Wikipedia

2021 Africa Cup of Nations

"2022 Africa Cup of Nations" redirects here. For the women's tournament, see 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations.

The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (also referred to as AFCON 2021 or CAN 2021), known as the TotalEnergies 2021 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons,[4] was the 33rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's football championship of Africa organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). The tournament was hosted by Cameroon,[5] and took place from 9 January to 6 February 2022.[1]

2021 Africa Cup of Nations
Coupe d'Afrique des Nations 2021
Official logo
Tournament details
Host countryCameroon
Dates9 January – 6 February 2022[1]
Teams24
Venue(s)6 (in 5 host cities)
Final positions
Champions Senegal (1st title)
Runners-up Egypt
Third place Cameroon
Fourth place Burkina Faso
Tournament statistics
Matches played52
Goals scored100 (1.92 per match)
Top scorer(s)Cameroon Vincent Aboubakar (8 goals)
Best player(s)Senegal Sadio Mané[2]
Best young playerBurkina Faso Issa Kaboré[3]
Best goalkeeperSenegal Édouard Mendy[2]
Fair play award Senegal[2]
← 2019
2023 →

The tournament was originally scheduled to be played in June and July 2021. However, the CAF announced on 15 January 2020 that due to unfavourable climatic conditions during that period, the tournament had been rescheduled to be played between 9 January and 6 February 2021.[6] On 30 June 2020, the CAF moved the tournament's dates for the second time to January 2022 following the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic across the continent, whilst retaining the name 2021 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship purposes.[7]

Matches were played in six venues across five cities. Algeria were the defending champions, but were eliminated in the first round after finishing bottom of their group.[8] Senegal won their first AFCON title after defeating Egypt in the final 4–2 on penalties, following a 0–0 draw after extra time.[9]

Host selection

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After the CAF Executive Committee meeting on 24 January 2014, it was announced that there were three official candidates for the 2021 edition:[10]

Bids:

  • Algeria
  • Guinea
  • Ivory Coast

Rejected bids:

  • DR Congo
  • Gabon
  • Zambia

This list was different from the list of the host nation bids for both the 2019 and 2021 edition of the Cup of Nations as announced by CAF in November 2013, with Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon and Zambia also on the original list.[11] All three official candidates also bid for hosting the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

The decision of the host country was postponed from early 2014 to grant each bidding country adequate time to receive the inspection delegation.[10] After the final vote at the CAF Executive Committee meeting, on 20 September 2014, the CAF announced the hosts for the 2019, 2021 and 2023 AFCON tournaments: 2019 to Cameroon, 2021 to Ivory Coast, and 2023 to Guinea.[12]

Host change

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On 30 November 2018, CAF stripped Cameroon of hosting the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations because of delays in the construction of stadiums and other necessary infrastructure;[13] it was relocated to Egypt.[14] CAF President at the time, Ahmad Ahmad, said that Cameroon had agreed to host the 2021 tournament instead.[15] Consequently, Ivory Coast, original hosts of 2021, will host the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, and Guinea, original hosts of 2023, will host the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.[16][17] On 30 January 2019, the CAF President confirmed the timetable shift, after a meeting with Ivory Coast President, Alassane Ouattara, in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.[18]

Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic

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The tournament was originally scheduled to take place between 9 January and 6 February 2021.[19] The preliminary round and two matchdays of the qualifying group stage had already been played between 9 October and 19 November 2019. The third and fourth matchdays of the qualifying group stage, which were initially scheduled to take place from 23 to 31 March and 1 to 9 June 2020 respectively, were postponed and all remaining qualifying matches rescheduled due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa.[20]

On 19 June 2020, the CAF stated it was undecided about when continental competitions would resume, and were prioritising new schedules for the 2019–20 CAF Champions League and the 2019–20 CAF Confederation Cup semi-finals, the postponed 2020 African Nations Championship and the 2020 Africa Women Cup of Nations, alongside the 2021 Africa Cup of Nation, as football competitions across the continent had been postponed, cancelled or suspended.[21]

On 30 June 2020, however, the CAF announced the rescheduling of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations to January 2022 "after consultation with stakeholders and taking into consideration the current global situation" according to a published statement, with new dates to be announced at a later date.[22] Subsequently, other continental competitions and events to be held were rescheduled or cancelled, including new dates for the remaining AFCON qualifiers, which were now to be completed by March 2021.[23] On 31 March 2021, it was confirmed that the final tournament would take place from 9 January to 6 February 2022, exactly one year after its originally scheduled start date.[1]

Qualification

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Main article: 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

Qualified teams

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The following teams qualified for the tournament.

Team Method of
qualification 		Date of
qualification 		Finals
appearance 		Last
appearance 		Previous best
performance 		FIFA ranking
at start of event
  Cameroon Hosts / Group F winners 8 January 2019 20th 2019 Winners (1984, 1988, 2000, 2002, 2017) 50
  Senegal Group I winners 15 November 2020 16th 2019 Runners-up (2002, 2019) 20
  Algeria Group H winners 16 November 2020 19th 2019 Winners (1990, 2019) 29
  Mali Group A winners 17 November 2020 12th 2019 Runners-up (1972) 53
  Tunisia Group J winners 17 November 2020 20th 2019 Winners (2004) 30
  Burkina Faso Group B winners 24 March 2021 12th 2017 Runners-up (2013) 60
  Guinea Group A runners-up 24 March 2021 13th 2019 Runners-up (1976) 81
  Comoros Group G runners-up 25 March 2021 1st None Debut 132
  Gabon Group D runners-up 25 March 2021 8th 2017 Quarter-finals (1996, 2012) 89
  Gambia Group D winners 25 March 2021 1st None Debut 150
  Egypt Group G winners 25 March 2021 25th 2019 Winners (1957, 1959, 1986, 1998, 2006, 2008, 2010) 45
  Ghana Group C winners 25 March 2021 23rd 2019 Winners (1963, 1965, 1978, 1982) 52
  Equatorial Guinea Group J runners-up 25 March 2021 3rd 2015 Fourth place (2015) 114
  Zimbabwe Group H runners-up 25 March 2021 5th 2019 Group stage (2004, 2006, 2017, 2019) 121
  Ivory Coast Group K winners 26 March 2021 24th 2019 Winners (1992, 2015) 56
  Morocco Group E winners 26 March 2021 18th 2019 Winners (1976) 28
  Nigeria Group L winners 27 March 2021 19th 2019 Winners (1980, 1994, 2013) 36
  Sudan Group C runners-up 28 March 2021 9th 2012 Winners (1970) 125
  Malawi Group B runners-up 29 March 2021 3rd 2010 Group stage (1984, 2010) 129
  Ethiopia Group K runners-up 30 March 2021 11th 2013 Winners (1962) 137
  Mauritania Group E runners-up 30 March 2021 2nd 2019 Group stage (2019) 103
  Guinea-Bissau Group I runners-up 30 March 2021 3rd 2019 Group stage (2017, 2019) 106
  Cape Verde Group F runners-up 30 March 2021 3rd 2015 Quarter-finals (2013) 73
  Sierra Leone Group L runners-up 15 June 2021 3rd 1996 Group stage (1994, 1996) 108

Format

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A total of 24 teams competed in the final tournament. Only the hosts received an automatic qualification spot, with the other 23 teams qualifying through a qualification tournament. For the finals, the 24 teams were drawn into six groups of four teams. The teams in each group played a single round robin, and after the group stage, the top two teams from each group and the four highest ranked third-placed teams advanced to the round of 16. From then on the tournament proceeded with a knockout phase.

Match ball

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CAF announced the official match ball named Toghu on 23 November 2021. It was made by English manufacturer Umbro.[24]

Mascot

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The mascot, "Mola", was unveiled on 17 May 2021, during a ceremony in Yaoundé. He was a lion and his kit bore resemblance to Cameroon's home colours, with words saying "Cameroon" with "2021" on the top and bottom of the kit.[25]

Match officials

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The following referees were chosen for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, with two referees from CONCACAF assigned. The list consists of 24 referees, 31 assistant referees and eight video assistant referees from 36 countries.[26]

Referees

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Assistant referees

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Video assistant referees

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Draw

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The final draw was originally scheduled to take place on 25 June 2021, but was postponed to 17 August 2021 due to logistical reasons relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1][4][27] The 24 teams were divided into four groups of six each, with the four initial pots determined based on the August 2021 FIFA World Rankings (shown in parentheses), listed below. Cameroon and Algeria were automatically given the top two seeds as hosts and title holders, respectively.

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4
  Cameroon (54) (hosts)
  Algeria (30) (title holders)
  Senegal (21)
  Tunisia (28)
  Morocco (32)
  Nigeria (34) 		  Egypt (46)
  Ghana (52)
  Ivory Coast (57)
  Mali (60)
  Burkina Faso (62)
  Guinea (76) 		  Cape Verde (77)
  Gabon (85)
  Mauritania (100)
  Sierra Leone (106)
  Zimbabwe (108)
  Guinea-Bissau (109) 		  Malawi (118)
  Sudan (121)
  Equatorial Guinea (132)
  Comoros (133)
  Ethiopia (137)
  Gambia (148)

Venues

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400km
250miles
 
5
4
3
2
1
Location of the host cities of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations
1
Yaoundé
2
Douala
3
Garoua
4
Bafoussam
5
Limbe

With the Africa Cup of Nations expanded from 16 to 24 teams, six venues were used across five Cameroonian cities.[28] The six stadiums selected to host matches were the Olembe Stadium and Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo, both in the capital Yaoundé, the Japoma Stadium in Douala, the Limbe Stadium in Limbe, the Kouekong Stadium in Bafoussam and the Roumde Adjia Stadium in Garoua.[29] The opening match of the tournament and the final took place at the newly built 60,000 seater Olembe Stadium in Yaoundé.[30]

City Stadium Capacity
Yaoundé Olembe Stadium 60,000
Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium 42,500
Douala Japoma Stadium 50,000
Garoua Roumdé Adjia Stadium 25,000
Bafoussam Kouekong Stadium 20,000
Limbe Limbe Stadium 20,000

Opening ceremony

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Atmosphere before the start of the AFCON launch ceremonies.

The opening ceremony of the stadium began at 10:00 with the setting up of the animation groups and the cultural activities which lasted until 14:00.[31] Guests and officials were set up until the start of the opening match at 17:00. Among the guests were members of Confederation of African Football (CAF), members of the diplomatic corps, presidents of legislative and judicial institutions, members of government including the president of COCAN 2021 and the presidents of CAF and FIFA.

The set-up of officials ended by 16:00 with the arrival of the presidents of Comoros and Cameroon. After the performance of the hymns, the opening speech was made by Patrice Motsepe, CAF's president followed by the solemn opening of the competition by the President of the Republic of Cameroon, Paul Biya, after which a cultural parade of about an hour took place.

A cultural interlude representing the four cultural areas of Cameroon was presented with five hundred young ambassadors and the mascot Mola who participated in the dance, the host artist, Fally Ipupa offered a performance.[32] During this parade, a virtual lion appeared to viewers, this was set up by Belgian graphic designer Thibault Baras on an idea of the creative company lib.[33] Made in augmented reality and turned on a game engine, this lion was sixteen meters long, eight meters high and weighed a ton.[34][35]

After the match, which took place from 17:00 to 19:00, there was a fireworks display.

Squads

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Main article: 2021 Africa Cup of Nations squads

Group stage

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All times are local, WAT (UTC+1).

The top two teams of each group, along with the best four third-placed teams, advanced to the round of 16.

Tiebreakers

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Teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria were applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Article 74):[36]

  1. Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  2. Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  3. Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  4. If more than two teams were tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, if two teams were still tied, all head-to-head criteria above were applied exclusively to these two teams;
  5. Goal difference in all group matches;
  6. Goals scored in all group matches;
  7. Drawing of lots.

Group A

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Main article: 2021 Africa Cup of Nations Group A
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Cameroon (H) 3 2 1 0 7 3 +4 7 Advance to knockout stage
2   Burkina Faso 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4[a]
3   Cape Verde 3 1 1 1 2 2 0 4[a]
4   Ethiopia 3 0 1 2 2 6 −4 1
Source: CAF
(H) Hosts
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Head-to-head result: Cape Verde 0–1 Burkina Faso.
Cameroon  2–1  Burkina Faso
Aboubakar   40' (pen.), 45+3' (pen.) Report Sangaré   24'
Ethiopia  0–1  Cape Verde
Report J. Tavares   45+1'
Cameroon  4–1  Ethiopia
 Report Hotessa   4'
Cape Verde  0–1  Burkina Faso
Report Bandé   39'
Referee: Amin Omar (Egypt)
Cape Verde  1–1  Cameroon
Rodrigues   53' Report Aboubakar   39'
Referee: Sadok Selmi (Tunisia)
Burkina Faso  1–1  Ethiopia
Bayala   25' Report Kebede   52' (pen.)

Group B

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Main article: 2021 Africa Cup of Nations Group B
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Senegal 3 1 2 0 1 0 +1 5 Advance to knockout stage
2   Guinea 3 1 1 1 2 2 0 4[a]
3   Malawi 3 1 1 1 2 2 0 4[a]
4   Zimbabwe 3 1 0 2 3 4 −1 3
Source: CAF
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Head-to-head result: Guinea 1–0 Malawi.
Senegal  1–0  Zimbabwe
Mané   90+7' (pen.) Report
Guinea  1–0  Malawi
I. Sylla   35' Report
Senegal  0–0  Guinea
Report
Malawi  2–1  Zimbabwe
Mhango   43', 58' Report Wadi   38'
Malawi  0–0  Senegal
Report
Zimbabwe  2–1  Guinea
 Report Keïta   49'

Group C

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Main article: 2021 Africa Cup of Nations Group C
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Morocco 3 2 1 0 5 2 +3 7 Advance to knockout stage
2   Gabon 3 1 2 0 4 3 +1 5
3   Comoros 3 1 0 2 3 5 −2 3
4   Ghana 3 0 1 2 3 5 −2 1
Source: CAF
Morocco  1–0  Ghana
Boufal   83' Report
Comoros  0–1  Gabon
Report Boupendza   16'
Referee: Peter Waweru (Kenya)
Morocco  2–0  Comoros
 Report
Referee: Sadok Selmi (Tunisia)
Gabon  1–1  Ghana
Allevinah   88' Report A. Ayew   18'
Gabon  2–2  Morocco
 Report
Ghana  2–3  Comoros
 Report
Referee: Boubou Traore (Mali)

Group D

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Main article: 2021 Africa Cup of Nations Group D
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Nigeria 3 3 0 0 6 1 +5 9 Advance to knockout stage
2   Egypt 3 2 0 1 2 1 +1 6
3   Sudan 3 0 1 2 1 4 −3 1
4   Guinea-Bissau 3 0 1 2 0 3 −3 1
Source: CAF
Nigeria  1–0  Egypt
Iheanacho   30' Report
Sudan  0–0  Guinea-Bissau
Report
Referee: Issa Sy (Senegal)
Nigeria  3–1  Sudan
 Report Khedr   70' (pen.)
Guinea-Bissau  0–1  Egypt
Report Salah   69'
Guinea-Bissau  0–2  Nigeria
Report
Referee: Peter Waweru (Kenya)
Egypt  1–0  Sudan
Abdelmonem   35' Report

Group E

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Main article: 2021 Africa Cup of Nations Group E
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Ivory Coast 3 2 1 0 6 3 +3 7 Advance to knockout stage
2   Equatorial Guinea 3 2 0 1 2 1 +1 6
3   Sierra Leone 3 0 2 1 2 3 −1 2
4   Algeria 3 0 1 2 1 4 −3 1
Source: CAF
Algeria  0–0  Sierra Leone
Report
Equatorial Guinea  0–1  Ivory Coast
Report Gradel   5'
Ivory Coast  2–2  Sierra Leone
 Report
Algeria  0–1  Equatorial Guinea
Report Esteban   70'
Ivory Coast  3–1  Algeria
 Report Bendebka   73'
Sierra Leone  0–1  Equatorial Guinea
Report Ganet   38'

Group F

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Main article: 2021 Africa Cup of Nations Group F
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Mali 3 2 1 0 4 1 +3 7 Advance to knockout stage
2   Gambia 3 2 1 0 3 1 +2 7
3   Tunisia 3 1 0 2 4 2 +2 3
4   Mauritania 3 0 0 3 0 7 −7 0
Source: CAF
Tunisia  0–1  Mali
Report Koné   48' (pen.)
Mauritania  0–1  Gambia
Report A. Jallow   10'
Gambia  1–1  Mali
Mu. Barrow   90' (pen.) Report Koné   79' (pen.)
Tunisia  4–0  Mauritania
 Report
Gambia  1–0  Tunisia
A. Jallow   90+3' Report
Mali  2–0  Mauritania
 Report

Ranking of third-placed teams

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Pos Grp Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 A   Cape Verde 3 1 1 1 2 2 0 4 Advance to knockout stage
1 B   Malawi 3 1 1 1 2 2 0 4
3 F   Tunisia 3 1 0 2 4 2 +2 3
4 C   Comoros 3 1 0 2 3 5 −2 3
5 E   Sierra Leone 3 0 2 1 2 3 −1 2
6 D   Sudan 3 0 1 2 1 4 −3 1
Source: CAF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Drawing of lots.

Combinations of matches in the round of 16

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The specific match-ups involving the third-placed teams depended on which four third-placed teams qualified for the round of 16:

  Combination according to the four qualified teams
Third-placed teams
qualify from groups 		1A
vs 		1B
vs 		1C
vs 		1D
vs
A B C D 3C 3D 3A 3B
A B C E 3C 3A 3B 3E
A B C F 3C 3A 3B 3F
A B D E 3D 3A 3B 3E
A B D F 3D 3A 3B 3F
A B E F 3E 3A 3B 3F
A C D E 3C 3D 3A 3E
A C D F 3C 3D 3A 3F
A C E F 3C 3A 3F 3E
A D E F 3D 3A 3F 3E
B C D E 3C 3D 3B 3E
B C D F 3C 3D 3B 3F
B C E F 3E 3C 3B 3F
B D E F 3E 3D 3B 3F
C D E F 3C 3D 3F 3E

Knockout stage

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Main article: 2021 Africa Cup of Nations knockout stage

In the knockout stage, extra time and a penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary, except for the third place match, where a direct penalty shoot-out, without any extra time, was used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 75).

Bracket

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Round of 16Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
              
 
23 January – Limbe
 
 
  Burkina Faso (p)1 (7)
 
29 January – Garoua
 
  Gabon1 (6)
 
  Burkina Faso1
 
23 January – Garoua
 
  Tunisia0
 
  Nigeria0
 
2 February – Yaoundé (Ahidjo)
 
  Tunisia1
 
  Burkina Faso1
 
25 January – Bafoussam
 
  Senegal3
 
  Senegal2
 
30 January – Yaoundé (Ahidjo)
 
  Cape Verde0
 
  Senegal3
 
26 January – Limbe
 
  Equatorial Guinea1
 
  Mali0 (5)
 
6 February – Yaoundé (Olembe)
 
  Equatorial Guinea (p)0 (6)
 
  Senegal (p)0 (4)
 
24 January – Bafoussam
 
  Egypt0 (2)
 
  Guinea0
 
29 January – Douala
 
  Gambia1
 
  Gambia0
 
24 January – Yaoundé (Olembe)
 
  Cameroon2
 
  Cameroon2
 
3 February – Yaoundé (Olembe)
 
  Comoros1
 
  Cameroon0 (1)
 
26 January – Douala
 
  Egypt (p)0 (3) Third place play-off
 
  Ivory Coast0 (4)
 
30 January – Yaoundé (Ahidjo)5 February – Yaoundé (Ahidjo)
 
  Egypt (p)0 (5)
 
  Egypt (a.e.t.)2  Burkina Faso3 (3)
 
25 January – Yaoundé (Ahidjo)
 
  Morocco1   Cameroon (p) 3 (5)
 
  Morocco2
 
 
  Malawi1
 

Round of 16

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Burkina Faso  1–1 (a.e.t.)  Gabon
B. Traoré   28' Report Guira   90+1' (o.g.)
Penalties
 7–6
Nigeria  0–1  Tunisia
Report Msakni   47'
Guinea  0–1  Gambia
Report Mu. Barrow   71'
Referee: Amin Omar (Egypt)
Cameroon  2–1  Comoros
 Report Y. M'Changama   81'
Senegal  2–0  Cape Verde
 Report
Morocco  2–1  Malawi
 Report Mhango   7'
Ivory Coast  0–0 (a.e.t.)  Egypt
Report
Penalties
 4–5
Mali  0–0 (a.e.t.)  Equatorial Guinea
Report
Penalties
 5–6

Quarter-finals

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Gambia  0–2  Cameroon
Report Toko Ekambi   50', 57'
Attendance: 36,259[37]
Burkina Faso  1–0  Tunisia
Da. Ouattara   45+3' Report
Egypt  2–1 (a.e.t.)  Morocco
 Report Boufal   7' (pen.)
Senegal  3–1  Equatorial Guinea
 Report Buyla   57'

Semi-finals

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Burkina Faso  1–3  Senegal
Touré   82' Report
Cameroon  0–0 (a.e.t.)  Egypt
Report
Penalties
 1–3
Attendance: 24,371[43]

Third place play-off

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Burkina Faso  3–3  Cameroon
 Report
Penalties
 3–5

Final

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Main article: 2021 Africa Cup of Nations final
Senegal  0–0 (a.e.t.)  Egypt
Report
Penalties
 4–2
Attendance: 48,000

Statistics

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Goalscorers

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There were 100 goals scored in 52 matches, for an average of 1.92 goals per match.

8 goals

5 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

Broadcasting

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Below is the list of the 2021 AFCON broadcasting rights:

Territory Rights holder(s) Ref.
 Algeria EPTV
France beIN Sports
MENA beIN Sports
Central America ESPN
Caribbean ESPN
South America ESPN
World CAF TV (YouTube)

Controversies

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Tunisia vs. Mali refereeing

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Mondher Kebaier and Jalel Kadri protesting against referee Janny Sikazwe after the controversy during the match against Mali at 2021 Afcon.

The match between Tunisia and Mali, the first meeting of Group F, was not played to completion. Zambian referee Janny Sikazwe initially whistled the end of the match in the 86th minute before changing his mind, warned by his assistant referee and the protests of the Tunisian players. He then signaled the end of the game in the 90th minute, seconds from the end of regulation time,[45] just as the assistant referee was about to announce added time. In front of the furious Tunisians, the refereeing quartet had to leave the field under police escort.

Given the extent of the controversy, the resumption of the match, to play the remaining additional time, was announced. However, the Tunisian team refused to resume the match, claiming that the players were already in the showers, or out of the stadium, therefore unfit to resume the game. The Malians having presented themselves on the lawn, the end of the match is whistled with only one team on the ground, the result of 1–0 being ratified later by CAF.[46]

Later, it was reported by different media that the referee Janny Sikazwe had in fact suffered a sunstroke in the middle of the game, so much so that he was even taken to the hospital, from where the presence of the fourth referee on the pitch at the time of the attempt to restart the match.[47] According to the Tunisian player Wahbi Khazri, the referee of the match "was no longer coherent", "the referee lost the thread of the match" specified the Tunisian captain. "He was no longer consistent in his choices and decisions. He was very hot."

Mauritanian national anthem

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Before the second match of Group F between Mauritania and Gambia, the old Mauritanian national anthem was played three times; the stadium announcer said that the Mauritanian players would sing the anthem themselves,[citation needed] but a third failed attempt was soon cut off after the old anthem of the country was played again.[48]

Buea shooting

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In Buea, in the Southwest Region of Cameroon, gunfire broke out between the Cameroon Armed Forces and gunmen. The shooting is believed to have been between members of the Cameroon Army, deployed in large numbers during the competition, and Ambazonian separatist fighters, this incident is part of the Anglophone Crisis that has been raging since 2017 in the Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon.[49]

Cameroon fans crushed to death

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Main article: Yaoundé stadium disaster

Before the fourth match in the knockout stage between hosts Cameroon and the Comoros, which took place on 24 January 2022 at the Olembe Stadium, Cameroonian fans were crushed in a surge at the entrance. Eight deaths were recorded: two women and four men, all in their thirties, in addition to two children.[50][51]

The ministry indicated that about 50 people were injured in the incident, including two people with multiple injuries and two others with serious head injuries, and a baby was immediately transferred to the General Hospital in Yaoundé in a medically stable condition.[52]

Relocation of matches from Japoma Stadium

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Initially, Japoma Stadium in Douala was scheduled to host four matches in the knockout stage, in addition to six in the group stage. However, after the field was criticised by coaches and players alike during the group stage, the organisation committee decided mid-tournament to relocate all matches from Japoma Stadium to other stadiums such as Limbe Stadium and Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaoundé. Djamel Belmadi, coach of defending champions, Algeria, who left the tournament in the group stages, said that "It is not of a level permitting total fluidity and what we hope for from big tournaments like the African Cup of Nations".[53]

Awards

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The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament:

Man of the Competition   Sadio Mané [2]
Golden Boot   Vincent Aboubakar (8 goals) [2]
Best Goalkeeper   Édouard Mendy [2]
Best Young Player   Issa Kaboré [3]
Fair Play Award   Senegal [2]

Best XI

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Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards Coach
  Édouard Mendy   Achraf Hakimi
  Mohamed Abdelmonem
  Edmond Tapsoba
  Saliou Ciss 		  Mohamed Elneny
  Nampalys Mendy
  Blati Touré 		  Mohamed Salah
  Vincent Aboubakar
  Sadio Mané 		  Aliou Cissé

Source:[54]

Final ranking

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Matches that ended in extra time were counted as wins and defeats, while matches that ended in penalty shootout were counted as draws.

 
Results of the teams participating in the tournament
  Champion
  Runner-up
  Third place
  Fourth place
  Quarter-finals
  Round of 16
  Group stage
Pos. Team G Pld W D L Pts GF GA GD
1   Senegal B 7 4 3 0 15 9 2 +7
2   Egypt D 7 3 3 1 12 4 2 +2
3   Cameroon A 7 4 3 0 15 14 7 +7
4   Burkina Faso A 7 2 3 2 9 9 10 −1
Eliminated in the quarter-finals
5   Morocco C 5 3 1 1 10 8 5 +3
6   Gambia F 5 3 1 1 10 4 3 +1
7   Equatorial Guinea E 5 2 1 2 7 3 4 −1
8   Tunisia F 5 2 0 3 6 5 3 +2
Eliminated in the round of 16
9   Nigeria D 4 3 0 1 9 6 2 +4
10   Ivory Coast E 4 2 2 0 8 6 3 +3
11   Mali F 4 2 2 0 8 4 1 +3
12   Gabon C 4 1 3 0 6 5 4 +1
13   Malawi B 4 1 1 2 4 3 4 −1
14   Guinea B 4 1 1 2 4 2 3 −1
15   Cape Verde A 4 1 1 2 4 2 4 −2
16   Comoros C 4 1 0 3 3 4 7 −3
eliminated in the group stage
17   Zimbabwe B 3 1 0 2 3 3 4 −1
18   Sierra Leone E 3 0 2 1 2 2 3 −1
19   Ghana C 3 0 1 2 1 3 5 −2
20   Algeria E 3 0 1 2 1 1 4 −3
21   Sudan D 3 0 1 2 1 1 4 −3
22   Guinea-Bissau D 3 0 1 2 1 0 3 −3
23   Ethiopia A 3 0 1 2 1 2 6 −4
24   Mauritania F 3 0 0 3 0 0 7 −7

Notes

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  1. ^ The Mauritania v Gambia match was originally scheduled to kick-off at 17:00, but was delayed to 17:45 due to timing issues in the Tunisia v Mali match.
  2. ^ The Egypt v Morocco match was originally scheduled to kick-off at 17:00, but was rescheduled to 16:00.
  3. ^ The match was originally due to be held at Olembe Stadium in Yaoundé, but was relocated due to the investigation into the Yaoundé stadium disaster.[38][39][40]
  4. ^ a b The match was originally due to be held at Japoma Stadium in Douala, but was relocated.[40][41][42]
  5. ^ The match was originally due to be held on 6 February 2022 at 17:00, but was rescheduled due to security and convenience reasons.[44]

References

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