After eight gruelling rounds of games in the Round of sixteen of the 2021 AFCON in Cameroon, battles for the quarterfinals have been decided.
In the first game of the Round of 16, Gabon lost on penalties to Burkina Faso after a 1-1 draw after 120 minutes. Nigeria lost by a lone goal to Tunisia as the most impressive team in the group stage suffered an early exit in the competition.
The Gambia defeated Guinea 1-0 courtesy of a Modou Barrow 71st-minute winner. The AFCON debutants have continued their fairytale run at the competition as they are yet to lose a game. Cameroon overcame a depleted Comoros but had to work to get a positive result despite facing a team ravaged by COVID-19, a situation which saw its outfield player play in goal for 90minutes. Chaker Alhadur became a global sensation on Monday night after pegging Cameroon to a slim victory. His name made the rounds and he trended on social media. He saved many shots on the night and ensured that his AFCON-debuting team was saved some embarrassment.
Senegal defeated a 9-man Cape Verde team 2-0 on Tuesday before Morocco came from behind to defeat Malawi 2-1. Ivory Coast on Wednesday lost on penalties to Egypt after both teams failed to score during regulation time. The day’s second game also saw a wasteful Mali get punished for their profligacy against Equatorial Guinea as the team failed to make any of its chances count. Mali lost on penalties to the Equatoguineans who will face Senegal in the quarterfinal.
Burkina Faso will face Tunisia, The Gambia will hope to inflict yet another damage on a big team when they face hosts Cameroon while Egypt will face Morocco.
