Africa Cup of Nations Reaches Knockout Stage

The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) has entered the knockout stage, marking a pivotal moment in the 2025 edition held in Morocco. Following an exciting group phase, the competition has delivered thrilling performances from some of the continent’s top teams.

So far, the tournament has been marked by intense matches and high expectations from the leading African nations. Nigeria and Algeria have stood out with perfect records, winning all their group matches. Morocco, Egypt, Senegal, and the defending champions Ivory Coast also secured top positions in their respective groups.

Senegal became the first team to advance to the quarter-finals after defeating Sudan in Tangier. Mali then faced a tough challenge against Tunisia but managed to win on penalties after extra time. Morocco narrowly beat Tanzania, while South Africa fell to Cameroon. Nigeria easily overcame Mozambique, and Algeria edged past the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Ivory Coast completed the last 16 phase with a comfortable victory over Burkina Faso.

AFCON 2025 Last-16 Fixtures

Here are the key matches that took place during the last-16 stage:

• Saturday, January 3, 2026
• Senegal 3-1 Sudan

• Mali 1-1 Tunisia (pens 3-2)

• Sunday, January 4, 2026

• Morocco 1-0 Tanzania

• South Africa 1-2 Cameroon

• Monday, January 5, 2026

• Egypt 2-1 Benin (AET)

• Nigeria 4-0 Mozambique

• Tuesday, January 6, 2026

• Algeria 1-0 DR Congo (AET)
• Ivory Coast 3-0 Burkina Faso

Quarter-Final Fixtures

The quarter-finals will feature the following matches:

• Friday, January 9, 2026
• Mali vs Senegal (4pm GMT, Tangier)

• Cameroon vs Morocco (7pm GMT, Rabat)

• Saturday, January 10, 2026

• Algeria vs Nigeria (4pm GMT, Marrakech)
• Egypt vs Ivory Coast (7pm GMT, Agadir)

Semi-Final and Final Fixtures

The semi-finals and final will take place as follows:

• Wednesday, January 14, 2026
• Winners of quarter-final 1 vs winners of quarter-final 4 (5pm GMT, Tangier)

• Winners of quarter-final 3 vs winners of quarter-final 2 (8pm GMT, Rabat)

• Saturday, January 17, 2026

• Loser of semi-final 1 vs loser of semi-final 2 (4pm GMT, Casablanca)

• Sunday, January 18, 2026

• Winner of semi-final 1 vs winner of semi-final 2 (7pm GMT, Rabat)

Group Stage Results

The group stage featured a series of compelling matches across different groups:

• Sunday, December 21

• Group A: Morocco 2-0 Comoros

• Monday, December 22

• Group A: Mali 1-1 Zambia
• Group B: South Africa 2-1 Angola

• Group B: Egypt 2-1 Zimbabwe

• Tuesday, December 23

• Group D: DR Congo 1-0 Benin
• Group D: Senegal 3-0 Botswana
• Group C: Nigeria 2-1 Tanzania

• Group C: Tunisia 3-1 Uganda

• Wednesday, December 24

• Group E: Burkina Faso 2-1 Equatorial Guinea
• Group E: Algeria 3-0 Sudan
• Group F: Ivory Coast 1-0 Mozambique

• Group F: Cameroon 1-0 Gabon

• Friday, December 26

• Group B: Angola 1-1 Zimbabwe
• Group B: Egypt 1-0 South Africa
• Group A: Zambia 0-0 Comoros

• Group A: Morocco 1-1 Mali

• Saturday, December 27

• Group D: Benin 1-0 Botswana
• Group D: Senegal 1-1 DR Congo
• Group C: Uganda 1-1 Tanzania

• Group C: Nigeria 3-2 Tunisia

• Sunday, December 28

• Group F: Gabon 2-3 Mozambique
• Group E: Equatorial Guinea 0-1 Sudan
• Group E: Algeria 1-0 Burkina Faso

• Group F: Ivory Coast 1-1 Cameroon

• Monday, December 29

• Group B: Angola 0-0 Egypt
• Group B: Zimbabwe 2-3 South Africa
• Group A: Comoros 0-0 Mali

• Group A: Zambia 0-3 Morocco

• Tuesday, December 30

• Group C: Tanzania 1-1 Tunisia
• Group C: Uganda 1-3 Nigeria
• Group D: Benin 0-3 Senegal

• Group D: Botswana 0-3 DR Congo

• Wednesday, December 31

• Group E: Equatorial Guinea 1-3 Algeria
• Group E: Sudan 0-2 Burkina Faso
• Group F: Gabon 2-3 Ivory Coast
• Group F: Mozambique 1-2 Cameroon

Group Tables

Group A Table
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|—–|————|—|—|—|—|—–|—–|
| 1 | Morocco | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | +5 | 7 |
| 2 | Mali | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 | Comoros | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | -2 | 2 |
| 4 | Zambia | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | -3 | 2 |

Group B Table
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|—–|————|—|—|—|—|—–|—–|
| 1 | Egypt | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | +2 | 7 |
| 2 | South Africa | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | +1 | 6 |
| 3 | Angola | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | -1 | 2 |
| 4 | Zimbabwe | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -2 | 1 |

Group C Table
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|—–|————|—|—|—|—|—–|—–|
| 1 | Nigeria | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | +4 | 9 |
| 2 | Tunisia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | +1 | 4 |
| 3 | Tanzania | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | -1 | 2 |
| 4 | Uganda | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -4 | 1 |

Group D Table
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|—–|————|—|—|—|—|—–|—–|
| 1 | Senegal | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | +6 | 7 |
| 2 | DR Congo | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | +4 | 7 |
| 3 | Benin | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -3 | 3 |
| 4 | Botswana | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -7 | 0 |

Group E Table
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|—–|————|—|—|—|—|—–|—–|
| 1 | Algeria | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | +6 | 9 |
| 2 | Burkina Faso | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | +2 | 6 |
| 3 | Sudan | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -4 | 3 |
| 4 | Equatorial Guinea | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -4 | 0 |

Group F Table
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|—–|————|—|—|—|—|—–|—–|
| 1 | Ivory Coast | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | +2 | 7 |
| 2 | Cameroon | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | +2 | 7 |
| 3 | Mozambique | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -1 | 3 |
| 4 | Gabon | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -3 | 0 |

Third-Place Ranking

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