9 July 2019 – After completion of the Round of 16 matches, the tournament moves to the business end of the Total Africa Cup of Nations, Egypt 2019.
DAY 18 REVIEW:
Mali 0 – 1 Ivory Coast:
- Ivory Coast kept their unbeaten record against Mali in the AFCON with a fourth win in their five meetings (the other game finishing in a draw)
- Mali won two matches in securing qualification for the round of16, twice the number of victories they recorded in previous 11 AFCON games
- Mali is the only team to boast a greater number of individual goal scorers (six) at this tournament in Egypt than Ivory Coast with five.
Ghana 1 – 1 Tunisia (TUNISIA WON 4-5 ON PENALTIES):
- Tunisia finally got the better of the Black Stars in an AFCON game at the eighth time of asking to seal their place in the quarterfinals
- It was the eighth game between Ghana and Tunisia in the AFCON
- The Carthage Eagles secured a vital win in this eighth meeting though through penalties
- Ghana have been eliminated in eight of their twelve games in the knockout phase of the AFCON, after qualifying in five of their previous seven
- Tunisia had been eliminated in their past five knockout games in the AFCON, their last success beyond the group phase before this win against Ghana being their 2-1 win againstMorocco in the final of the 2004 tournament which they hosted and won.
QUARTERFINALS:
Five former winners and two new comers at this level of the competition have joint Senegal to complete the table for the Round of eight, with five group toppers knocked out
Benin:
- The Squirrels of Benin have never played an AFCON quarterfinal game since the quarterfinals were introduced in the competition in 1992
- They stunned everyone when they eliminated 1976 winners and 2004 runners-up Morocco in a game that very few gave them a chance in especially after finishing only third in Group F with no win
- They went against Group D winners Morocco who hada maximum nine points from a very difficult group with no goal conceded
- In their fourth AFCON appearance Benin will face the Teranga Lions who edged Uganda 1-0 in the Round of 16
Senegal:
- Senegal will be playing the quarterfinals ofthe African Cup of Nations for the eighth time and have lost three of their previous seven games at this level in the competition
Tunisia:
- The Carthage Eagles of Tunisia won the AFCON in 2004 and are in their 14thconsecutive AFCON appearance
- They finished second in Group E behind Mali with three points from three draws
- Tunisia will be playing the quarterfinals of the AFCON for a 10th time
- They have managed to win just four of their nine previous fixtures at this level of the competition
Madagascar:
- Madagascar are the first team not to be beaten in their first four AFCON games after Zambia avoided defeat in their first five games from 1974
- The Islanders are living in wonder land after qualifying for the quarterfinals against 1968 and 1974 winners the DRC
Nigeria:
- The Super Eagles of Nigeria earned a hard fought third AFCON game win against defending champions Cameroon on their seventh meeting in the competition
- They will face 1996 winners South Africa
- The Super Eagles defeated three-time winners and defending champions Cameroon
- They will be playing the quarterfinalsfor a ninth time
- They have won all their previous eight quarterfinals ties in the AFCON, the last being a 2-1 win against Ivory Coast in 2013
South Africa:
- South Africa shocked hosts and 7-time winners Egypt
- The North Africans failed to win the AFCON on home soil for the second time after failing to do so before in 1974
- In all five times they hosted the tournament
- The last time South Africa qualified for the quarterfinals in the AFCON was in 2013 when they lost to Mali on penalties
- They will be playing the quarterfinals for the sixth time and have won three of the previous five.
Algeria:
- Algeria has been the most consistent team in the 2019 tournament so far
- They made light work of Guinea to set up a quarterfinals tie against Ivory Coast
- The 1990 winners will be playing their fifth quarterfinals in 18 AFCON appearances and only succeeded to beat Zambia on penalties in 2010 tournament
- They will have their work cut out against 1992 and 2015 winners Ivory Coast who are making their 23rd AFCON appearance
Ivory Coast:
- Ivory Coast had a tricky tie against the Eagles of Mali but the Elephants emerged victorious
- The Ivorians will be playing their 9th quarterfinals in the tournament andhave won five of their previous 9 ties at this level of the competition
- Their last win was a 3-1 win against Nigeria in 2015.
A total of eight goals were scored in the round of 16 with two games decided through penalty shootouts
A total of 33 yellow cards and one red card were brandished.
QUARTERFINAL FIXTURES:
Wednesday, 10 July 2019
18h00
30 June Stadium
Senegal vs Benin
Wednesday, 10 July 2019
21h00
Cairo International Stadium
Nigeria vs South Africa
Thursday, 11 July 2019
18h00
Suez Stadium
Algeria vs Cote d’Ivoire
Thursday, 11 July 2019
21h00
Al Salam Stadium
Madagascar vs Tunisia
(Source: kick442.com)