The 2017 Africa Cup of Nations has reached the quarter-finals stage and with the groups complete, the tournament is now pure knock-out, there are no second chances.
Not one team managed to maintain a 100% record in the group stages. Ghana had the opportunity to do that but lost their final match to Egypt, 1-0 and this saw them drop to second place in Group D and set up a meeting with DR Congo, who were impressive in topping Group C.
With 6 goals to their name, DR Congo are the joint top goal scorers in the competition and come up against a Ghana team who have found the back of net just twice in three games and could be missing Asamoah Gyan. Ghana are the bookmaker’s favourites for this game but with leading scorer, Junior Kabananga in their ranks, DR Congo have what it takes to win this match.
Egypt progressed to the quarter-finals without conceding a goal, although they only managed to score two goals themselves. They will take on a Morocco team who defeated Ivory Coast in their final group game, to ensure qualification. However, Ivory Coast were poor in that match and Egypt should present a much tougher test of Morocco’s credentials.
Having missed the previous three Africa Cup of Nations, Egypt look determined to win the tournament they won three times in a row between 2006 and 2010. Expect to see the Egyptians in the semi-final, where they will play the winners of the match between Burkina Faso and Tunisia.
Tunisia needed only a draw in their final group game to make the quarter-finals but went through in style thanks to a 4-2 victory over Zimbabwe. It was the win over Algeria, in the second round of matches which set-up Tunisia nicely for the chance to progress and they have scored 6 goals in their last two games in the tournament.
However, they come up against a Burkina Faso team who have shown a stubbornness not to be beaten. Despite drawing their first two matches, they defeated Guinea Bissau in their final group game, which saw them progress and end the hopes of the host, Gabon. This has the makings of a very tight game and one which could go all the way to extra-time and penalties.
The final quarter-final is between Senegal and Cameroon. The Senegalese have been the team of the tournament in the group stages and qualified for the quarter-finals before their final match against Algeria, which ended in a 2-2 draw. Senegal will have the likes of Sadio Mane back for the match against Cameroon, having been rested in final group game and they are strongly fancied to see off a Cameroon team, who failed to defeat both Burkina Faso and Gabon in Group A.
There are plenty of goals in this Senegal team and Cameroon will struggle to keep them out, resulting in a comfortable win for the Lions of Teranga and a place in the semi-final of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.