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As we enter the business end of the Africa Cup of Nations, it’s not hard to spot the theme of the tournament.
Heavyweight contenders being dumped out early, with others staying in the competition by the skin of their teeth.
Hosts Ivory Coast are just about still in situ, having knocked out holders Senegal in the last 16 on penalties. Egypt suffered the same fate against DR Congo.
Nigeria are many people’s tip to march all the way to glory in Abidjan on February 11, but it’s also been a tournament to celebrate upset successes, with Cape Verde into the quarterfinals for the first time their history.
By the time South Africa downed Morocco 2-0 in the final game of the first knockout stage, the top five sides in the FIFA rankings had all been sent packing. By contrast, 117th in the world Angola romped into a last-eight clash with Nigeria.
Here’s a rundown of the teams knocked out of AFCON 2023 so far and information on when the final stages will take place.
MORE: AFCON 2023 fixtures, results, schedule, bracket, group tables for Africa Cup of Nations in 2024
Teams out of the African Cup of Nations: Full list of teams eliminated at AFCON 2023
The 24-team format meant an initial round-robin phase of six groups of four. The top two in each section qualified automatically, with the best four third-place teams making up the last 16.
From that point on, the tournament is a straight knockout competition, with 30 minutes of extra time and a penalty shootout if necessary after any game that is level at full-time.
Here are the teams to have been knocked out of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations so far.
| Team | Stage Eliminated | Result | FIFA Ranking |
| Guinea-Bissau | Group A | 4th place | 103rd |
| Ghana | Group B | 3rd place | 61st |
| Mozambique | Group B | 4th place | 111th |
| Gambia | Group C | 4th place | 126th |
| Algeria | Group D | 4th place | 30th |
| Tunisia | Group E | 4th place | 28th |
| Zambia | Group F | 3rd place | 84th |
| Tanzania | Group F | 4th place | 121st |
| Cameroon | Round of 16 | Lost 2-0 to Nigeria | 46th |
| Namibia | Round of 16 | Lost 3-0 to Angola | 115th |
| Mauritania | Round of 16 | Lost 1-0 to Cape Verde | 105th |
| Senegal | Round of 16 | Drew 1-1 with Ivory Coast, lost 5-4 on pens. | 20th |
| Egypt | Round of 16 | Drew 1-1 with DR Congo, lost 8-7 on pens. | 33rd |
| Equatorial Guinea | Round of 16 | Lost 1-0 to Guinea | 88th |
| Burkina Faso | Round of 16 | Lost 2-1 to Mali | 57th |
| Morocco | Round of 16 | Lost 2-0 to South Africa | 13th |
| Angola | Quarterfinal | Lost 1-0 to Nigeria | 117th |
| Guinea | Quarterfinal | Lost 3-1 to DR Congo | 80th |
| Mali | Quarterfinal | Lost 2-1 to Mali | 51st |
| Cape Verde | Quarterfinal | Lost on penalties to South Africa | 73rd |
| South Africa | Semifinal | Lost on penalties to Nigeria | 66th |
| DR Congo | Semifinal | Lost 1-0 to Ivory Coast | 67th |
AFCON knockout stage schedule, fixtures and results
Round of 16
| Date | Time (ET) | Match result |
| January 27 | 12 p.m. | Angola 3-0 Namibia |
| January 27 | 3 p.m. | Nigeria 2-0 Cameroon |
| January 28 | 12 p.m. | Equatorial Guinea 0-1 Guinea |
| January 28 | 3 p.m. | Egypt 1-1 (7-8 p) DR Congo |
| January 29 | 12 p.m. | Cape Verde 1-0 Mauritania |
| January 29 | 3 p.m. | Senegal 1-1 (4-5 p) Ivory Coast |
| January 30 | 12 p.m. | Mali 2-1 Burkina Faso |
| January 30 | 3 p.m. | South Africa 2-0 Morocco |
Quarterfinals
| Date | Time (ET) | Match |
| February 2 | 12 p.m. | Nigeria 1-0 Angola |
| February 2 | 3 p.m. | DR Congo 3-1 Guniea |
| February 3 | 12 p.m. | Ivory Coast 2-1 (aet) Mali |
| February 3 | 3 p.m. | South Africa 0-0 (2-1 p) Cape Verde |
Semifinals
| Date | Time (ET) | Match |
| February 7 | 12 p.m. | Nigeria 1-1 (4-2 P) South Africa |
| February 7 | 3 p.m. | Ivory Coast 1-0 DR Congo |
Third-place playoff
| Date | Time (ET) | Match |
| February 10 | 3 p.m. | South Africa vs. DR Congo |
Final
| Date | Time (ET) | Match |
| February 11 | 3 p.m. | Nigeria vs. Ivory Coast |
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