The 2023 African Cup of Nations has entered the critical phase of the third day of the group stage, where the fate of the 24 participating nations will be decided.
Ivory Coast faces an anxious wait to see if it will compete in the knockout phase, as the host nation was beaten 4-0 by Equatorial Guinea, leaving it in third place in the Group A standings.
Continental heavyweights including Ghana and Cameroon could also return home early, with Egypt scraping by by the skin of their teeth as the injured Mohamed Salah looked on.
With the final places in the round of 16 to be determined in the coming days, The Jugo Mobile has an updated list of which teams have made it through and which have already been eliminated.
Which teams have qualified for the AFCON 2023 knockout rounds?
The following teams have qualified for the knockout phase of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
| Equipment | Cluster |
| Equatorial Guinea | A (1st place) |
| Nigeria | A (second place) |
| Cape Verde | B (1st place) |
| Egypt | B (second place) |
Teams eliminated from AFCON 2023
With four of the best third-place finishers advancing to the round of 16, many nations are yet to know their fate when it comes to progressing from the group stage.
The following teams know that they are already out of the 2023 African Cup of Nations.
| Equipment | Cluster |
| Guinea-Bissau | A (4th place, 0 points) |
| Mozambique | B (4th place, 2 points) |
AFCON 2023 format and rules
There are 24 teams competing in this version of the African Cup of Nations, divided into six groups of four.
Since the knockout stages begin with the round of 16 (and are single, consecutive knockouts), it means that in addition to the top two in each group, four of the best third-place finishers in the groups will also get a knockout. place.
In the event that two teams are tied on the same points, their classification will be determined according to:
- Points in the head to head between the two tied teams
- Goal difference in the group
- Overall goals scored in the group
- Lottery.
In the knockout stages, matches will have 30 minutes of extra time and then penalties if the teams cannot be separated. There will also be a third-place playoff between the two losing semifinalists to determine who wins the bronze medal.
AFCON round of 16 schedule and matches
Round of 16 schedule
| Date | Time (ET) | Match |
| January 27th | 12pm | TBD vs. TBD |
| January 27th | 3 p.m. | Nigeria vs. TBD |
| January 28 | 12pm | Equatorial Guinea vs. TBD |
| January 28 | 3 p.m. | Egypt vs TBD |
| January 29 | 12pm | Cape Verde vs. TBD |
| January 29 | 3 p.m. | TBD vs. TBD |
| January 30th | 12pm | TBD vs. TBD |
| January 30th | 3 p.m. | TBD vs. TBD |
Quarter finals
| Date | Match |
| February 2 | Round of 16 winner 1 vs. Round of 16 winner 1 |
| February 2 | Winner of round of 16 3 vs. Round of 16 winner 4 |
| February 3rd | Winner of round of 16 5 vs. Round of 16 winner 6 |
| February 3rd | Winner of round of 16 7 vs. Round of 16 winner 8 |
Semifinals and playoff for third place
The semi-finals will take place on both 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.
