Cedric Bakambu could be brought back into the starting 11 to support the Brentford attacker.

Egypt possible starting lineup:
Gabal; Hany, Hegazy, Abdelmonem, Fotouh; Fathi, Attia, Elneny; Zizo, Mohamed, Marmoush

Congo DR possible starting lineup:
Mpasi; Kalulu, Mbemba, Batubinsika, Masuaku; Pickel, Moutoussamy; Silas, Kakuta, Bakambu; Wissa

We say: Egypt 2-1 Congo DR

The seven-time AFCON champions have been far from impressive in this tournament, and there will be a fair few nerves heading into this match. While Congo DR have not set the stage alight in this competition, they have shown tremendous resilience and will likely try to keep this match level for as long as possible, which could open up gaps in the Egyptian defence on the counter-attack.

This match could easily go the distance, but we are backing the Egyptians to progress when all is said and done.

Source: Sportsmole.co.uk

Sunday’s round of 16 action in the Africa Cup of Nations will kick off with Equatorial Guinea taking on Guinea at Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara in Abidjan.

The winner of this match will progress to the last eight, where they will face either the seven-time champions Egypt or two-time winners Congo DR on February 2 at this venue.

The game will kick off on Sunday at 17:00 GMT.

Match preview

This year’s Africa Cup of Nations has already provided a few shocks, and perhaps the biggest of those surprises came from Group A, where Equatorial Guinea defied the pre-tournament odds to win the group.

However, they were deserved winners as they held off African heavyweights Ivory Coast and Nigeria while managing an excellent tally of nine goals in their three matches, which was the most of any side in the group stages.

During the group-stage games, National Thunder drew 1-1 against The Super Eagles in their tournament opener but quickly found top gear to clinch a 4-2 win over Guinea-Bissau in match two before completely outplaying the Ivory Coast, beating The Elephants 4-0 in the final match of the group.

With those nine goals in the group stages, Juan Micha‘s side posted only two goals less than they managed in their first three tournaments combined (11 goals in 15 games in 2012, 2015, and 2021).

Equatorial Guinea have now reached the knockout stage in each of the last four AFCON competitions they have featured in (2012, 2015, 2021 and 2023) and are the only nation to have played and reached the knockouts in each of their AFCON appearances since the group stage was introduced back in 1963.

Meanwhile, Guinea faced a 2-0 defeat against reigning champions Senegal in their last match, but securing a 1-0 win against Gambia and a 1-1 draw with Cameroon earned them a spot in the round of 16 as one of the top four best-ranked third-placed teams in the competition.

The National Elephants have now scored just four goals in their last eight Africa Cup of Nations matches and never scored more than a single goal in any of the matches during that period.

This will mark the first time that Guinea faces this opponent, and it could turn out to be a titanic first meeting between two sides that are separated by just eight places in the FIFA world rankings, with Guinea currently ranked 80th and Equatorial Guinea placed 88th.

While the rankings may be in Kaba Diawara‘s side’s favour, history is not, as they have suffered defeat in their last six AFCON knockout games and failed to score in the last four, including their round of 16 clashes in 2019 (3-0 against Algeria) and 2021 (1-0 against Gambia).

Based on form in the competition, The National Elephants are the clear underdogs heading into this one, and while they do have more AFCON experience than their opponents, it will not count for much here.

Equatorial Guinea Africa Cup of Nations form:

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Equatorial Guinea form (all competitions):

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• W

Guinea Africa Cup of Nations form:

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• W
• L

Guinea form (all competitions):

• W
• L
• W
• D
• W
• L

Team News

Micha has opted for the same starting lineup in Equatorial Guinea’s last two matches, and considering the results in those games, it would come as no surprise if the head coach opted for an unchanged 11 again in this one.

Emilio Nsue, at the age of 34, scored five goals in the group stages and became the oldest player to score five or more goals in an AFCON, with Zambia’s Kalusha Bwalya, who scored five in 1996, being the previous oldest aged 32.

Jose Machin also claimed a piece of history in the group stages as he became one of only three players to provide an assist in three consecutive AFCON matches, joining Yaya Toure and Martin Hongla, who achieved the same feat in 2012 and 2022, respectively.

For Guinea, Stuttgart attacker Serhou Guirassy returned from injury and managed to play an hour before he was withdrawn in the side’s 2-0 defeat to Senegal last week.

Guirassy is expected to receive the nod again on Sunday and will likely receive support in attack from Liverpool’s Naby Keita, who also sat out The National Elephants’ first two matches due to injury.

Equatorial Guinea possible starting lineup:
Owono; Akapo, Obiang, Coco, Ndong; Salvador, Ganet, Bikoro, Miranda, Pepin; Nsue

Guinea possible starting lineup:
Kone; Diakite, Sow, M Camara, Sylla; Moriba, Diawara; A Camara, Keita, Conte; Guirassy

We say: Equatorial Guinea 2-0 Guinea

With the exception of Senegal and Morocco, Equatorial Guinea were possibly the most impressive team in the group stages of the competition and have the chance to send out a clear message to the big hitters remaining in the competition with a victory in this one.

Guinea have the experience advantage at this stage of the competition, but we feel that will not be enough to overcome The National Thunder in this match.

Source: Sportsmole.co.uk

Ademola Lookman’s brace ensured Nigeria a place in next weekend’s Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals as they beat long-standing foes Cameroon 2-0 in the last 16 on Saturday.

Lookman’s 36th minute goal at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium opened the scoring and he contributed a second on the stoke of full time as Nigeria largely outplayed Cameroon.

They will face Angola in the last eight in Abidjan next Friday after the Angolans beat Namibia 3-0 in Bouake earlier on Saturday in the first of the knockout round games.

While Lookman’s double made him a key figure in the win, Nigeria’s African Footballer of the Year Victor Osimhen proved outstanding with his work rate and drove his team to victory.

It was as much as Nigeria deserved, showing much improved form after a largely uninspiring showing in the group phase where they finished second in their section.

Osimhen made the first goal by closing down defender Oumar Gonzalez and robbing him of the ball before unselfishly feeding it to his right to Lookman whose shot was close to goalkeeper Fabrice Ondoa but somehow sneaked under him into the net.

Lookman had an opportunity for a second goal in the 56th minute from a free kick on the edge of the Cameroon penalty area as Osimhen’s pace continually troubled the Indomitable Lions.

Lookman set up Ola Aina with a chance in the 85th but it was blocked before a clever passing move with Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey saw Lookman finish at the near post in the 90th minute.

Nigeria also had the ball in the net after nine minutes but it was ruled out after a VAR check. Central defender Semi Ojayi was deemed to be offside before snapping up a rebound from close range after Ondoa twice attempted to punch clear from a corner.

Ondoa was again preferred to Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana, left on the bench by Cameroon after his poor performance against Senegal last week.

Nigeria are through to the last eight for the 13th time in their past 14 Cup of Nations finals appearances.

On Sunday, giant-killers Equatorial Guinea play Guinea in Abidjan followed by a meeting in San Pedro between Egypt, without injured Mohamed Salah, and Democratic Republic of Congo.

There are more last-16 games scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, including hosts Ivory Coast against Senegal.

Source: Reuters

Click on any of the links below to watch the game. Kickoff is 20:0 GMT .

Link

https://x.com/fcmatchestv/status/1751328300214161874?s=20

https://x.com/FCTV889/status/1751338862306000952?s=20

A brace from striker Jacinto Dala helped Angola reach the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals for the first time in 14 years with an emphatic 3-0 victory over Namibia on Saturday.

Playing in front of a vociferous crowd in Bouake, Palancas Negras controlled the round of 16 tie from the outset against the tournament underdogs.

The Brave Warriors were handed a major advantage when Angola goalkeeper Neblu was sent off for handling outside his area in just the 14th minute.

The tone was set by Bethuel Muzeu, crafting the first clear-cut chance. Exploiting a loose pass near Angola’s 18-yard box, Muzeu executed a lob, initiating a one-on-one with goalkeeper Neblu.

Neblu’s attempt to save, extending beyond the 18-yard box, resulted in his expulsion from the game.

Despite being down to 10 men, Angola continued to dictate play and opened the scoring through Gelson Dala following good work from Gilberto and Fredy.

Namibia’s task was made even more difficult shortly after when defender Lubeni Haukongo received a second booking for a foul on Mabululu.

Angola pounced on the resulting free-kick as Jacinto Dala powered home a header to double the lead before the break.

With Namibia chasing the game in the second half, gaps started to appear and Jacinto Dala turned provider to set up substitute Mabululu for Angola’s third.

Mabululu maintained his composure to slot home from the edge of the box and cap off an excellent attacking performance from the Palancas Negras.

The result means Angola have reached the last eight of the tournament for the first time since their run to the semi-finals in 2008.

They will face the winner of Nigeria vs Cameroon in the next round as they look to emulate the achievements of their golden generation 15 years ago.