The 2024 Asian Cup continues in Qatar with the round of 16 kicking off two matches, with Australia taking on Southeast Asian side Indonesia and the UAE taking on Central Asian side Tajikistan early in the day. The Africa Cup of Nations was held in Côte d'Ivoire, and it also entered the round of 16, and in the early hours of this morning, two 1/8 finals were played, and the dark horse Equatorial Guinea and Guinea met in a narrow way. The favourites Egypt met the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the teams had mixed joys and sorrows.
Australia 4-0 Indonesia
Australia is currently ranked 25th in the world, ranked 4th in Asia, unbeaten in the group with 2 wins and 1 draw, and is one of the favorites to win the Asian Cup. Indonesia's record in the group stage is 1-2, and thanks to a draw between Oman and Kyrgyzstan in the final round, Indonesia advanced to the round of 16 with the best group third, setting a team record.
In the first half, Jackson Owen scored an own goal and Boyle scored with a flying header, and in the second half, Goodwin came off the bench to score and Souttar sealed the win with a late header. At full-time, Australia defeated Indonesia 4-0 to advance to the last eight.
Tajikistan 1-1 UAE
Tajikistan was in the same group as the Chinese men's football team in the group stage, and finally accumulated 4 points with 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss, and won the second place in the group. The UAE is ranked 64th in the world and also has a record of 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss in the group stage. In the last Asian Cup, the UAE reached the semi-finals.
In the game, in the first half, Abdou Ramadan went off injured, and Hanonov scored with a header. In the second half, Jalilov missed the empty goal, Al-Hassani hit the post, and Khalifa Mubarak headed to a 1-1 draw in regulation time. Neither side was successful in extra-time, and in the shoot-out, Yadimov saved his opponent's second penalty. At full-time, Tajikistan eliminated the UAE 6-4 on aggregate and will face the winner of the match between Iraq and Jordan in the quarter-finals.
Equatorial Guinea 0-1 Guinea
Equatorial Guinea is ranked 88th in the world and has beaten hosts Ivory Coast and Nigeria in the group stage to win the group and advance to the top of the group, and has not lost in all competitions for one and a half years. Guinea's record in the group stage is 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss, and they qualified for the knockout stage by finishing third in the group. The two teams have no record of meeting in the history of the Africa Cup of Nations, and this is an encounter between the two teams.
In the game, the two sides exchanged blanks in the first half, and in the second half, Fderick Bicoro was sent off by a straight red, Bayo scored in stoppage time, and Guinea defeated Equatorial Guinea 1-0 and advanced to the quarterfinals!
Egypt VS Democratic Republic of the Congo
Egypt is ranked 33rd in the world and has won the Africa Cup of Nations seven times, the most of them, but in the group stage of this Africa Cup of Nations, Egypt suffered three consecutive draws and advanced to the knockout stage as the second in the group. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is ranked 67th in the world, and in the group stage, the Democratic Republic of the Congo also drew three games and won the second place in the group. In the last 4 meetings between the two teams, Egypt has won all of them.
In the game, Elia opened the scoring in the first half, Mostafa equalised from the penalty spot, Mahmoud missed a chance in the second half, and Sharaf was red in extra-time to draw 1-1 in 120 minutes. In the end, through a penalty shootout, the Democratic Republic of the Congo eliminated the ten-man Egypt with a total score of 9-8 to advance to the quarterfinals, and the quarterfinals will face Guinea.