The two remaining AFCON quarter finals take place on Saturday when Algeria take on Nigeria and Egypt clash with Ivory Coast
Note, odds are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
Algeria v Nigeria
Algeria’s Round of 16 match up with DR Congo was settled by an Adil Boulbina goal in the 199th minute. Regulation time failed to provide a goal and we looked to be heading for penalty kicks when Boulbina settled what had been an even contest
Algeria topped Group E with a perfect 3 wins from 3 to finish 3 points clear of Burkina Faso. Sudan also qualified in third with 3 points and Equatorial Guinea failed to earn a point.
Riyad Mahrez scored 3 goals in Algeria’s first 2 group matches, a 3-0 win over Sudan and 1-0 victory over Burkina Faso. That was enough to see Algeria through but they still made short work of Equatorial Guinea with a 3-1 victory in their final group match
Nigeria’s Round of 16 clash with Mozambique took place 24 hours before the Algerian’s met DR Congo and the goals continued to flow for the Super Eagles who ran out 4-0 winners. Ademola Lookman opened the scoring and Victor Osimhen made it 2-0 before half time. Osimhen grabbed his second goal of the game early in the second half to effectively seal the win and Akor Adams rounded off the scoring. Lookman and Adams both provided 2 assists.
Nigeria topped Group C with 3 wins from 3 to finish 5 points clear of Tunisia. Tanzania (2 points) qualified as a best third place finisher and Uganda (1 point) have returned home. The Super Eagles 100% record comprised of wins over Tanzania (2-1), Tunisia (3-2) and finally Uganda (3-1) and they are the the top scorers in the tournament so far.
The Verdict
Nigeria have the most potent strike force in the tournament but they have kept just the one clean sheet so far and Algeria will likely have huge support in the stands. Such match ups are generally tight but I’m taking my chances with a goalscorer interest in the shape of a price boost for Lookman to score for the Super Eagles in normal time.
Bet: Anytime goalscorer Lookman, boosted to 3.75/1 with Sportingbet
Egypt v Ivory Coast
Egypt were firm favourites to see of Bein in the Round of 16 but they needed extra time before running out 3-1 winners. Marwan Attia gave Egypt the lead in the second half but they were pegged back and with 7 minutes remaining Benin levelled things up and that’s the way regulation time finished. Yasser Ibrahim put Egypt back in front and Mo Salah made it 3-1 at the death.
Egypt topped Group B, unbeaten with 7 points to finish 1 clear of South Africa and Angola (2 points) and Zimbabwe (1 point) were eliminated. Egypt began with a 2-1 win over Zimbabwe and in their second outing they edged out Bafana 1-0 despite playing the whole of the second half of that game with 10 men. That allowed them to make changes for their final group match, a 0-0 draw with Angola.
Defending champions Ivory Coast were 3-0 winners over Burkina Faso in the Round of 16. Amad Diallo continued his impressive form with the opening goal before setting up Yan Diomande for the second before half time. Bazoumana Toure settled the argument late on with a third.
Ivory Coast topped Group F due to a better goals scored record than Cameroon. Both those nations finished on 7 points, Mozambique also made it through with 3 points and Gabon lost all 3 matches to finish bottom of the quartet. Diallo was on target for Ivory Coast in their first 2 matches, a 1-0 win over Mozambique followed by a 1-1 draw with Cameroon. In their final group match they fell 2-0 behind to Gabon but worked their way back into it and completed the comeback in injury time to run out 3-2 winners which saw them top the group
The Verdict
I’m finding it tough to separate these two nations and extra time would come as no surprise to me.
Bet: Match result draw at 19/10 with Sportingbet
Note, odds are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change