By Peter Mwaura
After 12 days of action, 8 teams have crushed out of the 32nd edition of the Africa Cup of Nation with 16 teams booking their spot in the second round. Here is a quick look on some of the teams that have crushed out and those that have qualified.
They came, 8 crushed out of the competition, and 16 are still in contention of the Africa Cup of Nations title.
With the expansion of the competition to 24 teams, two top teams from each group automatically qualified for the first knock out stage with the 4 best third-placed teams securing the remaining 4 spots.
Zimbabwe were the first team to head back home after their 1-0 loss to Egypt, a 1-1 draw with east African powerhouse Uganda and a 4-1 loss to an exceptional DR Congo team left them rooted at the bottom of Group A.
Group A action
Newbies Burundi’s impressive performances against 3 times Africa Cup champions Nigeria, Madagascar and Guinea were not enough to propel them to the round of 16 as they finished bottom of group b having lost all its matches.
Group B action
The Kenyan team was making a return to the continental showpiece after 15 years in the cold keen to record a historic round of 16 qualifications. Coach Sebastian Migne charges suffered stage fright in their first group encounter against Algeria but reigned supreme over neighbours Tanzania in their second encounter before falling to Africa top rank Senegal 3-0 in their last group match.
The homeboys had a good rank on the third best-placed teams but a 0-0 scoreline between defending champions Cameroon and Benin ensured Harambee Stars were added to the list of teams heading home early.
Group C action
Guinea Bissau, newcomers Mauritania, neighbours Tanzania and Namibia are the other teams in the list of teams that suffered an early exit from the 32nd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations.
With the action set to resume on Friday, Morocco will be keen to stop Benin as neighbours Uganda who are left to represent the East Africa region come up against a lethal Senegalese side keen to go a step further in the competition.
Nigeria will take on defending champions Cameroon on Saturday with host Egypt battling a defensive South African side. Debutants Madagascar will play DR Congo as Algeria battle it out with Guinea. Mali will take to the field on Monday to play Ivory Coast with Ghana set to play Tunisia.