#africa-cup-of-nations

#africa-cup-of-nations

More than any other continental tournament, there is always a sense with the Africa Cup of Nations that it is a referendum on the continent's football generally. Perhaps it's because so many of the players are familiar to those who habitually watch the European leagues or the Champions League, but the question is less about individual quality of players that is a given than it is about organisation and structures.

Goals either side of half-time by Junior Tchamadeu and Christian Kofane took Cameroon through to the Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinals at South Africa's expense, as the Indomitable Lions edged their last-16 clash 2-1. Tchamadeu opened the scoring in the 34th minute at Al Medina Stadium in Rabat on Sunday, and teenage Bayer Leverkusen forward Kofane headed in the crucial second goal two minutes after half-time.

There is perhaps no nation on earth whose football is as paranoid as that of Tunisia, and with so little reason. They qualified for a third successive World Cup with ease and forced a draw in a friendly against Brazil in November, yet their football is infected with fear. To watch them play is to experience a dystopian world in which imagination has been outlawed.

Tomorrow's game is surely a special game for me. If you win an AFCON with a country, then a part of them stays in your heart, but tomorrow I can't have mercy for them because I am the coach of South Africa now and I want to win the game, Belgian Broos told reporters Saturday in the Moroccan capital. They are a very good team, a young team, and they have a good fighting spirit and mentality,

"We are going [with] no [fresh] issues, no different issues, Amorim said the pre-match press conference on Friday. We're going to see tomorrow, we have one more training. I don't think so, that anyone is going to recover, but we'll see. This means the clash against Leeds comes too soon for captain Bruno Fernandes, Kobbie Mainoo, Mason Mount and defensive pair Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt."

With the knockout stage about to start at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), the big boys have had it all their own way so far. Algeria and Nigeria were the two nations to win all three of their games, Mohamed Salah's goals earned Egypt comfortable passage with seven points, while Achraf Hakimi eased himself back into action as hosts Morocco also went unbeaten.

Sunderland will move fifth in the Premier League if the Black Cats start 2026 by winning at home to Manchester City on Thursday. Regis Le Bris' side are unbeaten in their first nine league games of the season, with Arsenal the only other side yet to taste defeat in the 2025/26 top flight. Second-placed City are aiming to close the gap on leaders Arsenal to two points, having extended their winning run to eight matches in all competitions by beating Nottingham Forest 2-1 away on Sunday.