Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinals are underway, and to be honest, we have pretty surprising clashes at this stage. Believe it or not, all eight teams are different compared to the previous tournament, and big-time favorites, like the reigning champs, Senegal, World Cup semifinalists, Morocco, Algeria, and others, are eliminated.
BetXchange has excellent odds and offers for all four quarterfinals, and we are here to make a short preview of the entire stage, scanning each game.
Who’s gonna win the AFCON? 🏆🌍 pic.twitter.com/tKlVKHVs6R
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 30, 2024
Nigeria vs. Angola
The Super Eagles are favorites here, but on the other side, Angola is a very nasty rival in this AFCON. They haven’t lost ten games in a row, and after five consecutive draws, they now have four victories in five meetings. They eliminated Namibia in the round of 16, 3-0, showing a decisive and very ruthless display.
Nigeria has been playing solid football over the past several months, but it seems that their form hit its peak at this AFCON. They were better than Cameroon in the round of 16, beating their big rivals 2-0. Sure, this team doesn’t have too many superstars like in the past, but on the other side, they act as one, which is why they have solid results.
The Nigerian side has a rock-solid defense, and the same goes for Angola, which is why we don’t think this match will see more than two goals.
DR Congo vs. Guinea
Congo had four draws at this AFCON tournament before reaching the quarterfinals. Four games, four draws, that’s their record. The round of 16 saw them eliminate one of the biggest title contenders, beating Egypt following the penalties. That was one of the biggest surprises of the already-odd AFCON.
Guinea had a very tough path up to here, having one win, loss, and a tie in the group before beating Equatorial Guinea in the round of 16, 1-0. They eventually scored in the 98th minute, squeezing out a triumph following an extremely hard matchup.
They are not favorites here, but we still have faith in this unit, to stay unbeaten against DR Kongo. BetXchange has a solid offer for a double chance or draw.
Mali vs. Ivory Coast
Mali wanted to break the curse of the AFCON round of 16 and finally pass this stage following three tournaments in a row. A 2-1 win over Burkina Faso allowed them to see that, setting up a clash with the hosts who are not as strong as they used to be in the past. But Mali isn’t afraid; they didn’t lose the last 12 events, winning eight and recording four ties.
Ivory Coast displayed poor performances in the group stage, where they, for instance, lost to Equatorial Guinea, 4-0. Previously, they were defeated by Nigeria and advanced to the next round only due to a win over Guinea-Bissau. However, a miraculous return against Senegal, whom they eliminated following penalties, erased all that.
The Elephants hope to see them returning to the top of the African continent, though their quality is much lower than before. To be honest, even though Mali faces a hostile crowd, we are closer to believing they are going to stay unbeaten here.
Cape Verde vs. South Africa
Without any doubt, this is the most unexpected pair of the quarterfinals. Cape Verde is still unbeaten at AFCON, having three wins and one tie, beating Mauritania in round 16. This followed a near-perfect episode in the group stage, where this unit beat Ghana and Mozambique and played vs. Egypt.
South Africa had three straight games without a goal conceded, and they have maybe the strongest defense at AFCON right now. Their only loss was to Mali, after whom they beat Namibia and played without goals vs. Tunisia and defeated Morocco 2-0 in the round of 16.
We are almost positive that this event won’t see more than two goals. The stakes are high for either unit, and it is very likely to see a conservative approach on both ends.
