Ivory Coast and Egypt will contest arguably the tie of the round on Wednesday as the two giants hope to book their passage to the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations.
Carlos Queiroz's Pharaohs failed to impress during the group stage, ultimately reaching the knockouts thanks to 1-0 wins over Guinea-Bissau and Sudan, teams many would expect them to beat comfortably.
They got the job done but now come up against one of the more eye-catching teams from the first round in Ivory Coast, who rounded off the group stage with a 3-1 win over defending champions Algeria.
In Wednesday's other last-16 contest, and the final game of the round, surprise package Equatorial Guinea will hope to continue their promising campaign against Mali, who will be firm favourites.
Ivory Coast v Egypt (16:00 GMT)
Mohamed Salah and Egypt have struggled to rise to the occasion so far in Cameroon – if they cannot get themselves up for this, they will surely be heading home.
This will be the 11th AFCON meeting between these two sides, making it the competition's most-played fixture, and Egypt boast a good record against the Elephants in knockout games.
Ivory Coast have not been successful in any of the previous four elimination clashes – the two most recent were in the 2006 final when Egypt won on penalties, and the semi-final two years later as they ran out 4-1 winners.
As such, Ivory Coast will surely feel they have a score to settle, and Egypt's record of losing each of their past two AFCON knockout matches should give them some optimism.
One to watch: Nicolas Pepe (Ivory Coast)
He may be struggling to get a look-in at club level with Arsenal, but Pepe is undoubtedly key for the Elephants. Only Algeria's Youcef Belaili (24) was directly involved in more shots than him in the group stage (19 – 12 shots, seven chances created), while the former Lille winger has been directly involved in more goals than any other Ivory Coast player in the tournament so far (three – two goals, one assist).
Mali v Equatorial Guinea (19:00)
Mali may have come through the group stage unbeaten, but Equatorial Guinea will not be writing themselves off producing a shock here.
After all, Les Aigles have had to largely rely on penalties to get their goals, highlighting that their route to this stage has not been entirely emphatic, while Equatorial Guinea have overcome greater odds.
In their previous four AFCON knockout games, they have progressed twice – both of those came in 2015, when they caused upsets by getting past Tunisia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
This edition of the tournament has seen its fair share of shocks already. Could Mali be the latest to be guilty of complacency?
One to watch: Adama Noss Traore (Mali)
As mentioned, Mali have almost entirely got by on penalties, with three of their four goals coming via Ibrahima Kone's spot-kicks. That meant they scored just once from 27 open play shots in the group stage, yet their non-penalty expected goals (xG) of 3.6 suggests chance creation was not the issue. Traore was their most effective player in that respect with his set-piece deliveries, tallying a squad-high key passes.
Duckett leads tributes to 'extremely humble' Root after making England history
Ben Duckett hailed "extremely humble" Joe Root after watching his team-mate become England's all-time leading Test run-scorer on day three against Pakistan.
Root needed 39 entering Wednesday's play in Multan to break Alastair Cook's record, and he surpassed that target with ease, ending the day unbeaten on 176 alongside Harry Brook.
In his 147th Test outing, Root drilled Aamir Jamal's delivery in the blistering heat to overtake Cook's previous record of 12,472 as England closed to within 64 runs of Pakistan on 492-3.
Duckett partnered Root for the historic moment and led the tributes at the end of play.
"He is extremely humble," Duckett, who recovered from a broken thumb to make 84, told Test Match Special. "It doesn't feel like you're sat around greatness.
"He's just hungry for runs every time he goes out bat for England. It's incredible to be in the same dressing room as him and long may it continue."
Root now has 12,578 runs in 146 matches, which has seen him bat in 268 innings in total, with his tally consisting of 35 centuries, 1,355 fours and 44 sixes.
The 33-year-old is up to fifth on the all-time list of run scorers across all nations, with only Rahul Dravid (13,288), Jacques Kallis (13,289), Ricky Ponting (13,378) and Sachin Tendulkar (15,921) ahead of him.
England batting coach Marcus Trescothick added to Sky Sports: "We're lucky enough to sit and watch history being made as a man goes on to be the leading run scorer in his country.
"The way he goes about it, the work he puts in and continues to strive for greatness all the time. He's been superb and think will continue to be superb for a number of years yet."
Amid all the fanfare for Root, England will enter day four looking to create some history of their own.
The tourists have never conceded as many as Pakistan's 556 and gone on to take a first-innings lead.
"The pitch is not doing a great deal at the moment and to be in a position where we can say we can get [a lead of] 150-200 is an incredible effort," Duckett added.
"The morning session will be important and if we can limit the damage, we can kick on in the afternoon."
King, David optimistic Soca Warriors will be at their best against Cuba in must-win Nations League fixtures
With momentum by no means in their favour, Trinidad and Tobago’s interim Head coach Derek King and captain Aubrey David are optimistic that the Soca Warriors might have saved their best for last as they face a must-win situation against Cuba in their upcoming Concacaf Nations League encounters.
Rooted at the foot of Group B in League A with a point, the Soca Warriors will have to take Cuba’s scalp in hostile territory on Thursday and again in the Twin Island Republic on Monday to not only improve their chances of progressing to the quarterfinals, but more importantly, avoid relegation to League B.
Jamaica and Nicaragua are set for a top-of-the-table clash as both head the standings on four points each, with Honduras (three points) and Cuba (two points) in close proximity. French Guiana, also on a point, round out the group.
After suffering a 0-4 loss away to Honduras in their opening fixture, Trinidad and Tobago were expected to rebound at home against French Guiana. Instead, they were held to a goalless stalemate, and that has left them in their current predicament.
Still, King is hopeful that the addition of experienced midfielders Joevin Jones, Kevin Molino, and others will turn their fortunes and prove rewarding where securing six crucial points is concerned.
“The guys are fully aware of the task at hand; we had discussions, and we all know that we need six points. But let us focus on this very important game first. We have to go out there and give it our best shot and get three points to go back home with,” King said in an interview with TTFA Media from the team’s base in Cuba.
“We had a locally-based team training for two and a half weeks, so we decided that we would go with some of the locally-based players and add some foreign-based players who were not with the team before. I think the guys we added would bring some kind of experience to the unit we have at this point.
“They are senior men to the team. They have played overseas as well, professional players. So, I think it's good to add their knowledge with this bunch. They will add some quality to the team as well, so we must go out there and give it our best,” he added.
Meanwhile, David, who is charged with marshalling the Soca Warriors defensive line, is mindful that Cuba will also fancy their chances of progressing and, as such, are not going to be a walkover.
“Cuba has a lot of foreign players; they have players who play in Costa Rica, in Guatemala, and the USA as well. Basically, they have a young team, but they’re willing to fight. They’re hungry and want to prove themselves because they’re at home,” David assessed.
“So it’s just for us to be together and execute our game plan so that we can leave here with three points.
“We have a lot of young players as well, and some with quality. I think they stepped up in the last Nations League; we saw a lot of them jumping onto the international scene and making a big impact, so it’s just for them to continue on that momentum,” he noted.
Former USMNT boss Berhalter announced as new Chicago Fire head coach
Former United States boss Gregg Berhalter has been named as the new director of football and head coach of MLS side Chicago Fire.
Berhalter was sacked as the USMNT head coach nine days after a dismal group-stage exit at the Copa America earlier this year.
The 51-year-old's arrival means Frank Klopas, who is the Fire's current head coach, will step down and transition into a new role as the club's vice president of football.
Berhalter does have previous experience in the MLS, spending five years in charge of the Columbus Crew between 2013 and 2018.
Across his 192 games in charge of the Crew, Berhalter won 76 matches (D46 L70), with his team scoring 287 goals and averaging a win percentage of 38.34%.
Berhalter then began his first stint as the USMNT head coach in 2018, starting strongly with victories over rivals Mexico in the first-ever Nations League final as well as in the showpiece match of the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
He then guided the USMNT to the round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup before they were beaten 3-1 by the Netherlands.
Berhalter's contract expired in December 2022, but was then brought back six months later with a view to guiding the team through to the 2026 World Cup, which the United States would co-host with Canada and Mexico.
However, Berhalter lasted just 14 games, winning seven of those (D1 L6) and has since been replaced by former Chelsea head coach, Mauricio Pochettino.
The 51-year-old arrives at an underperforming Chicago side, who currently occupy last place in the Eastern Conference with one game of the regular season remaining.
The Fire have reached the MLS Cup playoffs just twice in the last 15 years, with this campaign the seventh consecutive season they have failed to feature in the post-season.
“I’m honoured to be named Director of Football and Head Coach of the Chicago Fire, and I would like to thank Joe Mansueto for his trust," said Berhalter.
“Chicago is an incredible city, built on communities of hard-working and passionate people who truly love soccer.
"I look forward to working alongside our staff and players to transform the Fire into a world-class organisation that all our fans and the city can be proud of and will support.”
Berhalter will officially start his duties for the 2025 MLS season.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
