After the conclusion of Uganda-Nigeria (1-3) and Tanzania-Tunisia (1-1) on Tuesday, the 16 teams that reached the knockout phase of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations were made official. However, it was only possible to know the complete schedule of matches on Wednesday.
The ranking of the best thirds is famous for confusing fans and experts, with calculations that constantly change based on results and probabilities.
Since Botswana (Group D), Equatorial Guinea (Group E) and Gabon (Group F) had already been eliminated before the final day, it was enough to wait for the results of Uganda-Nigeria and Tanzania-Tunisia on Tuesday to know the complete list of qualifiers for the round of 16.
After Uganda’s hopes of a miracle were extinguished with the goal conceded by Nigeria in the 28th minute and with the numerical inferiority in the second half, only two teams remained to compete for the last available place.
With Tanzania’s 48th-minute equalizer against Tunisia, Feisal Salum ruled out any possibility of the draw in favor of Angola. Thanks to one more goal than Palancas Negras, Tanzania achieved qualification by defending the tie until the final whistle.
Only a victory for the Eagles of Carthage would have allowed Angola to progress to the next round. The Taifa Stars resisted until the end (1-1) and qualified for the first time in their history.
The full draw was revealed following Wednesday’s final Group F matches and can be viewed below.
The teams in the AFCON round of 16 by group (in order of placement):
Group A: Morocco, Mali
Group B: Egypt, South Africa
Group C: Nigeria, Tunisia, Tanzania
Group D: Senate, RD Congo, Benin
Group E: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Sudan
Group F: Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Mozambique
Round of 16 pairings (all times CET):
Saturday 3 January
Senegal-Sudan – 17:00
Mali-Tunisia – 20:00
Sunday 4 January
Morocco-Tanzania – 5pm
South Africa-Cameroon – 8.00pm
Monday 5 January
Egypt-Benin – 5pm
Nigeria-Mozambique – 8pm
Tuesday 6 January
Algeria-R.D. Congo – 17:00
Ivory Coast-Burkina Faso – 8.00pm
