Afcon 2023: Record breakers, shocks and sackings - what we've learned at the tournament so far
- Published
(Left to right) Egypt captain Mohamed Salah, tournament top scorer Emilio Nsue, former Ghana boss Chris Hughton and Cape Verde's Garry Rodrigues experienced the highs and lows of the 2023 Afcon group stage
Huge shocks, last-gasp heroics, an abundance of goals and multiple plot twists the like of which Hollywood scriptwriters might deem too fanciful - the group stage of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) felt like it had it all.
Hosts Ivory Coast came perilously close to crashing out, unfancied sides comfortably won their groups and superstar players were largely overshadowed by lesser-known names who were seemingly intent on keeping the surprises coming.
Then there was the inevitable round of managerial departures, one of which was not even the consequence of elimination from the finals.
Football fans are in for a treat if the knockout stage, which begins on Saturday, keeps up the pace. In the meantime, BBC Sport Africa looks back on a brilliantly unpredictable opening 11 days on the way to determining who will become continental champions.
Heavyweights struggle and underdogs impress
Afcon 2023: Bebe stars in best goals from the Africa Cup of Nations
Nigeria coming from behind to secure a point against Equatorial Guinea in just the second match of the finals only hinted at the upsets to come.
Record seven-time champions Egypt took the lead after 89 seconds against lowly Mozambique, but needed a 97th-minute penalty from Mohamed Salah to scrape a 2-2 draw, setting the tone for the thrills to come.
Former winners Ghana, Algeria and Tunisia all failed to progress to the last 16, with Equatorial Guinea, Cape Verde and Angola all finishing top of their respective groups.
Ivory Coast suffered an astonishing 4-0 defeat by the Equatoguineans in their final Group A match, watched by their iconic striker and two-time finalist Didier Drogba.
The West Africans matched their unenviable record of being the only host nation to lose two group games, having been the first to do so when they laid on the tournament in 1984.
Arguably the shock of the group stage came courtesy of Namibia, with the side ranked 115th in the world earning their first win at the finals at the 10th attempt by beating 2004 champions Tunisia 1-0.
That triumph helped the Brave Warriors to progress, while there were unforgettable moments even when the odds were not overturned.
On the same night that Mauritania beat Algeria to condemn the 2019 champions to a second successive exit at the first hurdle, The Gambia and Cameroon took part in an extraordinary Group C settler.
The Indomitable Lions, five-time Afcon winners, were on their way out when the lowest-ranked team at the tournament took an 85th-minute lead, but two late goals saw the Central Africans progress.
Defending champions Senegal, meanwhile, eased through to the last 16 serenely as the only side with a 100% record.
Don't blink during the closing stages
Mostafa Mohamed scored what he thought was a 93rd minute winner against Cape Verde, but there was still drama to come...
There have been 12 goals in second-half injury time at the finals - four times the number at the 2021 edition in Cameroon - with almost all of them absurdly dramatic.
Garry Rodrigues capitalised on farcical defending to give Cape Verde a 92nd-minute win against Ghana and put the Black Stars under pressure.
Ghana got back on course and were set to go through from Group B before conceding in the 91st and 94th minutes to throw away a two-goal lead against Mozambique and go out.
There was also late drama in Egypt's last game, as the North Africans went ahead in the 93rd minute against Cape Verde but then conceded a 99th-minute equaliser.
However, the Pharaohs managed to sneak through ahead of Ghana despite drawing all three group games 2-2.
Elsewhere, Burkina Faso ultimately progressed on the back of Bertrand Traore's 96th-minute penalty against Mauritania, but Baghdad Bounedjah's 95th-minute header which got a draw against the Burkinabe could not help Algeria's cause in the long run.
There were three goals between the 86th and 90th minutes at past two tournaments, but this time there have been five.
Deon Hotto's winner for Namibia against Tunisia came two minutes from time and Cameroon clawed their way back into the tournament against The Gambia through James Gomez's 87th-minute own goal before Christopher Wooh scored the winner for the Indomitable Lions a minute into added time.
Those goals have helped the tournament to clock up an average of 2.47 goals per game, although it is probably optimistic to expect that rate to continue when knockout football begins.
Salah and Kudus suffer as Osimhen struggles for accuracy
Mohammed Kudus is among the star players to have left the tournament after the group stage
Mohamed Salah is the most high-profile player at Afcon 2023, and attention on the Liverpool forward has intensified since he was forced off during first-half stoppage time in Egypt's 2-2 draw against Ghana with a hamstring injury.
After finishing as a runner-up at the 2017 and 2021 finals Salah has spoken of his determination to win the title for the first time but he has returned to Anfield for a treatment on a problem which looks unlikely to allow him to return to the tournament.
West Ham man Mohammed Kudus continued his impressive club form by scoring both of the Ghana's goals against Egypt in that game, only to be left looking dejected after his country's capitulation against Mozambique, which he blamed on a loss of concentration.
Newly-crowned African Footballer of the Year Victor Osimhen is yet to recapture the prolific form he found when he top-scored in Serie A last season, firing Napoli to the title.
Osimhen does, however, have the highest figures for expected goals (xG) and attempts at goal at the Afcon finals, scoring his sole goal from a combined xG of 2.72 after sending in 13 shots.
All those stars have been outshone by 34-year-old Equatorial Guinea striker Emilio Nsue, who once had spells with Middlesbrough and Birmingham City and is the tournament's top scorer on five goals.
The scorer of the first Afcon hat-trick in 16 years and the oldest player ever to score a treble at the finals, Nsue's double against Ivory Coast helped the National Thunder surprisingly top Group A
Sackings, suspensions - and more on the way?
Jean-Louis Gasset (centre) will not be joining hosts Ivory Coast in the last 16 after paying the price for a third-placed finish in Group A
When big names exit the tournament, managers pay the price.
Ghana promptly sacked Chris Hughton after their exit, which precipitated a flurry of departures.
Tom Saintfiet resigned as boss of The Gambia minutes after their exit, having failed to repeat the heroics of their quarter-final outing on debut two years ago.
There were two less surprising departures when Algeria parted company with Djamel Belmadi and Jalel Kadri resigned as Tunisia manager, but Ivory Coast also took swift action after finishing third in Group A.
Jean-Louis Gasset paid the price for the hammering against Equatorial Guinea, which was the largest defeat in his side's history and turned anticipation to embarrassment among Elephants supporters.
Remarkably, the Ivory Coast were still able to qualify when Gasset departed and will take on in-form reigning champions Senegal on Monday after sneaking through.
Meanwhile, the Confederation of African Football has handed mid-tournament bans to Tanzania coach Adel Amrouche and Morocco boss Walid Regragui.
The Taifa Stars have been eliminated but Regragui is set to miss the Atlas Lions' last-16 tie against South Africa on Tuesday unless Morocco's football federation is successful in an appeal against his suspension.