The Africa Cup of Nations 2023 is actually being held in early 2024, but it’s as eagerly anticipated as ever with the top footballing nations from the continent all heading to the Ivory Coast.
The host nation were expected to compete with AFCON heavyweights such as Senegal, Egypt and Ghana, while Morocco were full of hope after a strong showing at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Of course, the Black Stars’ campaign came to an early end when they were knocked out at the group stage, while Ivory Coast only just scraped through to the Round of 16.
Who will walk away with the trophy at the end of it all? We’ll find out over the course of a month’s engrossing action.
The Sporting News has you covered when it comes to the tournament schedule, bracket and group standings, with results and fixtures updated below after every single game day. It should be a fascinating few weeks.
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AFCON 2023 format and rules
There are 24 teams competing in this iteration of the Africa Cup of Nations, initially split into six groups of four.
With the knockout stages starting with a Round of 16 — and being one-off straight knockout ties — that means that, as well as the top two from each group, four of the best third-placed teams in the groups will also get a knockout spot.
In the event that two teams are locked on the same points, their placing will be determined on:
Points in the head-to-head match between the two tied teamsGoal difference in the groupGoals scored overall in the groupDrawing of lots.
In the knockout stages, games will go to 30 minutes of extra time and then penalties if the teams cannot be separated. There will also be a third-place playoff between the two losing semifinalists to determine who gets the bronze medal.
Sadio Mané has scored or assisted 𝟰𝟴% of Senegal’s goals over the last three AFCON tournaments ⚽️🅰️
The main man 🤩 pic.twitter.com/VdAnYUKJqi
— 𝙇𝙚𝙞𝙡𝙖 (@Leila_1B) January 15, 2024
AFCON fixtures, results, schedule and group tables
The qualification process for the tournament, which is known as AFCON 2023 but is taking place in 2024, was finalised by mid-September 2023. Host nation Ivory Coast were automatically placed in Group A, with the final qualifiers being Namibia.
Here’s how the groups ended up being drawn, with results and standings updated regularly:
Group A table Team GP W D L GD Pts Equatorial Guinea (Q) 3 2 1 0 +6 7 Nigeria (Q) 3 2 1 0 +2 7 Ivory Coast 3 1 0 2 -3 3 Guinea-Bissau 3 0 0 3 -5 0
Results/fixtures
Jan 13: Ivory Coast 2-0 Guinea-BissauJan 14: Nigeria 1-1 Equatorial GuineaJan 18: Equatorial Guinea 4-2 Guinea-BissauJan 18: Ivory Coast 0-1 NigeriaJan 22: Equatorial Guinea 4-0 Ivory CoastJan 22: Guinea-Bissau 0-1 NigeriaGroup B Team GP W D L GD Pts Cape Verde (Q) 3 2 1 0 +4 7 Egypt (Q) 3 0 3 0 0 3 Ghana 3 0 2 1 -1 2 Mozambique 3 0 2 1 -3 2
Results/fixtures
Jan 14: Egypt 2-2 MozambiqueJan 14: Ghana 1-2 Cape VerdeJan 18: Egypt 2-2 GhanaJan 19: Cape Verde 3-0 MozambiqueJan 22: Cape Verde 2-2 EgyptJan 22: Mozambique 2-2 GhanaGroup C Team GP W D L GD Pts Senegal (Q) 3 3 0 0 +7 9 Cameroon (Q) 3 1 1 1 -1 4 Guinea (q) 3 1 1 1 -1 4 Gambia 3 0 0 3 -5 0
Results/fixtures
Jan 15: Senegal 3-0 GambiaJan 15: Cameroon 1-1 GuineaJan 19: Senegal 3-1 CameroonJan 19: Guinea 1-0 GambiaJan 23: Gambia 2-3 CameroonJan 23: Guinea 0-2 SenegalGroup D Team GP W D L GD Pts Angola (Q) 3 2 1 0 +3 7 Burkina Faso (Q) 3 1 1 1 -1 4 Mauritania (q) 3 1 0 2 -1 3 Algeria 3 0 2 1 -1 2
Results/fixtures
Jan 15: Algeria 1-1 AngolaJan 16: Burkina Faso 1-0 MauritaniaJan 20: Algeria 2-2 Burkina FasoJan 20: Mauritania 2-3 AngolaJan 23: Angola 2-0 Burkina FasoJan 23: Mauritania 1-0. AlgeriaGroup E Team GP W D L GD Pts Mali 3 1 2 0 2 5 South Africa 3 1 1 1 2 4 Namibia 3 1 1 1 -3 4 Tunisia 3 0 2 1 -1 2
Results/fixtures
Jan 16: Tunisia 0-1 NamibiaJan 16: Mali 2-0 South AfricaJan 20: Tunisia 1-1 MaliJan 21: South Africa 4-0 NamibiaJan 24: Namibia 0-0 MaliJan 24: South Africa 0-0 TunisiaGroup F Team GP W D L GD Pts Morocco 3 2 1 0 +4 7 DR Congo 3 0 3 0 0 3 Zambia 3 0 2 1 -1 2 Tanzania 3 0 2 1 -3 2
Results/fixtures
Jan 17: Morocco 3-0 TanzaniaJan 17: DR Congo 1-1 ZambiaJan 21: Zambia 1-1 TanzaniaJan 21: Morocco 1-1 DR CongoJan 24: Tanzania 0-0 DR CongoJan 24: Zambia 0-1 Morocco
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AFCON knockout stage schedule and fixtures
Round of 16 fixtures
Date Time (ET) Match result January 27 12 p.m. Angola 3-0 Namibia January 27 3 p.m. Nigeria 2-0 Cameroon January 28 12 p.m. Equatorial Guinea 0-1 Guinea January 28 3 p.m. Egypt 1-1 (7-8 P) Dr Congo January 29 12 p.m. Cape Verde 1-0 Mauritania January 29 3 p.m. Senegal 1-1 (4-5 P) Ivory Coast January 30 12 p.m. Morocco vs. South Africa January 30 3 p.m. Mali vs. Burkina Faso
Quarterfinals
Date Match February 2 Nigeria vs. Angola February 2 Guinea vs. Round of 16 winner 4 February 3 Round of 16 winner 5 vs. Round of 16 winner 6 February 3 Round of 16 winner 7 vs. Round of 16 winner 8
Semifinals and third-place playoff
The semifinals will take both place on February 7.
The third-place playoff, between the two losing semifinalists, will be held on February 10.
Final
The tournament concludes with the final in Abidjan on February 11.