Forebet is proud to provide analysis and predictions for the Africa Cup of Nations. With the group stage in the books, it’s time for the knockout phase to begin.
Unbeaten Angola booked their place in the last 16 by finishing atop Group D, while Namibia are in the knockouts for the very first time after finishing third in Group E.
𝗤𝗨𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗜𝗘𝗗!!🇳🇦 Namibia has qualified for the Round of 16 of the AFCON Cup competition for the first time in our history! 😭🔥🔥#BraveWarriorsAfcon pic.twitter.com/0gXortDx5P— 𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐲 𝐍𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐚 🇳🇦 (@FootyNamibia) January 24, 2024
𝗤𝗨𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗜𝗘𝗗!!🇳🇦 Namibia has qualified for the Round of 16 of the AFCON Cup competition for the first time in our history! 😭🔥🔥#BraveWarriorsAfcon pic.twitter.com/0gXortDx5P
On Saturday, the Black Sable Antelopes will lock horns with the Brave Warriors at Stade de la Paix. Keep reading to discover what our predictive analytics make of this clash.
Angola held Algeria to a 1-1 draw in their opening game, despite registering just 33% possession and a solitary attempt on target during the contest.
In their second match, the Black Sable Antelopes defeated Mauritania before claiming a 2-0 victory over Burkina Faso to remain unbeaten in the tournament.
Only three teams – Equatorial Guinea, Senegal and Cape Verde – have scored more goals than Angola’s six, meaning they average two goals per game.
When you look at the bigger picture, Angola have avoided defeat in each of their last nine matches across all competitions, including friendlies.
Meanwhile, Namibia kicked off their AFCON campaign with a shock 1-0 victory over Tunisia, courtesy of Deon Kavendji’s 88th-minute winner.
The Brave Warriors were humiliated by South Africa in their second game – suffering a 4-0 thrashing – but they managed to hold Mali to a goalless draw last time out.
Although Namibia scored a solitary goal while conceding four during the group stage, they managed to advance thanks to a couple of clean sheets.
Trends show that Namibia have now kept four clean sheets in their last five games, with six shutouts coming in their previous nine encounters.
Head-to-head: Each of the three previous meetings between Angola and Namibia ended in a draw, although their last encounter came back in 2011.
Following a 3-3 draw during the group stage of the 1998 Africa Cup of Nations, the two sides played out a couple of draws in 2009 and 2011.
Team news: Angola will likely continue with a 4-3-3 formation, with Gilberto and Gelson Dala offering attacking support to striker Mabululu.
Namibia, on the other hand, are expected to deploy a 4-1-4-1 formation, with Aprocius Petrus anchoring the midfield and Peter Shalulile leading the line.
Although Angola are one of the highest-scoring teams in the competition, Namibia have kept two clean sheets in three matches.
With that in mind, Forebet predicts that Angola and Namibia will play out a goalless stalemate in normal time, requiring extra time and/or penalties to decide the contest.