A week of thrill drama that saw hosts, Cote d’Ivoire stage one of the biggest comebacks in the competition, the stage is now set for the Quarter-final phase of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023.
The Quarter-Finals will be played between Friday, 02 February 2024 and Saturday, 03 February.
All the eight remaining countries that will contest the Quarter-Finals have been confirmed with South Africa booking the last spot after eliminating FIFA World Cup semi-finalists, Morocco in a drama-filled match in San Pedro.
The 34th edition of Africa’s biggest football spectacle has been nothing short of exceptional, thanks to the quality of football, unexpected twists and turns, and of course the passionate supporters of the African game that have come out in their large and colourful numbers across the five host cities in Cote d’Ivoire.
Three-time champions, Nigeria face Angola in the first quarter-final fixture on Friday, 02 February at 17h00 before the Democratic Republic of Congo, who are in search of their third TotalEnergies CAF AFCON title, face a resilient Guinea in the late evening Kick off at 20h00.
On Saturday, 03 February, hosts Cote d’Ivoire, still breaming with confidence, will come against a formidable Mali side who have been dominant in the competition.
At 20h00, Cape Verde, one of the sensations in this event, take on South Africa.
Morocco were awarded a penalty in the 83rd minute when a ball hit the hands of Teboho Mokoena in the South African 18-yard box and a penalty was awarded after VAR review.
Achraf Hakimi stepped up to convert but he ended up hitting the ball against the crossbar and his effort went off the pitch.
Huge relief it was for South Africa after the miss but the pressure was still on them.
Sofyan Amrabat was shown the exit after a challenge on a Mokoena as last man and was shown a second yellow, which was upgraded to a straight red after VAR review by referee Mahmood Ismail
South Africa took advantage of the numerical disadvantage and added the second goal to seal the game thanks to a wonderful free kick by Teboho Mokoena.
South Africa will play Cape Verde on Saturday, February 3 at the Charles Konan Banny Stadium in Yamoussoukro at the quarter-finals.
In the first half, we tried to contain them and cut off their passing lines. In the second, the game opened up and we scored. We knew that whoever scores first in the match will have a big advantage.”
