After two weeks of intensive action at the ongoing 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Côte d’Ivoire, the tournament has indeed lived up to its name as the ‘AFCON of surprises and underdogs’ following completion of the group stage. 

Many shocking results were recorded while team tagged ‘underdogs’ progressed to the round of 16 of the tournament including one who had their first ever AFCON win at the expense of former champions and respected teams.

Underdogs humbled big names

Paired with three-time winners Nigeria, two-winners Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea spearheaded the surprises at the 34th AFCON as they advanced to the knockout of the competition as group winners ahead of Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire.

Equatorial Guinea finished unbeaten, opening their campaign at the tournament with a 1-1 draw against one of the competition’s favourites Nigeria before going ahead to beat Guinea-Bissau 4-2 in their second group match.

Equatorial Guinea’s most shocking feat in the tournament so far came in the last group against host nation Côte d’Ivoire. They thrashed the hosts 4-0 in their soil to lead Nigeria as the two teams that automatically advanced from the group to the next round.

Group B was not short of surprises either as Cape Verde finished the group consisting of four-time winners Ghana and record winners (seven titles) Egypt as the group winners without losing a game.

The Blue Sharks of Cape Verde opened their campaign at the tournament with a 2-1 over Ghana. They recorded an emphatic 3-0 win over Mozambique in their second group game and topped the performance with a 2-2 draw against Egypt.

Cape Verde were already confirmed as Group B runaway winners after two games, prompting the coach opting to field a weaker side against Egypt but still managed to salvage a point.

They finished the group with seven points and a huge four points ahead of second-placed Egypt while Ghana and Mozambique crashed out with them having two points each after three games.

Upset by underdogs continued in Group D as Angola, ranked 117 by FIFA in the world, finished top in the group ahead of 30th ranked and two-time champions Algeria and 57th ranked Burkina Faso. 

There was more in the group as Algeria finished last in the group with two points after the Desert Warriors were stunned 1-0 by Mauritania, who had never won an AFCON match since the inception of the tournament.

Ranked 105 in the world by FIFA, Mauritania’s win was enough to send them to their first ever knockout experience at the AFCON as one of the four best third-placed teams.

Tunisia’s Eagles of Carthage were also humbled by underdogs despite being one-time champions and the FIFA 28th ranked best team in the world finished last in Group E behind Mali, South Africa and Namibia after managing to garner only two points.

Tunisia were stunned 1-0 by Namibia, who are 87 places below them in the latest FIFA rankings, in their opening game of the tournament and only managed to draw their remaining two matches which was definitely not enough for a redemption.

Except Tunisia, who most bookies would have tipped to advance to the knockout round, the remaining three teams from the group qualified for the round of 16. 

Mali finished as the group winners with five points, South Africa and Namibia both had four points but the former had a better goal difference. 

However, Namibia made the final 16 teams as one of the four best third-placed teams from the group stage.

Star player of the group stage

A tournament featuring big names such as Victor Osimhen, Mohamed Salah, Mohammed Kudus, Sadio Mane and some of the known stars, one would have thought that one of those players would dominate the tournament.  

That is not the case at the conclusion of the group stage. It was  Equatorial Guinea’s Emilio Nsue who plays as a defender for CF Intercity, a club playing in the third tier of Spanish football league, that has stolen the show in Côte d’Ivoire.

Having scored five goals from three matches, the 34-year-old, who plays as a striker for his club, is currently the leading goal scorer in the tournament including a hattrick in the 4-2 win over Guinea-Bissau. 

It was the first hattrick in an Africa Cup of Nations match since 2008.

“Personally, my last African Cup of Nations was not my best. I will try to show a very good performance on the field, and we will try to win all the matches,” the Equatorial Guinea captain told CAFOnline before the start of the tournament.

Job losses for coaches

The disappointment of the group stage of the AFCON led to some managers leaving their positions willingly or forcefully including Ghana manager Chris Hughton, who was sacked after the Black Stars suffered a back-to-back group stage exit.

Tom Saintfiet willingly resigned from his position as the head coach of the Zambia national team after the Scorpions failed to secure any point in the 2023 AFCON group stage. He spent six years with the West African nation.

“This was my last match as coach of Gambia. My contract expires in August 2026, but I will step down,” the Belgian told the media on Monday following a dramatic 3-2 defeat at the hands of Cameroon.

Subsequently, the Algerian Football Federation terminated the contract of national team coach Djamel Belmadi following the country’s unimpressive outing in Côte d’Ivoire.

Same fate befell the head coach of the host nation national team, Jean-Louis Gasset, after his contract, alongside that of his assistant, were terminated by the Ivorian Football Federation.

The FIF cited “insufficient results in accordance with the contract of objectives they had with the FIF” as the reason the Frenchman was sacked. 

Côte d’Ivoire scored a late round of 16 qualification on Wednesday after Morocco defeated Zambia 1-0, allowing the Elephants to advance to the knockout phase as one of the four best third-placed teams.

Former Ivorian midfielder Emerse Faé was to take charge of the team on an interim basis.

Tunisia head coach, Jalel Kadri, was also relieved of his job following the former champions’ abysmal display in Côte d’Ivoire.