As we approach the end of the African Cup of Nations, it is not difficult to identify the theme of the tournament.
Heavyweight contenders were eliminated early, and others narrowly missed out on the competition.
The hosts, Ivory Coast, remain practically in place, having eliminated the defending champion, Senegal, in the round of 16 on penalties. Egypt suffered the same fate against the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Nigeria is the favorite of many to march to glory in Abidjan on February 11, but it has also been a tournament to celebrate surprising successes, with Cape Verde in the quarter-finals for the first time in their history.
Here is a summary of the teams eliminated from AFCON 2023 so far and information on when the final stages will take place.
Teams eliminated from African Cup of Nations: Full list of teams eliminated at AFCON 2023
The 24-team format meant an initial round-robin phase of six groups of four. The top two from each section qualified automatically, and the four best third-place finishers formed the round of 16.
From then on, the tournament is a direct knockout competition, with 30 minutes of extra time and a penalty shootout if necessary after any game tied at the end.
These are the teams that have been eliminated from the 2023 African Cup of Nations so far.
| Equipment | Eliminated Stage | Cluster | Result |
| Guinea-Bissau | Group stage | Group A | 4th place |
| Ghana | Group stage | B Group | 3rd place |
| Mozambique | Group stage | B Group | 4th place |
| Gambia | Group stage | Group C | 4th place |
| Algeria | Group stage | Group D | 4th place |
| Tunisia | Group stage | Group E | 4th place |
| Zambia | Group stage | Group F | 3rd place |
| Tanzania | Group stage | Group F | 4th place |
| Cameroon | round of 16 | Lost 2-0 to Nigeria | |
| Namibia | round of 16 | Lost 3-0 to Angola | |
| Mauritania | round of 16 | Lost 1-0 to Cape Verde | |
| Senegal | round of 16 | Drawn 1-1 with Ivory Coast, lost 5-4 on penalties. | |
| Egypt | round of 16 | They drew 1-1 with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and lost 8-7 on penalties. | |
| Equatorial Guinea | round of 16 | Lost 1-0 to Guinea |
AFCON knockout stage schedule, matches and results
round of 16
| Date | Time (ET) | Game results |
| January 27th | 12 p.m. | Angola 3-0 Namibia |
| January 27th | 3 p.m. | Nigeria 2-0 Cameroon |
| January 28 | 12 p.m. | Equatorial Guinea 0-1 Guinea |
| January 28 | 3 p.m. | Egypt 1-1 (7-8 people) DR Congo |
| January 29 | 12 p.m. | Cape Verde 1-0 Mauritania |
| January 29 | 3 p.m. | Senegal 1-1 (4-5 people) Ivory Coast |
| January 30th | 12 p.m. | Mali against Burkina Faso |
| January 30th | 3 p.m. | Morocco against South Africa |
Quarter finals
| Date | Time (ET) | Match |
| February 2 | 12 p.m. | Nigeria vs Angola |
| February 2 | 3 p.m. | Guinea against DR Congo |
| February 3rd | 12 p.m. | Winner of round of 16 5 vs. Ivory Coast |
| February 3rd | 3 p.m. | Cape Verde vs. Round of 16 winner 8 |
Semifinals and playoff for third place
The semi-finals will take place on February 7th.
The match for third place, between the two losing semi-finalists, will be played on Feb. 10.
Final
The tournament concludes with the final in Abidjan on February 11th.
