The AFCON last eight couldn't be more shocking- it defines the chaos of football in 2024

The absolutely bonkers last 8 bracket of the AFCON 2023. Source: Nairaland Forum

It was only a year ago when Morocco shocked the world with their World Cup semifinal run. Oh, how things can change. In the AFCON tournament, they were knocked out by South Africa. In a tournament where hosts Ivory Coast imploded against Cape Verde 4-0 but then knocked out Senegal with an interim coach, and a Spanish third division right back being the top goalscorer so far with 5 goals, truly anything can happen. And it is oh so fitting that the last eight of the 2023 AFCON did not contain any of the teams that made the 2022 World Cup. This tournament is pure chaos. Here is my ranking of the absolutely bat-sh*t last eight on their probability of winning, but it wouldn't be really necessary, because probability doesn't matter, the football does.

8. Angola

7. South Africa

6. Mali

5. Guinea

4. Cape Verde

3. DR Congo

2. Ivory Coast

1. Nigeria

Nigeria could be considered a favorite, with players like Victor Osimhen, Samuel Chukwueze, and Alex Iwobi. Ivory Coast comes at a close second, with Franck Kessie pulling the strings between defense and attack. Congo comes in third, with a huge sense of togetherness and players like Chancel Mbemba and Yoane Wissa. Cape Verde is in fourth, they had been really impressive as underdogs, with attackers like Bebe (yes, that Bebe) and Jovane Cabral, and Logan Costa starring in defense. Guinea and Mali are teams with some stars, for Guinea it's Naby Keita and Serhou Guirassy, while Mali boasts familiar faces like Yves Bissouma. Both have a strong chance of an upset here. South Africa and Angola are considered the biggest underdogs, but in this AFCON there are actually no real underdogs, because most "underdogs" tend to do well, and most "favorites" like Senegal and Morocco ended up getting knocked out early. There will be an article reviewing the full AFCON later, but the last eight were so shocking I had to write a separate article for it. Tomorrow the quarters start, which upsets would we be able to witness? Probably all of them.