The Round of 16 of the CAF Côte d’Ivoire 2023 African Cup of Nations is up and running, on Saturday Angola and Nigeria drubbed their opponents Namibia and Cameroon respectively, to set up the first match of the last eight, but who will join them on Sunday?Two matches are lined up to determine the next pair who will battle for Africa glory in the quarter-finals.Equatorial Guinea vs GuineaA Guinean derby looms in the knockout stages of the Africa Cup of Nations as Equatorial Guinea prepares to face off with Guinea in the round of 16 at Ebimpe’s Alassane Ouattara Olympic Stadium starting at 8.00 PM EAT.The winner of this match will progress to the last eight, where they will face either the seven-time champions Egypt or two-time winners Congo DR on February 2 at the same venue.This year’s AFCON has already provided a few shocks, and perhaps the biggest of those surprises came from Group A, where Equatorial Guinea defied the pre-tournament odds to win the group. However, they were deserved winners as they held off African heavyweights Ivory Coast and Nigeria while managing an excellent tally of nine goals in their three matches, which was the most of any side in the group stages.AFCON2023: Equatorial Guinea’s Emilio Nsue outshining star names at Cup of NationsEquatorial Guinea have now reached the knockout stage in each of the last four AFCON competitions they have featured in (2012, 2015, 2021, and 2023) and are the only nation to have played and reached the knockouts in each of their AFCON appearances since the group stage was introduced back in 1963Equatorial head coach Juan Micha understands the tough assignment that awaits and says they won’t underrate the opponent.“I think we are here to tackle match by match. We are already in the round of 16 which will be a difficult match. We are not favorites. We always respect the opponent. We take tomorrow’s match as a normal game, and we will work hard in our preparation,” he told CAF online.The Equatorial Guinea savior! 🇬🇶Jesús Owono ➡️ Best goalkeeper of the #TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 group-stages 🧤 pic.twitter.com/wWxEMilPQh— CAF (@CAF_Online) January 26, 2024 Their opponent, Guinea qualified as one of the four best third-placed finishers after finishing on 4 points in Group C behind leaders Senegal (9 points) and Cameroon who were level on points but with a better goal difference.Their best showing dates back to 1976 when they lost to Morocco in the final played in Ethiopia. Under the tutelage of Kaba Diawara the Nationals Elephants were eliminated in the round of 16 during the two previous editions. The country was also a quarter-finalist in 2006, 2008, and 2015.History is not on Guinea’s side, as they have suffered defeat in their last six AFCON knockout games and failed to score in the last four, including their round of 16 clashes in 2019 (3-0 against Algeria) and 2021 (1-0 against Gambia).Diawara on his side maintained that group-stage struggles will not affect his charges as they are focused on reaching a new milestone in the tournament, “all we want is to win tomorrow. We know that the group stage has nothing to do with the knockout stage. It’s another AFCON which is direct elimination. We just have to win, and I insist on that.” ##NAJAVA_MECA_7828084##Egypt vs DR CongoThe fourth match in the round of 16 at the Africa Cup of Nations will see Egypt take on Congo DR at Stade Laurent Pokou from 11.00 PM EAT.Returning to this level of competition for the first time since 2019, DR Congo do not intend to stop. And, especially after the hurdles of the group stage, they are eager to prove a point. Just like their opponents, the Leopards did not win a single match to reach the second round with three draws from three matches.A concern for the Leopards will be their inability to convert, which is something they will look at fixing ahead of their clash with Egypt.After a frantic end to their final group stage fixture, the Egyptians will be hoping for a more straightforward result here, but history suggests that may not be the case, with four out of their last seven AFCON knockout ties having gone to a penalty shootout.However, history will also give The Pharaoh’s confidence heading into Sunday’s showdown, as they have only lost one of their five Africa Cup of Nations encounters against this opponent while winning three and drawing the otherAFCON 2023: Cameroon, Look away! Super Eagles soar through thanks to Ademola’s braceThe Pharaohs’ head coach Rui Vitoria remained optimistic about a win but raised concerns about numerous injuries that have rocked his camp.“Coming here, we knew that we would only settle for the finals so it will be another final against the DRC. They are a good team and will be difficult to beat. We are ready but not 100% due to our numerous injuries. But we have to deal with it. We’ve had a bit of bad luck following us from the start but that’s football. We are ambitious. We are going to put our qualities into play. All the teams in this competition are equal.” He told CAF OnlineThe Leopards expert Sébastien Desabre said his players are motivated for the match though will face it as the underdogs well knowing the opponent’s capabilities.“Egypt is the favorite in this match. We will be challengers and this position suits us too. The match will be difficult because we know the potential of Egypt. But we also know that we have a good margin for improvement. We know what we need to improve. Until then, we have shown interesting things but not necessarily validated by victories. My players are motivated. We are going to use the ball and play our game. We want to show everyone that DR Congo is back.”##NAJAVA_MECA_7828964##🇪🇬 The EFA Board have announced that they slaughtered a calf and gave away the meat to the poor, a sacrifice to help the team avoid more injuries and draws at this AFCON.Egypt also did this tradition in 2008 and went on to win the trophy. #AFCON2023 [@amrnfahmy] pic.twitter.com/w1YHYEFrOK— Owuraku Ampofo (@_owurakuampofo) January 26, 2024 AFCON 2023 – LAST 16SaturdayAngola – Namibia 3-0 (2-0)/Dala 38, 43 Mabululu 66/Nigeria – Cameroon 1-0 (0-0)/Lookman 36/Sunday20:00: (3.30) Equatorial Guinea (3.10) Guinea (2.35)23:00: (2.45) Egypt (3.05) Dr Congo (3.15)Monday20:00: (2.00) Cape Verde (3.20) Mauritania (4.20)23:00: (2.35) Senegal (3.10) Ivory Coast (3.30)Tuesday20:00: (2.30) Mali (3.10) Burkina Faso (3.40)23:00: (1.62) Morocco (3.50) S.Africa (6.50)***odds are subject to change***
