The 2021 AFCON knockout stage is set to take center stage starting Sunday with some mouth-watering clashes lined up, the most anticipated one being that of Ivory Coast and Egypt on Wednesday.From a premature end to the Mali and Tunisia match to the surprise exits and packages at the competition, to the use of VAR technology which many have jokingly said is an issue that should have been left to our ancestors to deal with, AFCON is the giver who keeps on giving.We take a look at some of the interesting group stage stats in this edition and compare them with those of the 2019 edition of the competition in Egypt which Kenya was part of.A total of 68 goals have been scored in the 36 matches that have been played so far, coincidentally a tally identify to the number of goals scored at the same stage in 2019.Mshambuliaji wa Cameroon Vincent Aboubakar ametajwa mchezaji bora wa hatua ya makundi michuano ya AFCON 2021. Ana magoli 5 kwenye mechi 3 za makundi na kwa sasa yuko kileleni kwa orodha ya wafungaji bora mashindano haya. #AFCON2021 pic.twitter.com/HM6CvNTTRD— Mozzart Bet Kenya (@mozzartbetkenya) January 22, 2022 In that edition, CECAFA region pair of Kenya and Tanzania saw 15 goals of the 68 in the group stage scored against them in Group C, with Kenya conceding 7 and Tanzania 8, the most in the edition.Cameroon’s Vincent Abubakar is leading the scoring chart after netting five times for the Indomitable Lions in the three group stage games, a tally similar to that of the overall top scorer in 2019 Odion Ighalo.At this stage in 2019, Kenya’s Michael Olunga, Algeria’s Adam Ounas, Benin’s Mikael Pote, DR Congo’s Cedric Bakambu, Egypt’s pair of Mohamed Salah and Ahmed Elmohamady, Guinea’s Mohamed Yattara, Madagascar’s Carolus Andriamatsinoro, Senegal’s Sadio Mane, Uganda’s Emmanuel Okwi, and Ghana’s Jordan Ayew were all on two goals and tied in the scoring chart.Interestingly, Ighalo had only scored in Nigeria’s opening group match against Burundi but went on to grab four more goals in the knockouts.🇲🇱 Ibrahima Koné in the last international break:7/10 🆚 Kenya:Hat-trick + assist.10/10 🆚 Kenya:Scored the Eagles’ winning goal.#WorldCup | @femafoot | #WCQ pic.twitter.com/eN1c7JLVOC— #TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 🏆 (@CAF_Online) October 16, 2021 Aboubakar seems poised to run with the golden boot in this edition, but Mali’s striker and Harambee Stars tormentor in chief in the World Cup qualifiers Ibrahima Kone follows closely with 3.Nigeria is the only team to win all the group matches in Cameroon, being an improvement for the side as compared to 2019 when they won two and lost one. In general, it is a drop from the last edition where three teams, Egypt, Algeria, and Morocco, had maximum points from the group stage.Mauritania exited the competition without scoring a goal and without a point to their name, with Guinea Bissau being the other team that did not score a single goal at the competition. In 2019, it was Namibia, Tanzania, and Burundi who bid the competition without recording a single point, with Burundi also failing to find even a goal.Mshambuliaji wa Cameroon 🇨🇲 Vincent Aboubakar amekuwa mchezaji wa kwanza wa Cameroon kufunga kwenye mechi tatu mfululizo ya AFCON kutoka Samuel Eto’o amefanya hivo 2008. Alifunga magoli 2 ndani ya dakika 2 dhidi ya Ethiopia 🇪🇹. pic.twitter.com/nzAJT2sYhQ— Mozzart Bet Kenya (@mozzartbetkenya) January 14, 2022 Cameroon scored the most goals, 7, while Mauritania conceded the same number, the most by any participating country this year in the groups. Mali and Algeria, who were bundled out at the group stage this edition earlier, were the highest-scoring nations in 2019 at the group stage with six goals each.Only Senegal is yet to concede a goal in Cameroon. In 2019, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, and Cameroon did not concede a goal in the group stage.
