Africa Cup of Nations Quarterfinal picks: AFCON last eight ready to kick off

The Africa Cup of Nations tournament kicks off the quarterfinals on Saturday, January 29. The final eight of the tournament sees Tunisia, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Gambia, Senegal, Equatorial Guinea, Egypt, and Morocco battling for a place in the semifinals. 

The semifinals of the Africa Cup of Nations tournament will kick off on February 2 and 3 with the final being played on February 6.

The reigning AFCON champion, Algeria, were eliminated at the group stage. With the reigning champs out and several top African nations knocked out alongside them, bookies’ betting odds on the team to win the tournament have changed.

Africa Cup of Nations betting odds: Which team will win the AFCON tournament?

Odds according to Bet365

Gambia vs. Cameroon

Gambia and Cameroon will kick off the quarterfinals on Saturday in Douala. These teams have played just twice previously with Cameroon winning both matches. Those previous matches took place in 2015 and 2016 with Cameroon winning both games to nil.

Cameroon are the host nation and will have home-field advantage against Gambia. Gambia reached the quarterfinals with a 1-0 win over Guinea. Cameroon claimed a 2-1 win over Comoros. Cameroon have been one of the highest-scoring teams in AFCON with nine goals in four games. Overall, the AFCON has been a low-scoring tournament with 1.82 goals per game.

Cameroon should use their home-field advantage to get a win over Gambia and continue their path toward the final.

Result: Cameroon

Goals: Over 2.5

Burkina Faso vs. Tunisia

Burkina Faso needed penalties to overcome Gabon in the round of 16. The game finished 1-1 after extra time. Burkina Faso won 7-6 on penalties. Tunisia surprisingly knocked out Nigeria 1-0 in the round of 16.

Neither side performed well in the group stage. However, both will hope to use the round of 16 as a springboard. Burkina Faso have a strong head-to-head against Tunisia with a record of 3W-2D-1L.

Despite having a better head-to-head against Tunisia, Burkina Faso should fail to win on Saturday. Tunisia looked impressive in the round of 16. Our betting tips prediction is for Tunisia to claim a victory.

Result: Tunisia

Goals: Under 2.5 (I’m going against Soccer Buddy for this pick)

Senegal vs. Equatorial Guinea

Senegal are the current favorite to win the AFCON tournament according to bookies. Senegal struggled through the group stage but exploded in the round of 16 with a 2-0 win over Cape Verde. The round of 16 saw the real Senegal.

Equatorial Guinea played out a nil-nil draw with Mali in the round of 16 before progressing on penalties 7-6. Equatorial Guinea have been one of the surprise packages at the AFCON.  The Cinderella story is about to come to an end as Senegal will pick up a victory on Sunday. Senegal’s all-time head-to-head record versus Equatorial Guinea is 2W-0D-1L.

Result: Senegal

Goals: Under 2.5 goals (I’m going against Soccer Buddy for this pick)

To score anytime: Sadio Mane

Egypt vs. Morocco

This is likely to be the match of the quarterfinals. After a slow start, Egypt are starting to get their act together. Still, Egypt needed a penalty shootout win against Ivory Coast after a nil-nil draw at full-time. Morocco were very good against Malawi, winning 2-1.

Morocco have a superior head-to-head against Egypt. The Atlas Lions have posted a record of 14W-12D-3L. The teams last played in 2017 with Egypt winning 3-1. Although Morocco’s record is superior in terms of head-to-head meetings, our betting tips pick is for Egypt to win at full-time.

Despite a nil-nil draw the last time out, Egypt should claim a win at the end of 90 minutes.

Result: Egypt

Goals: Over 2.5 goals

To score anytime: Mohamed Salah