AFCON 2021: Matches, schedule, times, for Round of 16 knockout stage
With the group stages in the 2021 African Cup of Nations now completed, there are 16 nations out of the 24 who began the tournament, left to battle it out for the crown of best team in Africa, and the knockout stages begin with the Round of 16.
Among the 8 teams heading home are shockingly African football giants, Ghana and Algeria who were both eliminated in the group stage. For Algeria, the defending champions fell flat in their title defense, while Ghana failed to reach the knockout round for the first time since 2002.
On the flip side, Cape Verde advanced to the knockout stage for just the second time in the nation’s history, following up their 2013 showing when they reached the quarterfinals. And the surprise of the tournament, Comoros also moved on in their first-ever appearance at the AFCON tournament. They were the final team to make it through as a third-place finisher, with Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau missing out.
Hosts Cameroon, en route to winning Group A, scored the most goals of the group stage with seven, while Senegal completed their campaign to the top of Group B without conceding a single goal. Nigeria finished with the most points, a perfect nine out of nine after winning all three matches with a +5 goal difference, the best in the tournament so far.
The knockout stage would begin on the 23rd January, 2022. In the knockout stage, extra time and a penalty shoot-out will be used to decide the winner if necessary, except for the third place match, where a direct penalty shoot-out, without any extra time, is used to decide the winner if necessary.
Below is the complete knockout round schedule, including the potential matchups in the quarterfinals:
AFCON 2021 round-of-16 fixtures and results:
Sunday January 23
Game 1: Burkina Faso vs Gabon, 5pm (Limbe Stadium, Limbe)
Game 2: Nigeria vs Tunisia, 8pm (Roumde Adjia Stadium, Garoua)
Monday January 24
Game 3: Guinea vs Gambia, 5pm (Kouekong Stadium, Bafoussam)
Game 4: Cameroon vs Comoros, 8pm (Olembe Stadium, Yaounde)
Tuesday January 25
Game 5: Senegal vs Cape Verde, 5pm (Kouekong Stadium, Bafoussam)
Game 6: Morocco vs Malawi, 8pm (Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo, Yaounde)
Wednesday January 26
Game 7: Ivory Coast vs Egypt, 5pm (Japoma Stadium, Douala)
Game 8: Mali vs Equatorial Guinea, 8pm (Limbe Stadium, Limbe)
AFCON 2021 quarter-final fixtures and results
Saturday January 29
Quarter-final 1: Round-of-16 game 4 winner vs Round-of-16 game 3 winner, 5pm (Japoma Stadium, Douala)
Quarter-final 2: Round-of-16 game 1 winner vs Round-of-16 game 2 winner, 8pm (Roumde Adjia Stadium, Garoua)
Sunday January 30
Quarter-final 3: Round-of-16 game 7 winner vs Round-of-16 game 6 winner, 5pm (Olembe Stadium, Yaounde)
Quarter-final 4: Round-of-16 game 5 winner vs Round-of-16 game 8 winner, 8pm (Japoma Stadium, Douala)
AFCON 2021 semi-final fixtures and results
Wednesday February 2
Semi-final 1: Quarter-final 1 winner vs Quarter-final 4 winner, 8pm (Japoma Stadium, Douala)
Thursday February 3
Semi-final 2: Quarter-final 2 winner vs Quarter-final 3 winner, 8pm (Olembe Stadium, Yaounde)
AFCON 2021 third-place match
Sunday February 6
Semi-final 1 loser vs Semi-final 2 loser, 5pm (Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo, Yaounde)
AFCON 2021 final
Sunday February 6
Semi-final 1 winner vs Semi-final 2 winner, 8pm (Olembe Stadium, Yaounde)
