South Africa vs DR Congo: Under 2.5 Goals @ 4/7 (1.57)
We kick off this round of AFCON tips with the third place play-off game between South Africa and DR Congo. We are backing under 2.5 goals. Each nation have played six games since landing in Ivory Coast with South Africa going over that 2.5 marker in just one match. DR Congo have also seen five of their half dozen games go under 2.5 goals.
Nigeria vs Ivory Coast: BTTS – No @ 4/6 (1.67)
We now turn our attention to the game that everyone truly cares about – the final. Our view is that this is likely to be a cagey game with a moment of genius or calamity likely to decide it. As such, we are betting on at least one side to blank. Nigeria and Ivory Coast have played half a dozen games to reach this stage with both only seeing both teams score in two of those respective six. With that last four head to head games all featuring a ‘nil’ in the scoreline there is serious value to be had here with odds of 4/6 (1.67) on offer.
Nigeria vs Ivory Coast: Nigeria To Lift The Trophy @ 4/5 (1.80)
This final tip is the important one really – who will lift the trophy? We can’t see past the Super Eagles winning AFCON now. Both nations have obviously done well to reach this stage but Nigeria’s run, where they’ve won four games inside 90 minutes, feels like it is built on a more solid body of work. Ivory Coast meanwhile feel like they’ve reached the final through luck and riding on emotion; it’s notable that they’ve only won two of their six matches played inside the regulation 90 minutes.
AFCON 2023 Group Betting Picks
Group A
Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria
AFCON Group A is an interesting one with host nation, Ivory Coast, and three time winners Nigeria the obvious picks to battle it out for top spot. Nigeria are the best value pick of the two.
Group B
Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Mozambique
Ghana will hope to compete for top spot in Group B with Cape Verde and Mozambique unlikely to cause much stress beyond the group stage of this tournament. In reality though, it would be an almighty failure if Egypt – who have more AFCON titles than any other nation – fail to clinch top spot.
Group C
Cameroon, Gambia, Guinea, Senegal
Senegal are the favourites to top this group and it’s really hard to argue against that thought process from the bookies with Cameroon the next most fancied side not quite the powerhouse they’ve been in previous tournaments of years gone by.
Group D
Algeria, Angola, Burkina Faso, Mauritania
There is only one team that’s topping Group D at AFCON and that’s the Riyad Mahrez inspired Algeria. The other three will battle it out to join them in the knockout phases.
Group E
Mali, Namibia, South Africa, Tunisia
In Group E Tunisia will be the team to beat and Namibia are surely the side likely to finish bottom. In all likelihood that makes for a really interesting match up between South Africa and Mali when they face off.
Group F
Congo, Morocco, Tanzania, Zambia
Morocco come into AFCON as favourites to lift the trophy and, as such, it will be no surprise that they’re our tip to win this group. As for the other three nations, they’re going to have to scrap it out; it’s tough to call between that trio.
AFCON 2023 Betting – Outrights
Tournament Winner
Nigeria @ 6/5
Nigeria established themselves as favourites pretty early on at this tournament owing to the performances they turned in and it’s hard to look past them as the winners now; they actually resemble Senegal from the previous AFCON tournament in respect of the fact they have sprinklings of genius in their team whilst boasting an extremely strong backline. The Super Eagles have won every game since drawing their tournament opener and, somewhat amazingly, they’ve not conceded since that first game either. They are the team to beat.
Ivory Coast @ 2/1
Rewind to the Group Phase of this tournament and Ivory Coast were a laughing stock as they sat on the brink of elimination with no manager at the helm. What difference a few days make! They’ve now harnessed the energy that being host nation of a tournament can bring and are one very winnable semi-final away from their place in the final where anything can happen. They’ve got quality in their squad and the knockout rounds have shown they can overcome adversity, however, with Nigeria still in the competition, the Elephants remain unfancied of going all the way.
Top Goalscorer
Emilio Nsue Lopez @ 1/6
Very few would have predicted Equatorial Guinea’s Emilio Nsue Lopez to sit top of the AFCON top scorer betting odds when the tournament started, however, Nsue enjoyed a strong group stage hitting a hat-trick against Guinea Bissau and then a brace against Ivory Coast leaving him on five goals. With the nearest challengers to that goal tally being Mostafa Mohamed and Gelson Dala, both of whom are now eliminated, it is going to take some haul from someone else to surpass him now.
Ademola Lookman @ 11/2
Ademola Lookman is the player closest to Nsue’s total of five goal that remains active in the AFCON tournament but, with three goals to his name, he needs to find the net three times to overtake him. With Lookman having netted all of his goals during the knockout stages, he’ll feel it is not an impossible task – particularly with two games remaining.
Victor Osimhen @ 16/1
Victor Osimhen, who is one of the best Nigerian footballers of all time, only has one AFCON goal to his name so far after scoring in Nigeria’s opening match, however, if there is any player left in Ivory Coast that is capable of producing a stellar goalscoring display it’s probably Osimhen. He is going to need a couple of big performances though and, as such, he’s definitely an outside bet at this stage.
AFCON 2023 FAQ
Where is the 2023 AFCON being hosted?
Ivory Coast is hosting AFCON 2023.
Who are the pre-tournament favourites to win AFCON Cote D’Ivorie 2023?
Morocco are favourites to win the 2023 African Cup of Nations priced at 5/1 (6.00).
Where is the AFCON 2023 Final being played?
The AFCON Final will be played at Alassane Ouattara Stadium in capital city Abidjan.
When was the first African Cup of Nations played?
The inaugural African Cup of Nations was played in 1957.
