By Emmanuel Ebimoh
The stage is set for the round of 16 in the 2019 Total African Cup of Nations. After 36 matches filled with excitement and flair in the group stage, Africa and the world will be expecting more fireworks as we enter the crucial knockout stage of the prestigious competition.
So far in the tournament we have seen a few upsets and late heart-breaking goals. The arena to prove the equality of teams and the emphasis of team play and hard work on the field have been demystified. So if there’s any notion of top teams finding easy victories against lesser opponents, the answer could yet be seen in the ongoing AFCON tournament.
Today, in the first match of the round of 16, The Atlas Lions of Morocco will face The Squirrels of Benin. Morocco, who won all their three games in the group stage to finish top in Group D will be coming into match against Benin with some sparks of confidence. The Atlas Lions scored just three goals and kept clean sheets on all of the occasions as they beat Namibia (1-0), Ivory Coast (1-0), and South Africa (1-0), despite more excitement than the results would suggest. They have been creating more chances and coach Herve Renard will hope to build on the team spirits going into this stage in the tournament.
The Squirrels of Benin, on the other hand, made it through to the knockout stages for the first time and will be very motivated to build on such performance when they face Morocco at Al Salam Stadium tonight. However, unlike their opponent, the Beninese team obviously lack the depth in quality and this might affect their game considering that this would be their fourth game in 10 days.
In the other game scheduled for later tonight, The Cranes of Uganda will do battle against The Teranga Lions of Senegal in what promises to be a cracker. Although Uganda lost their final match of Group A, they were obviously the surprise package as they played some beautiful football which afforded them second place in the group, just behind the host Egypt. Having lost only one game in the group stage, the test against Senegal tonight will be one for fans to savour.
For the Senegalese team, they were able bounce back from their defeat against Algeria as they eventually claimed a comfortable 3-0 win over Kenya ultimately ensuring their progression to the knockout stages of the Africa Cup of Nations. They will be buoyed by the presence of star Liverpool striker, Sadio Mane and other foreign based internationals like M’Baye Niang, Ismaila Sarr, and Cheikhou Kouyaté.
No doubt the best of African football is yet to come but the stage for our African stars to shine is here.
Stay tuned with 9News Nigeria as we continue to bring you detailed preview and analysis of every game as the 2019 AFCON progresses.
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