Following the end of Uganda-Nigeria (1-3) and Tanzania-Tunisia (1-1) on Tuesday, the identities of the 16 teams that made it to the knockout phase of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) were confirmed.
However, we had to wait until Wednesday to uncover the full match schedule.
The ranking of the best third-placed teams is notorious for driving people crazy, with calculations constantly changing depending on probabilities and results.
Since Botswana (Group D), Equatorial Guinea (Group E), and Gabon (Group F) were eliminated even before the final matchday, it was only necessary to wait for the results of Uganda vs Nigeria and Tanzania vs Tunisia on Tuesday to know the full list of teams qualified for the round of 16.
After Uganda’s hopes of a miracle faded when they conceded to Nigeria in the 28th minute and then went down to 10 men in the second half, only two teams were left in contention for the final spot.
With his equaliser in the 48th minute for Tanzania against Tunisia, Feisal Salum ruled out any possibility of a drawing of lots with Angola. Thanks to having scored one more goal than the Palancas Negras, Tanzania secured qualification by holding on for a draw.
Only a win for the Carthage Eagles would have sent Angola through. The Taifa Stars held on until the end (1-1) to qualify for the first time in their history.
The full bracket was revealed after Wednesday's final Group F fixtures and can be viewed below.
AFCON's round of 16 teams by group (in order of finish):
Group A: Morocco, Mali
Group B: Egypt, South Africa
Group C: Nigeria, Tunisia, Tanzania
Group D: Senegal, D.R. Congo, Benin
Group E: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Sudan
Group F: Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Mozambique
Round of 16 fixtures (all times CET):
Saturday, January 3rd
Senegal vs Sudan - 17:00
Mali vs Tunisia - 20:00
Sunday, January 4th
Morocco vs Tanzania - 17:00
South Africa vs Cameroon - 20:00
Monday, January 5th
Egypt vs Benin - 17:00
Nigeria vs Mozambique - 20:00
Tuesday, January 6th
Algeria vs D.R. Congo - 17:00
Ivory Coast vs Burkina Faso - 20:00
