Luanda - With the last clash of the round of 16 of the 34th edition of the African Football Championship (AFCON 2023), held in Côte d`Ivoire, on Tuesday night, the table of the best eight African teams is set.
The match-ups for the quarter-finals, which will begin on Friday (Feb. 02), are as follows:
Friday, February 2nd,
Nigeria vs Angola (6pm)
DRC vs Guinea (9pm)
Saturday, February 3rd
Mali vs Côte d`Ivoire (6pm)
Cabo Verde vs South Africa (9pm)
Tuesday's round (round of 16) was marked by the elimination of another favorite team, this time it was Morocco.
The Moroccan team, semi-finalist in the 2022 World Cup, was one of the favorites to win the competition, but ended up being eliminated by South Africa, with a 0-2 defeat, and joined champion Senegal and runner-up Egypt, all eliminated in this latest stage (best of sixteen).
However, in the first game of the day, Mali beat Burkina Faso, 2-1, and also progressed to the next round, something that had not happened since 2013.
In San-Pédro, after a goalless first half, South Africa surprisingly took the lead, in the 57th minute, through Makgopa, but even worse would happen later to Morocco.
Hakimi, the team's great star, missed a penalty, when he hit the bar, in the 85th minute, and Amrabat saw a direct red card, in the 90+4, for interrupting a clear scoring opportunity.
In the very next attack, at 90+5 minutes, Mokoena sealed the surprise and qualification, with a direct free kick that gave no chance to goalkeeper Bono.
In Korhogo, Mali's team reached qualification with goals from Edmond Tapsoba, a former Vitória de Guimarães Portugal's player, in his own goal, and Lassine Sinayoko, in the third and 47th minutes, respectively, while Burkina Faso also reduced from a penalty, in the 57th minute, by Bertrand Traoré.
To reach the quarter-finals Angola beat Namibia by 3-0, with two goals from Gelson Dala and one from Mabululu.
MC/CF/jmc
