2019 Africa Cup of Nations

2019 Africa Cup of Nations
كأس الأمم الأفريقية 2019
Official logo
Tournament details
Host countryEgypt
Dates21 June – 19 July
Teams24
Venue(s)6 (in 4 host cities)
Final positions
Champions Algeria (2nd title)
Runners-up Senegal
Third place Nigeria
Fourth place Tunisia
Tournament statistics
Matches played52
Goals scored102 (1.96 per match)
Attendance943,053 (18,136 per match)
Top scorer(s)Nigeria Odion Ighalo (5 goals)
Best player(s)Algeria Ismaël Bennacer[1]
Best young playerSenegal Krépin Diatta
Best goalkeeperAlgeria Raïs M'Bolhi
Fair play award Senegal
2017
2021

The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (abbreviated as AFCON 2019 or CAN 2019), known as the Total 2019 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 32nd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's football championship of Africa organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). The tournament was hosted by Egypt. The competition was held from 21 June to 19 July 2019, as per the decision of the CAF Executive Committee on 20 July 2017 to move the Africa Cup of Nations from January/February to June/July for the first time.[2] It was also the first Africa Cup of Nations expanded from 16 to 24 teams.[3][4]

The tournament was initially scheduled to be hosted by Cameroon.[5] Cameroon would have hosted the competition for the first time since 1972. They were also the title holders after winning the previous edition. On 30 November 2018, Cameroon was stripped of hosting the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations[6] due to delays in the delivery of infrastructure, the Boko Haram insurgency and the Anglophone Crisis.[7] However, the country was given the right to host the next edition of the tournament. On 8 January 2019, Egypt was chosen by the CAF Executive Committee as the host nation of the competition.[8] The tournament was also moved from the original dates of 15 June – 13 July to 21 June – 19 July due to Ramadan.[9]

Cameroon were the defending champions, but were eliminated in the round of 16 by Nigeria. Hosts Egypt were eliminated at the same stage after losing 0–1 to South Africa. Algeria defeated Senegal 1–0 in the final, winning their second title and first since 1990,[10] while Nigeria came third after beating Tunisia 1–0 in the third-place play-off match.[11]

  1. ^ @CAF_Online (19 July 2019). "Pulling the strings from midfield like a boss Ismaël Bennacer is the #TotalAFCON2019 best player" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. ^ "DECISIONS OF CAF EXECUTIVE COMMITEE [sic]; - 27 & 28 SEPTEMBER 2018". Confédération Africaine de Football. 29 September 2018.
  3. ^ "DECISIONS OF CAF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE – 20 JULY 2017". CAF. 20 July 2017.
  4. ^ "Une CAN à 24 dès 2019 et en été" (in French). RFI.fr. 20 July 2017.
  5. ^ "CAMEROON TO HOST 2019, COTE D'IVOIRE FOR 2021, GUINEA 2023". Confédération Africaine de Football. 20 September 2014.
  6. ^ "Cameroon stripped of hosting 2019 Africa Cup of Nations". France 24. 30 November 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  7. ^ "D-day for 2019 Africa Cup of Nations hosts Cameroon". SowetanLIVE. 30 November 2018. Archived from the original on 13 May 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  8. ^ Etchells, Daniel (8 January 2019). "Egypt named as hosts of 2019 Africa Cup of Nations". insidethegames.biz.
  9. ^ "Ramadan pushes Africa Cup of Nations back by one week". SuperSport. 28 January 2019.
  10. ^ "Senegal 0 Algeria 1". BBC Sport. 19 July 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  11. ^ "Tunisia 0 Nigeria 1". BBC Sport. 18 July 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2019.