The first round of group stage games have been completed, and while they were low-scoring, they were also emphatic.
Powerhouse teams like Nigeria, Ivory Coast, and Cameroon made early statements, while a few underdogs put forth solid performances as well. Egypt had the most disappointing debut, with a less-than-stellar performance against Nigeria.
Algeria also needs more after the Fennec Foxes were surprisingly held scoreless by Sierra Leone despite 19 shots throughout the 90 minutes.
MORE:AFCON 2022 updated group standings
Hosts Cameroon picked up a win on Thursday to begin the second round of group stage matches, while Burkina Faso nipped Cape Verde in the other Group A match on the day.
How to watch AFCON 2022
- Dates: Jan. 9 through Feb. 6 (52 matches)
- Times: 8 a.m., 11 a.m., 2 p.m. ET
- TV Channels: beIN Sports, beIN Sports XTRA
- Spanish-language TV: beIN Sports en Espanol, beIN Sports XTRA en Espanol
- Streaming: fuboTV, beIN Sports Connect and other platforms
The AFCON tournament will be carried by beIN Sports in the USA and Canada, and coverage will be available in both English and Spanish.
Cable and satellite TV channels beIN Sports and beIN Sports en Espanol will carry matches, as will free channel beIN Sports XTRA. Fans can access all of them on fuboTV, which is available for new users via a free trial.
beIN streams are also available for users of Fanatiz and YouTube TV. And since beIN XTRA is free, it's available on a host of other streaming platforms including Roku and Pluto TV.
MORE: Latest AFCON group standings, schedule & highlights
AFCON 2022 matches today
The second round of group stage play has begun, with Group B and C ramping up on Friday. Liverpool stars took the field as Naby Keita of Guinea and Sadio Mane of Senegal battled to a 0-0 draw, sharing the points and the top spot in Group B. Both sides proved toothless up front in a match dominated by the midfields.
MORE: Story behind team nicknames at AFCON
Gabon will take the field today, with a number of stars including Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang available after a COVID-19 isolation. They take on Ghana in an afternoon heavyweight battle.
AFCON upcoming schedule: Friday, Jan. 14
| Match | Time (ET) | TV channels | Stream |
| Senegal 0, Guinea 0 (Group B) |
Highlights | ||
| Malawi vs. Zimbabwe (Group B) |
11 a.m. | beIN XTRA beIN XTRA Espanol |
fuboTV |
| Morocco vs. Comoros (Group C) |
11 a.m. | — | — |
| Gabon vs. Ghana (Group C) |
2 p.m. | beIN XTRA beIN XTRA Espanol |
fuboTV |
AFCON upcoming schedule: Saturday, Jan. 15
| Match | Time (ET) | TV channels | Stream |
| Nigeria vs. Sudan (Group D) |
11 a.m. | TBD | fuboTV |
| Guinea-Bissau vs. Egypt (Group D) |
2 p.m. | TBD | fuboTV |
AFCON results: Thursday, Jan. 13
The second round of group stage matches began on Thursday, with Cameroon banging in goals at will. Vincent Aboubakar scored a pair to give him four goals in the tournament already through just two matches. The middle of Group A is messy, with both Burkina Faso and Cape Verde on three points after two matches.
MORE: Controversy shrouds end of Mali vs. Tunisia on Wednesday.
| Match | |
| Cameroon 4, Ethiopia 1 (Group A) |
Highlights |
| Cape Verde 0, Burkina Faso 1 (Group A) |
Highlights |
MORE: Updated AFCON 2022 schedule, results & highlights
AFCON 2022 tournament format
Similar to other continental championships and World Cup tournaments, the Africa Cup of Nations begins with a group stage, followed by knockout rounds all the way to the final.
- Group stage: Jan. 9-20
- Round of 16: Jan. 23-26
- Quarterfinals: Jan. 29-30
- Semifinals: Feb. 2-3
- Third place: Feb. 6
- Final: Feb. 6
The 24 nations are divided into six groups of four nations each. At the conclusion of round-robin group play — with three points awarded for a win, one for a draw and none for a loss — the top two teams in each group based on points (and tiebreakers, if necessary) advance to the knockouts. The remaining slots in the Round of 16 will be filled out by the four best third-place finishers.
A predetermined knockout bracket will be played out all the way through to the final. If any knockout match ends in a tie after 90 minutes, the teams will play 30 minutes of extra time. If the draw persists, a penalty-kick shootout will determine the team to move on. The third-place match is the only one that would skip extra time and move straight to the shootout in case of a draw.
For the first time in the competition's history, all 52 matches will feature the use of a Video Assistant Referee (VAR).
MORE: Ranking the top 10 players at AFCON
Who will win AFCON 2022?
Judging by BetMGM's odds, we could be in for another Senegal-Algeria final. The nations were given the shortest odds to win it all and their odds only shortened in the week before the AFCON kickoff. Senegal is given a slight edge over defending champion Algeria.
It's not a surprise to see some of the other traditional African powers on the list of 10 nations most likely to win it, but based on the odds movement it looks as if bettors have been fading Nigeria, Egypt, Ghana and Tunisia in the lead-up.
| Nation | BetMGM Odds |
|---|---|
| Senegal | +350 (from +550) |
| Algeria | +450 (from +600) |
| Ivory Coast | +750 (unchanged) |
| Egypt | +800 (from +600) |
| Cameroon | +850 (from +800) |
| Morocco | +850 (from +900) |
| Nigeria | +1000 (from +800) |
| Mali | +1600 (from +2200) |
| Ghana | +1800 (from +1400) |
| Tunisia | +2200 (from +1600) |
AFCON 2022 soccer games today: Times, TV schedule, scores for matches in USA & Canada - Sporting News
Read More
No comments:
Post a Comment