The Round of 16 continues at the delayed 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire on Sunday, as we hit the halfway mark in the first knockout stage.
Egypt and DR Congo hog the limelight on Sunday night, albeit minus injured African icon Mohamed Salah, with both nations in the weird position of having failed to win an Afcon match so far.
Earlier in the evening it’s the turn of Equatorial Guinea and Guinea to vie for a precious place in the quarter-finals of the continent’s big show.
Equatorial Guinea vs Guinea – 19.00
A precious place in the Africa Cup of Nations is at stake as Equatorial Guinea take on Guinea in the Round of 16 on Sunday.
The pair have made it through to the knockouts despite their underdog status in Cote d’Ivoire.
And the National Thunder did so in particularly, forcing the expectant home nation down into the doldrums of third place in Group A.
They threatened an upset when they took the lead over big guns Nigeria on the opening weekend, eventually coming away with a vital point from their Super Eagles clash.
But boy did they click into gear after that, securing two wins that saw them top the standings.
Emilio Nsue hit a rare Afcon hat-trick to inspire a 4-2 thrashing of Guinea-Bissau, before rattling in another two as they dismantled the punch-drunk Ivorians 4-0 in their own back yard.
There were no such fireworks for Guinea but they’ll hardly care, having sneaked through a devilish pool as one of the best third-placed finishers in the 24-team tournament.
And they did so in good time, drawing their opener with Cameroon before squeaking a win over Gambia by the only goal of the game.
It meant an expected, regulation defeat to Sadio Mane and his Senegalese reigning champions in their final Group C match did no material damage as their Afcon adventure continues.
Egypt vs DR Congo – 22.00
A downright curious contest in the Africa Cup of Nations Round of 16 on Sunday sees Egypt meet DR Congo despite both nations having failed to win a single game in the competition so far.
The pair have drawn all six of their fixtures combined so far, meaning something has to give in Cote d’Ivoire this evening.
How the Egyptians qualified for the knockout phase is anyone’s guess.
Not only did star man Mohamed Salah break down with a hamstring injury in the second game, but the north Africans didn’t even record a win in pool play, inexplicably finishing as runners-up with just three points to their name.
A trio of draws, then, proved enough.
Salah made his vital pre-injury contribution in slotting home a 97th-minute penalty to scramble a point from their opening encounter with Mozambique.
An entertaining, to-and-fro game with Ghana saw the Pharohs come from behind twice, before they edged through in the absence of their Liverpool icon despite letting an injury time lead slip in the 99th minute against resolute Cape Verde.
It’s a similar tale for the Congolese, who have also made it through to the next phase despite failing to fire.
An opening draw with Zambia was certainly no disgrace though, likewise their following stalemate with 2022 Fifa World Cup semi-finalists Morocco.
And a third point in a row collected from their encounter with dogged Tanzania proved just enough, despite the Leopards and the Egyptians both managing to qualify as group runners-up in spite of having a point less than two of the best third-placed finishers.
Afcon Round of 16 predictions and fixtures for 28 January
*All kick off times are in Central Africa Time.
Equatorial Guinea v Guinea
| Result prediction | Equatorial Guinea to win |
| Over/Under prediction | under 2.5 goals |
| HT / FT prediction | Equatorial Guinea / Equatorial Guinea to win |
| Team to Score prediction | both teams |
| Anytime Goalscorer prediction | Emilio Nsue(Equatorial Guinea) |
Egypt v Congo DR
| Result prediction | Egypt to win |
| Over/Under prediction | under 2.5 goals |
| HT / FT prediction | Congo DR / Egypt to win |
| Team to Score prediction | both teams |
| Anytime Goalscorer prediction | Mostafa Mohamed(Egypt) |