AFCON 2021 continues on Wednesday January 12 when Tunisia face Mali, Ivory Coast play Equatorial Guinea and Mauritania take on Gambia; all 52 games throughout the competition will be reported here on FUTBALLNEWS; the tournament closes on Sunday, February 6 with the final.
Here is the complete itinerary for AFCON 2021, including dates, kick-off times, and host cities.
Twenty-four teams will compete, with the first match taking place on January 9 in Yaounde between hosts Cameroon and Burkina Faso, and the final taking place on February 6 in the city.
AFCON on Sunday
The Africa Cup of Nations starts on Tuesday, with Egypt’s Mo Salah taking the field for the first time in the competition, under veteran international manager Carlos Quieroz.
They’ll be up against a Nigerian team that finished third in the 2019 tournament and boasts plenty of firepower in the likes of Napoli’s Victor Osimhen and Leicester striker Kelechi Iheanacho.
On paper, that appears to be the match of the day, but don’t forget about Sudan, the 1970 champions who are making their first participation in a decade – and only their third since 1976.
When Mohammed Abdel Rahman, a 28-year-old striker, was transferred to Algerian side CABBA in 2020, he became the country’s first $1 million export, and his 10 goals in 15 internationals last year were a big reason for reaching the finals – including six in qualification.
Groups for AFCON 2021
Group A: Cameroon (hosts), Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Cape Verde Islands
Group A
| # | Team | Pl | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cameroon | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | Cape Verde | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 3 | Burkina | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 0 |
| 4 | Ethiopia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
Group B: Senegal, Guinea, Malawi, Zimbabwe
Group B
| # | Team | Pl | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gunie | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | Senegal | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 3 | Malawi | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| 4 | Zimbabwe | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
Group C: Ghana, Comoros Islands, Gabon, Morocco
Group C
| # | Team | Pl | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gabon | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | Morocco | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 3 | Comoros | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| 4 | Ghana | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
Group D: Guinea Bissau, Nigeria, Sudan, Egypt
Group D
| # | Team | Pl | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nigeria | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | Guinea Bissau | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Sudan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Egypt | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
Group E: Algeria, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone
Group E
| # | Team | Pl | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Algeria | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2 | Sierra Leone | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | Ivory Coast | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Guinea | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Group F: Gambia, Mali, Mauritania, Tunisia
Group F
| # | Team | Pl | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gambia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Mali | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Mauritania | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Tunisia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Group stage fixtures and results for AFCON 2021
Sunday January 9
Group A: Cameron 2 – 1 Burkina Faso
Group A: Ethiopia 0 – 1 Cape Verde
Monday January 10
Group B: Senegal 1 – 0 Zimbabwe
Group B: Guinea 1 – 0 Malawi
Group C: Morocco 1 – 0 Ghana
Group C: Comoros 0 – 1 Gabon
Tuesday January 11
Group E: Algeria 0 – 0 Sierra Leone
Group D: Nigeria 1 – 0 Egypt
Group D: Sudan vs Guinea-Bissau, 7pm (Roumde Adjia Stadium, Garoua)
Wednesday January 12
Group F: Tunisia vs Mali, 1pm (Limbe Stadium, Limbe)
Group F: Mauritania vs Gambia, 4pm (Limbe Stadium, Limbe)
Group E: Equatorial Guinea vs Ivory Coast (Japoma Stadium, Douala)
Thursday January 13
Group A: Cameroon vs Ethiopia, 4pm (Olembe Stadium, Yaounde)
Group A: Cape Verde vs Burkina Faso, 7pm (Olembe Stadium, Yaounde)
Friday January 14
Group B: Senegal vs Guinea, 1pm (Kouekong Stadium, Bafoussam)
Group B: Malawi vs Zimbabwe, 4pm (Kouekong Stadium, Bafoussam)
Group C: Morocco vs Comoros, 4pm (Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo, Yaounde)
Group C: Gabon vs Ghana, 7pm (Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo, Yaounde)
Saturday January 15
Group D: Nigeria vs Sudan, 4pm (Roumde Adjia Stadium, Garoua)
Group D: Guinea-Bissau vs Egypt, 7pm (Roumde Adjia Stadium, Garoua)
Sunday January 16
Group F: Gambia vs Mali, 1pm (Limbe Stadium, Limbe)
Group E: Ivory Coast vs Sierra Leone, 4pm (Japoma Stadium, Douala)
Group F: Tunisia vs Mauritania, 4pm (Limbe Stadium, Limbe)
Group E: Algeria vs Equatorial Guinea, 7pm (Japoma Stadium, Douala)
Monday January 17
Group A: Burkina Faso vs Ethiopia, 4pm (Kouekong Stadium, Bafoussam)
Group A: Cape Verde vs Cameroon, 4pm (Olembe Stadium, Yaounde)
Tuesday January 18
Group B: Malawi vs Senegal, 4pm (Kouekong Stadium, Bafoussam)
Group B: Zimbabwe vs Guinea, 4pm (Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo, Yaounde)
Group C: Gabon vs Morocco, 7pm (Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo, Yaounde)
Group C: Ghana vs Comoros, 7pm (Roumde Adjia Stadium, Garoua)
Wednesday January 19
Group D: Egypt vs Sudan, 7pm (Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo, Yaounde)
Group D: Guinea-Bissau vs Nigeria, 7pm (Roumde Adjia Stadium, Garoua)
Thursday January 20
Group E: Ivory Coast vs Algeria, 4pm (Japoma Stadium, Douala)
Group E: Sierra Leone vs Equatorial Guinea, 4pm (Limbe Stadium, Limbe)
Group F: Gambia vs Tunisia, 7pm (Limbe Stadium, Limbe)
Group F: Mali vs Mauritania, 7pm (Japoma Stadium, Douala).
Fixtures for the AFCON 2021 round of 16
Sunday January 23
Game 1: Group A runner-up vs Group C runner-up, 4pm (Limbe Stadium, Limbe)
Game 2: Group D winner vs Group B/E/F third-place, 7pm (Roumde Adjia Stadium, Garoua)
Monday January 24
Game 3: Group B runner-up vs Group F runner-up, 4pm (Kouekong Stadium, Bafoussam)
Game 4: Group A winner vs Group C/D/E third-place, 7pm (Olembe Stadium, Yaounde)
Tuesday January 25
Game 5: Group B winner vs Group A/C/D third-place, 4pm (Kouekong Stadium, Bafoussam)
Game 6: Group C winner vs Group A/B/F third-place, 7pm (Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo, Yaounde)
Wednesday January 26
Game 7: Group E winner vs Group D runner-up, 4pm (Japoma Stadium, Douala)
Game 8: Group F winner vs Group E runner-up, 7pm (Limbe Stadium, Limbe)
AFCON 2021 quarter-final fixtures and results
Saturday January 29
Quarter-final 1: Round-of-16 game 4 winner vs Round-of-16 game 3 winner, 4pm (Japoma Stadium, Douala)
Quarter-final 2: Round-of-16 game 1 winner vs Round-of-16 game 2 winner, 7pm (Roumde Adjia Stadium, Garoua)
Sunday January 30
Quarter-final 3: Round-of-16 game 7 winner vs Round-of-16 game 6 winner, 4pm (Olembe Stadium, Yaounde)
Quarter-final 4: Round-of-16 game 5 winner vs Round-of-16 game 8 winner, 7pm (Japoma Stadium, Douala)
AFCON 2021 semi-final fixtures and results
Wednesday February 2
Semi-final 1: Quarter-final 1 winner vs Quarter-final 4 winner, 7pm (Japoma Stadium, Douala)
Thursday February 3
Semi-final 2: Quarter-final 2 winner vs Quarter-final 3 winner, 7pm (Olembe Stadium, Yaounde)
AFCON 2021 third-place match
Sunday February 6
Semi-final 1 loser vs Semi-final 2 loser, 4pm (Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo, Yaounde) – Live on Sky Sports
AFCON 2021 final
Sunday February 6
Semi-final 1 winner vs Semi-final 2 winner, 7pm (Olembe Stadium, Yaounde).
