AFCON 2025
The ongoing Africa Cup of the Nations in Morocco is now at the “business” end where form, pedigree or antcedents don’t exactly matter.
It is true that the “boys” have been seperated from the men (not all) but then, the competition is now at a stage where upsets come in.
As aforementioned, form don’t exactly matter anymore even though they are teams tagged favorites to win, the “underdogs”, “dark horses”, tend to live up to their nicknames at this stage.
The fixtures for the round of 16 is set and there are quite a handful of fixtures to look forward to as we begin the new year.
What a way to start the new year with fixtures as tasty as the sumptuous meals for the festive period. No one should tag you greedy for having both at a time.
5 key fixtures to anticipate in the round of sixteen
1. South Africa v Cameroon
This is arguably the most anticipated fixture of the rounf. It is betrween two former winners of the competition and two sides that have played quite well leading up to the round.
South Africa and Cameroon both finished second in their groups but the Indomitable Lions unlike the Bafana Bafana didn’t lose a game.
While South Africa boasts of flair and flamboyant play with the likes of Nkota, Moremi, Appollis and the likes, Cameroon have looked quite solid in defense with David Pagou’s 3-5-2 set-up conceding just two goals compared to South Africa’s four.
Previous meetings between both sides have been quite close but South Africa wwill hope to repeat their 1996 feat over the five-time champions.
2. Algeria v DR Congo
The battle betweeen Leopards and Foxes should have only one winner but then in this context, the Foxes been arguably the best team in the tournament.
Algeria and Nigeria are the only two teams to record maximum points in the group stage so the Desert Foxes go into the tie with confidence with Riyad Mahrez and young sensation, Ibrahim Maza leading the line.
However, DR Congo stood tall against Senegal in the group stage avioding defeat and rounded off the group stage with an emphatic 3-0 win over Botswana.
DR Congo have never beaten Algeria in all previous meetings with two losses and three draws but the Leopards are primed to stage an upset having stopped Nigeria from qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
The Leopards are blesssed with talents like Fiston Mayele, veteran forward, Gael Kakuta, Meschack Elia, Nathanael Mbuku among others.
3. Cote D’Ivoire v Burkina Faso
This is more like a local derby between these two teams who share similar culture and tradition off the pitch.
Cote D’Ivoire, as defending champions came alive in their final group match as they came from two-goals down to beat Gabon 3-2.
Burkina Faso bounced back defeat and fiished strong with a tw0-nil win over Sudan.
It looks like a straight win on paper for the defending champions but if there is an fixture that has upset written all over it, it has to be this one.
Algeria escaped Burkina Faso with a narrow 1-0 win even though the victory is termed controversial as the Burkinabe claimed they had a legitimate penalty call not checked.
4. Nigeria v Mozambique
The Super Eagles of Nigeria finished with maximum points in Group C showing their dominance over Tunisia, Tanzania and Uganda.
Mozambique platyed quite well in their matches against Cote D’Ivoire and Cameroon but finishedd as one of the third-place teams in Group F.
Previous meetings between the two sides have seen the Super Eagles with four of their last five meetings.
However, the “ghost” that hunted the Super Eagles at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations which saw them crash out in the second round after finishing top of their group is not dead.
5. Morocco v Tanzania
Morocco have enjoyed overwhelming support as host of the competition. The Atlas Lions have also played quite well with Ayoub El Kaabi and Brhaim Diaz with six goals combined.
Tanzania qualified for the second round with just two points but they showed flashes of what they are capable of against Tunisia in their final group match.
However, Walid Regragui’s men are overwhelming favourites to send the Taifa Stars back to Dar es Salam with the gulf in quality that separates both sides.
