The Confederation of African Football has revealed the financial rewards for participating nations at the ongoing 2023 Africa Cup of Nations tournament (AFCON prize money) in Cote d’Ivoire.

The winner of AFCON 2023 will take home  $7 million for lifting the trophy. The runners-up will pocket $4 million. The two losing semi-finalists (two teams) will each receive $2.5 million.

Further down the ranks, the losing quarter-finalists (four teams) will each receive $1.3 million. The eight teams knocked out in the round of 16 will get $800,000 each.

Furthermore, two teams that finished third in their group but fail to advance wilk receive $700,000. The six teams that finished last in their groups got $500,000 each.

The AFCON 2023 prize money, as revealed by CAF

Winner: $7,000,000

Runners-up: $4,000,000

Semi-finalists (two teams): $2,500,000 x 2

Quarter-finalists (four  teams): $1,300,000 x 4

Round of 16 (eight teams): $800,000 x 8

The teams ranked 3rd in their group but fail to qualify for the round of 16 (2 teams): $700,000 x 2

The teams ranked 4th in each of the six groups (six teams): $500 000 x 6

As the tournament begins the quarterfinals stage on Friday (today), eight teams are playing, seeking to advance to the next round (semifinals).

At the Felix Houphouët-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan on Friday (today), Nigeria will face old foes, Angola, as they continue their quest for their fourth Africa Cup of Nations title, which they last won in 2013.

Former West Ham United defender, Arthur Masuaku, scored a vital goal as the Democratic Republic of Congo defeated Guinea 3-1 on Friday to reach the Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals.

Masuaku netted direct from a free-kick on 82 minutes to give his country a two-goal advantage in the quarter-final and they will face hosts Ivory Coast or Mali for a place in the title decider.

Mohamed Bayo gave Guinea a 20th-minute lead from a penalty which was cancelled by DR Congo captain, Chancel Mbemba, soon after in Abidjan.

Brentford forward, Yoane Wissa  put the Congolese ahead on 65 minutes from the second penalty of the match, then Masuaku effectively decided the outcome.

History suggested that the first AFCON tournament meeting between the countries in 20 years would be close as three previous matches produced a 2-1 win for each and a 2-2 draw.

The Congolese Leopards reached the last eight without winning a match.

They finished runners-up to Morocco in Group F after three draws before edging seven-time champions Egypt via penalties.

Guinea qualified as the best of the four third-placed qualifiers, then Bayo scored the second latest regular-time goal so far to eliminate Equatorial Guinea.

Both coaches made one change from the last-16 starting line-ups with DR Congo promoting centre-back Henock Inonga and Guinea upgrading former Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita.

Serhou Guirassy, scorer of 17 Bundesliga goals this season for Stuttgart, once again started on the bench for the Guinean National Elephants.

– Closely contested –

In a first half as closely contested as anticipated, Guinea went ahead on 20 minutes when Bayo recovered having been fouled by Mbemba to convert the resultant penalty.

The lead lasted only seven minutes, however, before captain Mbemba connected with a corner to the far post and rifled the ball past goalkeeper Ibrahima Kone from a tight angle.

Guinea coach, Kaba Diawara, would have been slightly happier than his opposite number, Frenchman Sebastien Desabre, at half-time as his team had more possession and goals attempts.

Having trailed to a penalty, the Congolese went ahead on 65 minutes from another spot-kick with Wissa scoring after Julian Jeanvier tripped substitute Silas Mvumpa.

With 20 minutes remaining, Diawara introduced Guirassy, having early in the second half brought on 18-year-old Facinet Conte.

A balanced quarter-final took a decisive turn when a free-kick by Masuaku near the touchline drifted into the net at the near post off the hand of surprised Kone.

On Saturday, hosts and two-time champions Ivory Coast face Mali in Bouake and 1996 title-holders South Africa meet Cape Verde in Yamoussoukro in the other quarter-finals.

In-form Super Eagles goalkeeper, Stanley Nwabali, has equalled former shot stopper Best Ogedegbe’s 44-year record after keeping another clean sheet in Nigeria’s 1-0 quarter-finals win over Angola at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast

The Eagles beat the Palancas Negras on Friday to progress to the semi-finals of the 34th edition of the AFCON as they continued their quest to win the tournament for the fourth time, having done so in 1980, 1994 and 2013.

After keeping another clean sheet against the Angolans, the 27-year-old becones the first Eagles goalkeeper to keep four consecutive clean sheets in a major tourney in 44 years, surpassing Alloy Agu’s three games in a row in 1990.

The last shot stopper to keep four consecutive clean shots in a tournament in Eagles jersey was Ogedegbe in 1980, when the team won their first continental title.

The late keeper kept two consecutive clean sheets against Ivory Coast and Egypt in the group stage, having conceded once in their 3-1 win over Tanzania in their opening game.

He kept another clean sheet against Morocco in the semis, before another 3-0 win over Algeria in the final.

Nwabali, just like Ogedegbe, conceded a goal in the opening game against Equatorial Guinea and had not been beaten afterwards, keeping clean sheets against Ivory Coast, Guinea-Bissau, Cameroon and Angola.

The Chippa United goalkeeper will hope to own the record outright when the Eagles face the winners between South Africa and Cape Verde in the semi-finals on Wednesday.

Nigerian winger, Moses Simon has claimed the Man of The Match award for the second time at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast.

The FC Nantes winger went off a super run before he delivered the assist for Ademola Lookman to fire the match winner against Angola in the first half of the quarter-final game on Saturday.

The winger has now provided two assists at the competition.

He capped a great outing with his whole-hearted performance both in attack and defence as the Super Eagles held off the Palancas Negras of Angola to fly into the AFCON semi-finals.

The 29-year-old was in action for the entire duration of the game.

This is his second CAF Man of The Match award in five games for the Eagles at the competition.

His first came after the final group A game against Guinea Bissau which the Super Eagles won 1-0 due to an own goal caused by Simon’s incisive run.

The Super Eagles will face the winner of the game between Cape Verde and South Africa in the semi-final at the Stade la Paix Bouake on Wednesday.

Nigeria advanced to the semi-finals of the 2023 AFCON with a 1-0 victory over Angola, courtesy of Ademola Lookman’s decisive goal. Here are the player ratings:

1. Stanley Nwabali (8/10): The Chippa United goalkeeper showcased fitness and made crucial saves.
2. Ola Aina (7.5/10): The Nottingham Forest full-back contributed defensively and provided width in the attack.
3. William Troost Ekong (7.5/10): The PAOK central defender displayed leadership, winning tackles and making clearances.
4. Semi Ajayi (7/10): The West Bromwich Albion defender had a decent performance, showcasing aerial presence.
5. Calvin Bassey (7.5/10): The Fulham defender was a robust presence at the back, repelling opposition attacks.
6. Zaidu Sanusi (6/10): The Porto full-back was solid defensively but lacked accuracy in his attacking contributions.
7. Frank Onyeka (7.5/10): The Brentford midfielder continued his brilliant display, impacting both attack and defense.
8. Alex Iwobi (7/10): Iwobi had his best game of the tournament, initiating the first goal with a brilliant through ball.
9. Ademola Lookman (8/10): The Atalanta forward was a constant threat, scoring the vital goal and displaying positional awareness.
10. Moses Simon (8/10): The Nantes winger had an improved performance, contributing key dribbles and creating the winning goal. He was named player of the match by the tournament organizers.
11. Victor Osimhen (7.5/10): The Napoli striker showcased brilliant hold-up play, with a disallowed goal for offside.

Substitutes:

• Yussuf Alhassan (6/10) Kenneth Omeruo, Paul Onuachu, Joe-Ayodele Aribo: They had minimal impact as late substitutes

Nigeria defeated Angola 1-0 in the quater-final to reach the semi-final of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). 

Ademola Lookman scored the match-winner in the 41st minute to hand the Super Eagles a spot in the last-4 after another win, their fourth in five games at the tournament.

For the opening goal, Moses Simon skipped past a defender down the left, ran into the box, before serving Ademola Lookman with a pass to fire home what turned out to be the winning goal.

Before the Eagles went ahead, Angola were denied a chance by Nigeria’s goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali who was alert to push away a glancing header by Mabululu in the fourth minute.

Reigning CAF player of the year Victor Osimhen then had two attempts but was unlucky not to find the net.

The Nigerian team continued to pile pressure and got due reward when Ademola Lookman scored his third goal of the tournament in the 41st minute.

That goal handed Jose Peseiro tutored Eagles a 1-0 lead at half-time.

In the second half, Osimhen had the ball in the net just before the final quater.

Victor Osimhen connected a free-kick with a powerful header which beat the Angolan goalkeeper but that will not count after a VAR review confirmed the Napoli forward scored from an offside position.

After a gruelling encounter, it was Nigeria who did just enough to defeat Angola 1-0 and book a spot in the semi-final.

While Angola’s dream of reaching the AFCON semi-final for the first time fell flat, the Super Eagles of Nigeria will face either South Africa or Cape Verde in the next round.