What to Expect from the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations

When we talk about major football tournaments those in Europe usually start with the World Cup and the Euros. But the Africa Cup of Nations pits nations from a huge continent against each other, providing some incredible action every two years. The last decade of African international football has been dominated by a handful of nations, most recently Egypt, but in recent years smaller footballing countries are beginning to make their mark, and causing upsets in the bigger competitions. Qualification for this year’s tournament has just begun, so we’re going to dive in and see what we can expect from the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.  

Africa Cup of Nations

The Africa Cup of Nations (generally referred to as AFCON), is the main international football competition in Africa. It is governed by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and currently includes 24 teams in its finals, with 54 eligible to take part in qualification. The first competition was held in Sudan in 1957, and since 1968 has been held every two years, switching to odd years in 2013 (to avoid clashes with the FIFA World Cup). Egypt is the most successful nation in AFCON history, winning the title on seven occasions. Senegal is the current champion, having defeated Egypt in the final on penalties last time out.

2023 AFCON

This time round AFCON will take place in Ivory Coast, the first time the nation has hosted the event – the host nation automatically qualifies. The finals are set to start in June and July next year, with 24 qualifying nations going into the group round-robin stage before the knockout phase begins. Qualifying has just begun, with twelve groups of four – the top two of each group progressing to the finals. Kenya and Zimbabwe are both featured in the draw but will sit at the bottom of their groups as financial scandals and administrative issues have seen the two nations banned from international football for the time being.

 
Favorites

As with many regions of the world, there is a big disparity in quality between the top and lower-ranked teams. West African nation Senegal is the current champion, taking their first title against heavily favored Egypt – the tournament was hosted by third-place Cameroon.

Egypt is generally considered the top team in Africa, in terms of current performance and overall statistics, and boasts some luminaries among their squad, not least Liverpool’s Mo Salah. Egypt is closely followed by Cameroon, multiple AFCON title winners, and producers of great players such as Roger Milla and Samuel Eto’o. And who could forget their showing at Italia ’90, where they defeated reigning champs Argentina in the opening game, and pushed England all the way in the quarter-finals, losing 3-2 after extra time.

Senegal, Ghana, and Nigeria are generally considered to be on a similar level as Egypt – all of whom have made strong showings both in AFCON and in the FIFA World Cup, with Ghana unlucky to have missed out on a semi-final place against Uruguay in 2010 in South Africa. Ghana has won AFCON three times, compared to three titles for Nigeria, and five for Cameroon. Bettors who fancy a flutter would do well to back one of these sides and can find online reviews of reputable sportsbooks to wager on the action.

Hopefuls

There are other nations that are looking to assert themselves on the international stage and are reducing the quality gap significantly.

Hosts Ivory Coast is considered a threat to the top teams, and they have won the tournament twice, once back in 1992, and again in 2015. Their current form and home advantage may tip the balance in their favor. The country has produced its fair share of players who have made it to the great leagues of Europe - Didier Drogba, Salomon Kalou, Emmanuel Eboue, and Yaya Toure to name but a few. Ivory Coast could be a force to be reckoned with.

On their day, Algeria can compete with any other team on the continent – but their main problem has always been consistency. However, they may well receive a boost from their surprise triumph in the FIFA Arab Cup last year, where they won over fellow North African Tunisia. Sofiane Feghouli, Islam Slimani, and Riyahd Mahrez have all starred for Algeria in the past.

South Africa is a nation who has really started to play good football in the last 10 years, or slightly longer, as their strong performance at the 2010 World Cup shows. They hosted that tournament, becoming the first African nation to do so. Although they didn’t make it past the group stage, they put in a great performance to draw with Mexico in the opening match and then stunned international heavyweights France to win 2-1 in their final group game, ensuring that the European side finished bottom of the group. Could they pull out a surprise at AFCON?

It’s a long way to go until we get to the AFCON finals, but with plenty of drama on the horizon in the qualifiers, fans of African football have much to look forward to.