How the group stage of the cup ended
The current African Cup is already considered one of the most outstanding in terms of sensations and unexpected results. In 1xbet app you could have bet on Tunisia losing to Namibia, and Ghana losing to Cape Verde, and how Egypt lost to modest Mozambique. But the main shock was the defeat of Côte d’Ivoire by Equatorial Guinea with a score of 0:4. This is not just an egregious case, but also somewhat historical. Of course, it would have a greater effect if the Ivorians were immediately eliminated from the tournament in which they are the hosts. But they still have a chance to continue the fight.
Historical event
Of course, the current Ivory Coast team is far from the stellar team of Drogba. But the Ivorians have always been at the top of the African rankings. And never before in a tournament has Côte d’Ivoire lost to a team ranked so low, 88th, in the FIFA rankings. It is also the first time since 2002 that Côte d’Ivoire has lost two matches of the tournament.
This result was the worst for the hosts of the tournament since its inception in 1957. Côte d’Ivoire has lost bigger only once – in a match with the Netherlands in 2017 (0:5). Then there was a friendly game.
Cameroon’s success
For Cameroon, before the end of the group round, the situation was obvious. A victory gave a guaranteed pass to the playoffs, while even a draw meant an early send home and gave a place in the 1/8 finals to Côte d’Ivoire, which failed at home. You have to try hard to drive one of the giants of African football into such a situation, who was mired in scandals during the presidency of the local federation of the legendary Samuel Eto’o.
Cameroon advanced to the 1/8 finals from second place and will now play Nigeria. The main sign of the first round of the playoffs is obvious. Guinea also left the group (they will meet Equatorial Guinea), losing to the current champion Senegal, who did well and showed a 100% result. The Terangi Lions clearly wanted to support their coach Aliou Cissé, who after the second round was hospitalized and spent a day there due to an infectious disease.
The collapse of two-time champions
In Group D there was also one fateful and one almost passing match. Naturally, it is better to take first place in the group than third, but the leaders after two rounds, Angola and Burkina Faso, had four points each, which guaranteed exit from the group. But for Algeria, with its star cast, everything was decided. Just like Mauritania, whose head coach Amir Abdou promised to fight to the end.
You can, of course, complain about the Mauritanian goalkeeper Niasse, who stopped Mundy’s shot from a meter, but did the Desert Foxes create anything else? Was this more acute than the opponent hitting the frame of the goal and a whole scattering of chances? After the triumph at the 2019 African Cup, Algeria nosedived: elimination in the first round of the playoffs at the last tournament, losing to Cameroon in the qualifying rounds for the 2022 World Cup, and now fourth place in the group as the lowest point of decline.
