Trains that arrive on time, but more or less hectic journeys. This could sum up the round of 16 of the 2025 African Cup of Nations. The cast of qualifiers for the quarters is unmistakable: the favorites responded – in terms of results, in any case.
Last Saturday, Senegal set the tone against Sudan (3-1). More surprisingly, the Lions were carried by a double from Pape Gueye and the entry of Ibrahim Mbaye, Parisian Titi as bluffing as ever. For the suspense, it was a matter of waiting a few hours after the whistle for this first eighth. Mali and Tunisia went to penalties to decide between them. The heroes of the Eagles are Djigui Diarra, author of two saves during the session, and Lassine Sinayoko, uncompromising from the 11-metre point (1-1, 3-2 at the tab).
Brahim, Salah and Osimhen scorers
The next day, Morocco relied on a nice sequence from Brahim Diaz to defeat Tanzania (1-0). Cameroon with the omnipresence of Carlos Baleba to eject South Africa (2-1), semi-finalist two years earlier in Ivory Coast.
Monday, difficult to achieve the same result by two such different paths. From the first minutes, it was not rocket science to guess that the Egyptian qualification would be chaotic and that the Nigerians would be crystal clear. Pushed into overtime, the Pharaohs ended up defeating Benin (3-1, ap) with Mohamed Salah’s third goal in the tournament. Against Mozambique, Nigeria scored a first time in the 20th and fourth in the 75th, with a double from Victor Osimhen between the two (4-0).
This Tuesday, Algeria escaped from the trap set by the Democratic Republic of Congo thanks to a last minute gem from Adil Boulbina (1-0, ap). Finally, the reigning Ivorian champions asserted their status by easily dominating Burkina Faso (3-0).
