AFCON 2019, 16 Teams Prepare for Knockout Stage

Following the conclusion of the group stages on Tuesday the initial 24 teams participating in the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) have been reduced to 16.

The 16 have been drawn from the top two placing teams in each of the five groups, joined by the four best third placed teams.

The remaining teams will now participate in the knockout stage beginning on Friday July 5 and running into July 8. Up for grabs will be a place in the tournament’s quarterfinals.

The teams to make the cut are Alegria, Benin, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Egypt, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia and Uganda.

DRC, Guinea, South Africa and Benin were the four teams to scrape through to the next round having finished third in their groups.

The knockout round begins Friday with Uganda taking on Senegal and Morocco facing Benin. On Saturday Egypt and South Africa will take to the pitch, with Nigeria and Cameroon also going head to head. Sunday will see Madagascar face DRC and Algeria take on Guinea. The stage will conclude on Monday with Mali versus Ivory Coast and Ghana versus Tunisia.