AFCON 2023 Group D Permutations: What Angola, Algeria, Burkina Faso Must Do To Qualify for Last 16

AFCON 2023 Group D Permutations: What Angola, Algeria, Burkina Faso Must Do To Qualify for Last 16

Joel Reyes
updated at January 22, 2024 at 6:44 AM
In this article:
Algeria logo
Algeria
Algeria
26
Angola
Fafe logoFAngola logo
CAF Africa Cup of Nations logo
CAF AFCON
Africa
Mauritania logo
Mauritania
Mauritania
27
Burkina Faso logo
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso
34
Riyad Mahrez logo
R. Mahrez
Al-Ahli SFC logoFAlgeria logo
  • Angola and Burkina Faso hold the top two spots in Group D with four points each
  • Algeria are currently in third place with two points after recording a pair of draws
  • Mauritania still have a shot at advancing despite having no points in their group

It’s getting to crunch time at this year's Africa Cup of Nations.

The second round of fixtures has been completed in Group D.

What do Angola, Burkina Faso, Algeria, and Mauritania need to progress to the last 16?

Algeria, Burkina Faso, Angola, Mauritania, AFCON 2023, Riyad Mahrez
Algeria's Riyad Karim Mahrez is fighting for the ball with Edmond Faycial Tapsoba of Burkina Faso during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. Image: Anis/APP.
Source: Getty Images

AFCON 2023 Group D Permutations

After two matches for each team in Group D, there is a three-way battle between Angola, Burkina Faso, and Algeria for the two automatic qualification positions.

Angola currently hold the top spot with four points after beating Mauritania 3-2 on Saturday.

They also own the tie-breaker over Burkina Faso, who also have four points from their first two matches, per the BBC.

Algeria are currently in third place with two points scored, while Mauritania are at the bottom of Group D with no points, per ESPN.

The Almoravids still have a shot at advancing to the last 16 as the four best third-placed teams in the Africa Cup of Nations will book spots in the knockout round.

They will need to beat Algeria and hope that the two other third-placed teams fail to match their three-point total.

The winner of the Angola vs. Burkina Faso game on Matchday 3 will finish top of Group D. Algeria would hope that game will produce a victor as they will then qualify for the last 16 with a win over Mauritania.

The loser of the Angola vs. Burkina Faso match will reach the last 16 as the second-placed team in Group D if Algeria fail to beat Mauritania in the other game.

A three-way tie for first place will happen in case the Angola vs. Burkina Faso match ends in a draw and Algeria record a win over Mauritania.

The side with the most goals scored in head-to-head matches among the three teams will finish in first place.

In case there is still a tie between the teams, the next tie-breaker is goal difference in all of their group matches.

Current AFCON Group D table

Country

Win

Draw

Loss

Goal Difference

Points

Angola

1

1

0

1

4

Burkina Faso

1

1

0

1

4

Algeria

0

2

1

0

2

Mauritania

0

0

2

-2

0

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Angola edge past Mauritania in thriller

Sports Brief also previously reported on Angola's win over Mauritania.

Gelson Dala starred for Palancas Negras in the 3-2 win at AFCON 2023.

He scored a brace for Angola, netting goals in the 30th and 50th minute.

Authors
Joel Reyes photo
Joel Reyes
Joel Reyes is a sports editor at Sportsbrief.com with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of the Philippines. He has eight years of work experience in sports writing.