Facts, Figures From The 2019 Africa Cup Of Nations Group Stage
Average goals: 68 goals have
been scored across 36 games with an average of 1.89 goals per game. We had only
one dull day on 29 June as Mauritania-Angola, Cameroon-Ghana and Benin-Guinea-Bissau
matches ended scoreless. Tunisia were also held by debutants Mauritania to a
0-0 draw on the final day of the group stage.
Perfect run: Only three teams managed to grab a maximum of 9 points and all
came from the north with Egypt, Morocco and Algeria making perfect runs.
Strongest attack: Algeria and Mali
had the strongest attack in the first round as they netted 6 goals each in
three games.
Lack of efficiency: Senegal had the
most attempts on goal as their players managed 47 shots, including 30 on
target, but could only score five goals. Cameroon were the most dominant team
with an average ball possession of 64% over three games, but they couldn’t take
advantage as they only had 33 attempts (15 on target), scoring just two goals.
Madagascar dream: Debutants
Madagascar had the fairytale run of the 32nd edition as they topped Group B
after handing three-time champions Nigeria a 2-0 defeat in the final round of
the group stage. Charles Andriamahitsinoro is also in contention for the top
scorer award as he scored twice in three games so far.
Biggest win: DR Congo’s 4-0 win over
Zimbabwe is the biggest victory of the group stage, while the highest scoring
games were between Mali and Mauritania (4-1), Cote d’Ivoire and Namibia (4-1)
and Kenya against Tanzania (3-2).
Worst performance: Burundi put in
the worst performance among the 24 teams as they lost all their 3 games,
conceded 4 goals and didn’t score any.
Top scorers: 11 players are joint
top scorers of the tournament with 2 goals. However, only 10 of them are still
in contention for the Golden boot as Michael Olunga of Kenya has to pack his
bags after his team were eliminated.
Fastest scorer: Algeria and Napoli
winger Adam Ounas is a joint-top scorer of this tournament but he scored his
goals in just 74 minutes. The 22-year old forward was an unused sub in the
first couple of games before making a stunning impact against Tanzania. He made
way for skipper Riyad Mahrez in the final quarter of the game.
Best assist: Cote d’Ivoire and AC
Milan midfielder Franck Kessie is the best schemer of the group stage after
dishing out three assists, which all came in the game against Namibia.
Penalties: 8 penalties were given in
the first-round games and all were scored except Sadio Mane’s effort against
Kenya in Senegal’s 3-0 win.
Disciplinary record: Kenya have the
worst disciplinary record of the first round as their players collected 8
yellow cards and one red card. The Harambee Stars have also committed 72 fouls
in their three games, more than any other team in the group stage.
Red cards: Three players were shown
the red card — Christophe Nduwarugira of Burundi, Philemon Otieno of Kenya and
John Boye of Ghana.
North Africa: Scored 16 goals and conceded just 2
goals, all by Tunisia.
Southern Africa: Their five representatives
found the back of the net 9 times while they let in 18 goals.
West Africa: With nine touch bearers
in Egypt, the region accounted for 29 out of the 68 group goals and shipped in
22 some of it were against their neighbours.
East Africa: With Burundi, Kenya,
Tanzania and Uganda produced 8 goals and let in 22 .
Central Africa: Score 6 conceded 4
goals.
Group A : 13
goals
Group B : 11 goals
Group C : 16 goals
Group D : 10 goals
Group E : 10 goals
Group F : 8 goals
There will be two days of rest for all 16 nations that have qualified for the
round of 16 of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Egypt.
The knockout stage of the competition will commence on Friday 5th July, with
Morocco entertaining Benin, before Uganda take on Senegal.
The top
liner of the round of 16 games is the battle of the former champions between
five times winners of Africa Cameroon and three times victors Nigeria on
Saturday.
The Black Stars will face their familiar AFCON opponents Tunisia on Monday 8th
July.
Below are the full fixtures for the
round of 16 fixtures:
5 July 2019
Morocco vs Benin
5 July 2019
Uganda vs Senegal
6 July 2019
Nigeria vs Cameroon
6 July 2019
Egypt vs South Africa
7 July 2019
Madagascar vs DR Congo
7 July 2019
Algeria vs Guinea
8 July 2019
Mali vs Ivory Coast
8
July 2019
Ghana vs Tunisia