AFCON 2023 Quarter Finals Preview and Schedule: South Africa, Nigeria, and Ivory Coast’s Matches

• Former champions, South Africa, Nigeria, and Ivory Coast remain on course to win another AFCON title
• Bafana Bafana will face Cape Verde, while the Super Eagles will lock horns with Angola in the quarters
• Hosts, Ivory Coast will square off against Mali, while DR Congo will meet Guinea in the other last 8 ties

And then there were eight.

South Africa and Mali completed the cast of quarter-finalists in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations with impressive wins on Tuesday night.

Sports Brief looks at the four mouth-watering matchups and the schedule of those quarter-final games.

AFCON 2023 Quarter-final matchups

Nigeria vs. Angola

Nigeria and Angola will lock horns in the tournament's first quarter-final this coming Friday, February 2, at Felix Houphouet-Boigny in Abidjan. The game will start at 5pm local time, per CAF.

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The Super Eagles are unbeaten in this tournament, recording two wins and one draw in the group stage before beating Cameroon 2-0 in the Round of 16.

The Black Antelopes are also undefeated in this year's AFCON, racking up a pair of victories and a draw in Group D before crushing Namibia in the Round of 16.

Nigeria's Ademola Lookman and Angola's Gelson Dala starred in those last-16 wins, each scoring twice.

The two teams last faced each other in 2018, with the Super Eagles recording a dramatic 2-1 win over Angola in the CAF African Nations Championship.

DR Congo vs. Guinea

DR Congo and Guinea will square off in the tournament's second quarter-final this coming Friday, February 2, at Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara in Abidjan. The game will start at 8pm local time.

The Leopards have managed to reach this stage of the competition despite not winning a single match in regulation time.

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They drew all of their matches in the group stage and defeated Egypt in a penalty shootout in the Round of 16.

Guinea booked a spot in the quarter-finals with a thrilling 1-0 victory over Equatorial Guinea. Mohamed Bayo netted a last-gasp winner in second-half injury time to send Syli National into the last 8, per BeIN Sports.

Mali vs. Ivory Coast

The Elephants sent their home fans into a frenzy on Monday when they defeated defending champions Senegal in a penalty shootout in the Round of 16.

They will next face Mali in the quarter-finals after the Eagles defeated Burkina Faso 2-1 in their last-16 matchup on Tuesday.

Their clash will take place at Stade de Bouaké this coming Saturday, February 3. The game will start at 5pm local time.

They last faced each other in the Africa Cup of Nations back in 2019, with Ivory Coast winning that contest 1-0. Wilfried Zaha starred for the Elephants in that matchup, scoring the game-winner in the 76th minute.

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Cape Verde vs. South Africa

The dream lives on for Bafana Bafana after they defeated Morocco 2-0 in a massive upset in the Round of 16.

Evidence Makgopa and Teboho Mokoena scored the goals for Bafana, who reached the AFCON quarters for the first time since 2019.

Next up for South Africa is a showdown with Cape Verde, a team that has been in fine form in this tournament.

The Blue Sharks have yet to lose in this year's AFCON, registering wins over Ghana and Mozambique in the group stage and beating Mauritania 1-0 in the Round of 16.

The tournament's fourth and last quarter-final match will take place at Stade Charles Konan Banny de Yamoussoukro this coming Saturday, February 3. The game will start at 8pm local time.

Where to watch the games

All AFCON 2023 matches will air on Sports Premium, channel 252 or 246, on StarTimes as well as on StarTimes-ON app.

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South Africa's knockout round results at AFCON

Sports Brief also previously reported on South Africa's past AFCON performances when reaching the knockout round.

Bafana Bafana last won the championship in 1996, beating Tunisia in the final, before finishing as runners-up in 1998.