1996_African_Cup_of_Nations
1996 African Cup of Nations
International football competition
The 1996 African Cup of Nations was the 20th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa (CAF). It was hosted by South Africa, who replaced original hosts Kenya. The field expanded for the first time to 16 teams, split into four groups of four; the top two teams in each group advancing to the quarterfinals. However, Nigeria withdrew from the tournament at the final moment under pressure from then-dictator Sani Abacha, reducing the field to 15.[1] South Africa won its first championship, beating Tunisia in the final 2–0.[2]
Quick Facts Tournament details, Host country ...
African Cup of Nations 1996 official logo | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | South Africa |
| Dates | 13 January – 3 February |
| Teams | 15 |
| Venue(s) | 4 (in 4 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  South Africa (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Tunisia |
| Third place |  Zambia |
| Fourth place |  Ghana |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 29 |
| Goals scored | 78 (2.69 per match) |
| Attendance | 640,880 (22,099 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Kalusha Bwalya (5 goals) |
| Best player(s) | Kalusha Bwalya |
← 1994 1998 → | |
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For full qualification see: 1996 African Cup of Nations qualification
More information Team, Qualified as ...
| Team | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previous appearances in tournament[lower-alpha 1] |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Africa | Hosts | 0 (debut) | |
 Nigeria | Holders | 10 April 1994 | 10 (1963, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994) |
 Gabon | Group 5 winners | 4 June 1995 | 1 (1994) |
 Zaire | Group 1 winners | 4 June 1995 | 9 (1965, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1988, 1992, 1994) |
| Zambia | Group 5 runners-up | 15 July 1995 | 7 (1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1992, 1994) |
 Algeria | Group 4 runners-up | 30 July 1995 | 8 (1968, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992) |
 Angola | Group 6 winners | 30 July 1995 | 0 (debut) |
 Burkina Faso | Group 7 winners | 30 July 1995 | 1 (1978) |
 Cameroon | Group 1 runners-up | 30 July 1995 | 8 (1970, 1972, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992) |
 Egypt | Group 4 winners | 30 July 1995 | 14 (1957, 1959, 1962, 1963, 1970, 1974, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994) |
| Ghana | Group 3 winners | 30 July 1995 | 10 (1963, 1965, 1968, 1970, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1992, 1994) |
 Ivory Coast | Group 7 runners-up | 30 July 1995 | 11 (1965, 1968, 1970, 1974, 1980, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994) |
 Liberia | Group 2 runners-up | 30 July 1995 | 0 (debut) |
 Mozambique | Group 6 runners-up | 30 July 1995 | 1 (1986) |
 Sierra Leone | Group 3 runners-up | 30 July 1995 | 1 (1994) |
| Tunisia | Group 2 winners | 30 July 1995 | 6 (1962, 1963, 1965, 1978, 1982, 1994) |
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- Notes
Main article: 1996 African Cup of Nations squads
More information Johannesburg, Durban ...
| Johannesburg | Durban | |
|---|---|---|
| FNB Stadium | Kings Park Stadium | |
| Capacity: 80,000 | Capacity: 52,000 | |
| Bloemfontein | Port Elizabeth | |
| Free State Stadium | EPRU Stadium | |
| Capacity: 40,000 | Capacity: 33,852 |
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Teams highlighted in green progress to the Quarter Finals.
Group A
More information Pos, Team ...
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Africa (H) |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 6 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Egypt |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 6 | |
| 3 | Cameroon |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 4 | |
| 4 | Angola |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 1 |
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More information South Africa, 3–0 ...
| South Africa | 3–0 | Cameroon |
|---|---|---|
Masinga  15' Williams 37' Moshoeu 55' |
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More information Cameroon, 2–1 ...
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More information Angola, 3–3 ...
| Angola | 3–3 | Cameroon |
|---|---|---|
| Joni 38' (pen.) Paulão 57' Quinzinho 80' |
Omam-Biyik 25' Mouyeme 82' Vicente 90' (o.g.) |
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Group B
More information Pos, Team ...
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zambia |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 | +8 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Algeria |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 7 | |
| 3 | Sierra Leone |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 3 | |
| 4 | Burkina Faso |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 | −6 | 0 |
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More information Sierra Leone, 2–1 ...
| Sierra Leone | 2–1 | Burkina Faso |
|---|---|---|
| Sessay 11' Kallon 89' |
Ouédraogo 74' |
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More information Zambia, 5–1 ...
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Group C
More information Pos, Team ...
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gabon |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 3 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Zaire |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | |
| 3 | Liberia |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 3 |
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Nigeria withdrew, so their three matches were canceled.
Group D
More information Pos, Team ...
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ghana |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 9 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Tunisia |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 4 | |
| 3 | Ivory Coast |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 3 | |
| 4 | Mozambique |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 1 |
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More information Tunisia, 3–1 ...
| Tunisia | 3–1 | Ivory Coast |
|---|---|---|
| Ben Younes 32', 38' Ben Hassen 48' |
M. Traoré 84' |
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| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 27 January – Johannesburg | ||||||||||
| South Africa | 2 | |||||||||
| 31 January – Johannesburg | ||||||||||
| Algeria | 1 | |||||||||
| South Africa | 3 | |||||||||
| 28 January – Port Elizabeth | ||||||||||
| Ghana | 0 | |||||||||
| Ghana | 1 | |||||||||
| 3 February – Johannesburg | ||||||||||
| Zaire | 0 | |||||||||
| South Africa | 2 | |||||||||
| 27 January – Bloemfontein | ||||||||||
| Tunisia | 0 | |||||||||
| Zambia | 3 | |||||||||
| 31 January – Durban | ||||||||||
| Egypt | 1 | |||||||||
| Zambia | 2 | |||||||||
| 28 January – Durban | ||||||||||
| Tunisia | 4 | Third place | ||||||||
| Gabon | 1 (1) | |||||||||
| 3 February – Johannesburg | ||||||||||
| Tunisia (pen.) | 1 (4) | |||||||||
| Ghana | 0 | |||||||||
| Zambia | 1 | |||||||||
Quarterfinals
More information South Africa, 2–1 ...
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More information Zambia, 3–1 ...
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More information Gabon, 1–1 (a.e.t.) ...
| Gabon | 1–1 (a.e.t.) | Tunisia |
|---|---|---|
| Mackaya 16' |
Report | Baya 10' |
| Penalties | ||
Mackaya  Kassa-Ngoma Bekogo-Zogo  |
1–4 | Sellimi Fekhi Ben Slimane El Ouaer |
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Semifinals
More information Zambia, 2–4 ...
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Third place match
Final
Main article: 1996 African Cup of Nations Final
5 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
Billel Dziri- Tarek Lazizi
- Khaled Lounici
Joni- Paulão
Aboubakari Ouédraogo- Youssouf Traoré
- Boureima Zongo
Georges Mouyémé- Alphonse Tchami
Joël Tiéhi- Moussa Traoré
Samir Ibrahim- Ali Maher
Aurelien Bekogo- Guy Nzeng
Felix Aboagye- Charles Akonnor
- Kwame Ayew
Mass Sarr Jr.- Kelvin Sebwe
Tico-Tico
Mohamed Kallon- John Gbassay Sessay
Shaun Bartlett- Mark Fish
- Phil Masinga
Abdelkader Ben Hassen- Hédi Berkhissa
- Kaies Ghodhbane
Liombi Essende- Roger Lukaku
Elijah Litana- Hillary Makasa
- Vincent Mutale
Own goal
- Hélder Vicente (for Cameroon)
Goalkeeper
Defenders
Midfielders
Forwards
- "Nigerian players back boycott of finals". Independent.co.uk. 10 January 1996. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022.
- "'South Africa's Rugby World Cup win was big – but this was even bigger'" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
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