The group stage of the Africa Cup of Nations has been completed and the tournament is beginning to take shape as the contenders are beginning to emerge as well as the dark horses.
As is expected in major international tournaments, there have been shock results and hot favorites like Senegal and Algeria have underperformed in the initial round and we might see a new force emerge at AFCON 2021.
This article takes you through the biggest talking points from the group stage of the African showpiece as we resume the thrill of the knockout rounds.
Comoros the Fairytale Underdogs
The tiny archipelago nation continued their underdog story into the Round of 16 as they now face a David-Goliath clash against tournament hosts and 2017 winners Cameroon.
Comoros pulled off one of the all-time greatest AFCON upsets with a 3-2 victory over Ghana in Group C to dump out the four-time kings of Africa.
With a population of just under a million, Africa’s fourth smallest country and 132nd ranked side in the world entered the history books just four minutes into the game with their first-ever AFCON goal scored by striker El Fardou Ben Nabouhane.
Ahmed Mogni doubled their lead and completed his brace late on to secure their first ever win at the biennial tournament. That result was enough to qualify Comoros for the knockout stages as one of four best third-placed sides and they await their date with destiny against the hosts on Monday evening.
Aboubakar the Group Stage MVP
Vincent Aboubakar has taken AFCON 2021 by storm as the former Porto man has become the undisputed star of the tournament so far.
The striker has scored five times in three group stage games against Burkina Faso, Ethiopia and Cape Verde to become by far the tournament’s top goal scorer as his prowess in front of goal lit up a previously low-scoring affair.
The 29-year-old scored the winning goal in the 2017 AFCON Final against Egypt to end their 15-year wait for a continental crown and now looks set to outperform his heroics with a talismanic showing on home soil.
Champions Curse Strikes Algeria
A well-established trend with defending champions at major international tournaments played out in Cameroon as Algeria were knocked out in the group stage despite an African-record 35-game unbeaten run going into the tournament.
The Desert Foxes were largely expected to progress from a group containing Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, and Sierra Leone but somehow contrived to finish bottom of the group. After a stale nil-nil draw against the Leone Stars on opening day, Algeria huffed and puffed but couldn’t find a breakthrough against the Equatoguineans as they were stunned by a late goal; leaving it all to do in a Matchday 3 showdown against Ivory Coast when they were outclassed 3-1 to fully realize their nightmare title defense.
The devastation of the Fennecs’ AFCON 2021 campaign is summarized in the fact no other team recorded more ball possession, chances created or shots on goal throughout the group stage yet they finished with a single point and a goal.
Time for West Africa Again?
As the drama of Algeria getting knocked out unfolded, North African counterparts Tunisia and Egypt also endured underwhelming group stage campaigns.
Egypt suffered a devastating loss to Nigeria on opening day in which the gulf in class was more than the 1-0 scoreline suggested. The confidence-sapping performance prompted intense backlash in the Egyptian media but they recovered with single-goal wins over group minnows Sudan and Guinea-Bissau to progress to a last 16 meeting with Ivory Coast.
Tunisia only scraped behind Mali and Gambia as a third-placed side having thrashed tournament debutants Mauritania and they face a daunting knockout fixture against Nigeria.
That leaves Morocco as the only North African top contenders having finished first in group C ahead of Gabon, Comoros and Ghana. This suggests the AFCON title could return to West Africa after Algeria ended a drought in 2019 since Egypt last won their record seventh crown in 2010.
With Senegal having a large room for improvement, Nigeria firing on all cylinders, Cameroon looking capable contenders, Ivory Coast ever-improving and dark horses like Mali all in good form, the AFCON title might yet be set for the shores of West Africa.
Refereeing Headlines – the Good and the Ugly
Another piece of AFCON history was made during the group stage as Rwandan referee Salima Mukansanga headed an all-female officiating team for Zimbabwe’s 2-1 win over Guinea in group B.
The 35-year-old became the first woman to referee an AFCON match alongside Cameroon’s Carine Atemzabong, Morocco duo Fatiha Jermoumi and Bouchra Karboubi on Video Assistant Referee (VAR) duty.
Mukansanga had earlier made history by becoming the first woman to officiate an AFCON game when she was the fourth official in Guinea’s group opener against Malawi.
Elsewhere, there was absolute chaos as referee Janny Sikazwe of Zambia ended the game early when Mali was 1-0 ahead against Tunisia in their Group F opener in Limbe. The major refereeing blunder began when Sikazwe first blew for full-time after only 85 minutes, then restarted the game but signaled for the end again about 20 seconds before the 90 minutes were up.
The farcical scenes created negative headlines as the infuriated Tunisia coach, Mondher Kebaier, and his coaching crew ran to protest at the referee who had to be escorted from the field by security officials. About 30 minutes after the game had ended, Mali players were back out on the turf but Tunisia refused to restart the game.
It was later revealed that the under-fire referee suffered from heatstroke and severe dehydration as he had to be taken to hospital after the match due to the effects of the 34-degree heat and 65 percent humidity in Limbe, Cameroon.