AFCON 2019 update

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In case you don't know, AFCON is the acronym for African Cup of Nations. It's a tournament played by African teams. It was hosted by Egypt, the most successful in terms of number of trophies won. It's quite unfortunate they are out of the competition already. They aren't the only ones we thought wouldn't leave the competition at this stage, there were other surprises, too, and we might see another one today.

Egypt was paired with South Africa in the round of sixteen. Their opponent wasn't really in good form this season, so all odds was on them to win the match easily. South Africa qualified as best loser while Egypt won all their matches to top group A. After more than 80 minutes of game play, they couldn't get a goal against South Africa before they were shocked with a late goal. There was sadness in the crowd, but nothing could be done. The hosting nation left the competition too early, in a time we never expected.

The match between Nigeria and Cameroon was another interesting match. Super Eagles' last match before that confirms they weren't too fit to defeat Cameroon, but they destroyed that belief. Ighalo got the first goal in the match, but the joy didn't last. Cameroon returned the goal with two goals in four minutes. Nigeria came back stronger in the second half to win the match by 3 goals to 2. They will be playing against South Africa in the quarter final. Another interesting match to expect. If you had thought Cameroon will be playing against Egypt in the quarter final, you'd thought wrong. Both teams were defeated.

If South Africa shocked you, then you probably didn't watch the match between Morocco and Benin. The red card Benin got didn't stop them from qualifying. Morocco had high hopes of qualifying when the draw was made. The match ended 1 - 1 and they lost in a penalty shootout. Benin was another team that qualified as best losers and here they are in the quater final ready to play against Senegal. Yes, Senegal qualified, too. Sadio Mane's goal in the 15th minute gave them all they needed to advance to the next stage. Uganda couldn't get a goal, so it ended 1 - 0 in favour of Senegal.

Madagascar played 2 - 2 against DR Congo and qualified after winning the penalty shootouts. This team is appearing for the first time and they are already in the quater finals. Let's hope they don't win it. If they do, it will be one of the greatest surprises in football. They will be facing a tough opponent in the quater final, though. Algeria dismantled Guinea by 3 goals to nil, so Madagascar should watch out for them.

Mali will be playing against Ivory Coast today while Ghana will take on Tunisia. Who are you betting on? Who are you counting on qualifying? Let me see your thoughts in the comment section below.