Top favourite to win the overall title crashes out against an underdog, Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals to be played without main favourites

The unexpected demise of the favourites at the Africa Cup of Nations being played in Ivory Coast is taking on a truly punishing dimension for the realising teams of the favourites. Algeria and Cameroon were the teams that were supposed to play for gold. But they are not even in the quarter-finals of the African championship. The two 2022 finalists – Egypt and Senegal? Both national teams crashed out after penalties, but both also crashed out after unconvincing performances in the eighth finals.

Semi-finalist of the last World Cup is out of the tournament

And now Morocco is out. The team that even played in the semi-finals at the last World Cup in Qatar and was considered one of the biggest favourites before the tournament, said goodbye to the tournament after a disappointing performance against outsiders South Africa.

“I didn’t fail,” coach Walid Regragui said unequivocally at a press conference after the final whistle. He announced before the tournament that he would resign if his team did not reach the semi-finals. He was sure of it. After all, the Moroccan Football Federation had already made it clear to him after the elimination that it simply wasn’t counting on him!

The eight current quarter-finalists of the championship played no role in the fight for the African championship two years ago. Because of Senegal’s elimination, no defending African champion has reached the quarterfinals since 2010. The winds can change quickly in African football. Experts on African football realise that it is virtually impossible to determine a favourite. With Africans arriving for their championships from various parts of Europe just days before the tournament starts.

Moreover, the players do not have to adapt much. They play in the same climate both in the clubs and in the national team. While players who have travelled from Europe have to cope with a temperature difference of up to 30 degrees within a few days, a component that should not be underestimated.

The quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations

In the quarter-finals, the favoured Nigeria will face Angola on Friday, February 2 at 5pm CET. Twenty-five-year-old SSC Napoli striker Victor Osimhen or twenty-five-year-old goalkeeper Francis Uzoho, who is with Omonia Nicosia of Cyprus, are expected to play for Nigeria.

Angola will face Nigeria with striker Agostinho Cristóvão Paciências. He is now in the Egyptian Premier League but has also played for Brazilian side FC Santos.

The other quarter-final pairing on Friday is the Democratic Republic of Congo and Guinea, for whom thirty-three-year-old striker José Kanté Martínez, who was born in Catalonia but only made the B-team in Barcelona and Malaga, will also play, having spent a long time in Poland, specifically at Wisla Plock, Górnik Zabrze and Legia Warsaw. He was also a striker for Larnaca in Cyprus. And now plays in Japan and is a mainstay of the Asian league team Urawa Reds.

The other two quarter-final matches are Mali – Ivory Coast and Cape Verde – South Africa on Saturday. Team Mali has benefited from the great performances of its junior national teams. And their time will surely come, perhaps as early as this year.

Source: Kicker, Sofascore