Bright suits, interesting players, loud fans and strict referees. What you need to know about the 2023 African Cup

On January 13, the next one starts in Côte d’Ivoire, already 34th African Cup of Nationsor for short African Cup. 24 teams will play 51 matches over the course of a month, following which the best team on the continent will be determined. Bright official suits, interesting players, loud fans and strict referees – we tell you what you need to know about the most colorful tournament in the world.

Where will the 2023 African Cup be held?

The tournament will be hosted by Cote d’Ivoire. It is noteworthy that the African Cup itself was supposed to take place last year, but in the summer of 2022, a flood occurred in the host country, as a result of which dozens of people died and more than 10 thousand were injured. As a result, the tournament was postponed by a year.

The tournament matches will be held in five cities and six stadiums.

Who is the current African champion?

In 2022, the tournament was won by Senegal. Moreover, for the first time in its history. In the final, Senegal beat Egypt in a penalty shootout, participating in the decider for the tenth time (a tournament record) in history.

Egypt, by the way, is the most titled team in the current African Cup of Nations – seven victories and three vice-championships. Cameroon has won the African Cup five times and Ghana four times.

What is the format of the African Cup 2023

The 24 teams that qualified for the finals of the tournament were divided into six groups, with four teams in each. The teams that took first or second place in their quartets, as well as the four best teams from among those who finished third, advance to the 1/8 finals.

The group stage matches will be held until January 24, the final match of the tournament will take place on February 11.

It is noteworthy that there will be no debutants in the final part of the 2023 African Cup – all teams have already played in the tournament. The Gambia has the fewest qualifications to the finals (two), Egypt (26) and Cote d’Ivoire (25) have the most.

Who is the favorite for the 2023 African Cup?

According to analysts, the current trophy winner Senegal (12.8%) has the greatest chance of winning. The hosts of Côte d’Ivoire have a little less – 21.1%. Morocco’s chances of winning are estimated at 11.1%.

We also note the high density in the assessment of chances: the probability of winning the tournament exceeds 5% for nine teams at once. The same number of teams have no more than 1% chance of winning the trophy. The smallest – 0.5% each – are in Angola and Namibia.

How strong are the teams at the 2023 African Cup?

Really powerful teams will play in the tournament. For example, only the three leading leagues in the world – the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A – sent 69 players to the tournament.

31 players from the Premier League will play in the 2023 African Cup of Nations. Ilya Zabarny’s Bournemouth suffered the most, delegating 6 players to various teams. Fulham has three representatives.

La Liga sent 20 players to the 2023 African Cup. Betis and Almeria tried the hardest, delegating three players each.

The Italian Serie A is represented by 18 players in the teams’ applications. Most of all representatives of Lecce and Salernitana – three each.

The obvious stars are Salah, Osimhen, Chukwueze, Sarr, Elneny, Williams. We’ll talk about the non-obvious ones below.

Who to watch at the 2023 African Cup

First of all, this is, of course, Stuttgart forward Seru Guirasi, who scored 17 goals in the first part of the Bundesliga season. Yes, the 27-year-old Guinea national team forward is definitely not considered a promising player, but the price tag of 20 million euros that is currently on him and the interest from Manchester United and Newcastle speak volumes.

But the 19-year-old striker of the Ivory Coast and Salzburg national teams, Karim Konate, fits into the “young and promising” category in all respects. The striker, who will play in his second African Cup of his career, has 10 goals and six assists in 25 matches in all competitions and an estimated transfer value of 15 million euros.

The same age as Konate, Gambian national team winger Yankuba Minte, belongs to Newcastle, but spends the first part of the season in Feyenoord. I must admit – successfully. Minte has four goals and two assists in 18 matches and has excellent chances for the Premier League.

The tall (190 cm tall) central defender of the Ivory Coast and Sporting teams, Ousmane Diomande (2+1 this season), is a target for many European clubs. The price tag of 40 million euros, I think, will not scare away the giants, given the player’s youth and skills.

Why you should watch the African Cup

Firstly, it has a unique flavor. Check out the ceremonial costume of the Guinea national team.

Or the Mali team.

Cameroon is not far behind.

Nigeria was a little more modest.

So is Namibia.

But Egypt, however, broke the trend.

Secondly, these are specific fans with shamanic rituals, folk instruments, etc.

Thirdly, this is the referee. There will be four women chief referees at the 2023 African Cup. One of them is Rwandan Salima Mukansanga, who at the last tournament became the first female referee in the history of the African Cup. For a continent where 45% of the population is Muslim, this is an incredible achievement.