1996 African Cup of Nations facts for kids
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | South Africa |
| Dates | 13 January – 3 February |
| Teams | 15 (from 1 confederation) |
| Venue(s) | 4 (in 4 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  South Africa (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Tunisia |
| Third place |  Zambia |
| Fourth place |  Ghana |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 29 |
| Goals scored | 78 (2.69 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Kalusha Bwalya (5) |
| Best player | Kalusha Bwalya |
The 1996 African Cup of Nations was a big football tournament in Africa. It was the 20th time this exciting event was held. The games took place in South Africa from January 13 to February 3, 1996.
Guess what? South Africa, the host country, also won the tournament! It was a huge moment for them. A player named Kalusha Bwalya from Zambia scored the most goals, with 5 goals in total. The team that won this tournament got to play in the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup in Saudi Arabia.
Contents
Teams that Played
Fifteen national teams from across Africa played in the 1996 African Cup of Nations. One team, Nigeria, was supposed to play but pulled out. This meant 15 teams competed instead of 16.
To get into the tournament, most teams had to play in special qualification games. South Africa automatically got a spot because they were the host country. Nigeria also had a spot because they won the previous tournament in 1994.
Here are the teams that played:
Group Stage Games
The tournament started with a "group stage." The 15 teams were split into four groups: Group A, Group B, Group C, and Group D. Each team played against the other teams in their group.
Teams earned points for their games:
- A win gave them 3 points.
- A draw (tie) gave them 1 point.
- A loss gave them 0 points.
The top two teams from each group moved on to the next part of the tournament, called the "knockout stage."
Group A
| Pos (Rank) | Team | Pld (Games Played) | W (Wins) | D (Draws) | L (Losses) | GF (Goals Scored) | GA (Goals Against) | GD (Goal Difference) | Pts (Points) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  South Africa |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 6 |
| 2 |  Egypt |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 6 |
| 3 |  Cameroon |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 | –2 | 4 |
| 4 |  Angola |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | –2 | 1 |
| 13 January 1996 | ||
| South Africa |
3–0 |  Cameroon |
| 15 January 1996 | ||
Egypt  |
2–1 |  Angola |
| 18 January 1996 | ||
| Cameroon |
2–1 | Egypt |
| 20 January 1996 | ||
| South Africa |
1–0 | Angola |
| 24 January 1996 | ||
| South Africa |
0–1 | Egypt |
| Angola |
3–3 | Cameroon |
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Zambia |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 | +8 | 7 |
| 2 |  Algeria |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 7 |
| 3 |  Sierra Leone |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | –5 | 3 |
| 4 |  Burkina Faso |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 | –6 | 0 |
| 14 January 1996 | ||
| Zambia |
0–0 |  Algeria |
| 15 January 1996 | ||
Sierra Leone  |
2–1 |  Burkina Faso |
| 18 January 1996 | ||
| Algeria |
2–0 | Sierra Leone |
| 20 January 1996 | ||
| Zambia |
5–1 | Burkina Faso |
| 24 January 1996 | ||
| Algeria |
2–1 | Burkina Faso |
| Zambia |
4–0 | Sierra Leone |
Group C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Gabon |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 3 |
| 2 |  Zaire |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 |  Liberia |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | –1 | 3 |
| 16 January 1996 | ||
Gabon  |
1–2 |  Liberia |
| 19 January 1996 | ||
| Gabon |
2–0 |  Zaire |
| 25 January 1996 | ||
| Zaire |
2–0 | Liberia |
Group D
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ghana |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 9 |
| 2 |  Tunisia |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 4 |
| 3 |  Ivory Coast |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | –3 | 3 |
| 4 |  Mozambique |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | –3 | 1 |
| 14 January 1996 | ||
| Ghana |
2–0 |  Ivory Coast |
| 16 January 1996 | ||
| Tunisia |
1–1 |  Mozambique |
| 19 January 1996 | ||
| Ghana |
2–1 | Tunisia |
| 21 January 1996 | ||
| Ivory Coast |
1–0 | Mozambique |
| 25 January 1996 | ||
| Tunisia |
3–1 | Ivory Coast |
| Ghana |
2–0 | Mozambique |
Knockout Stage
After the group stage, the tournament moved to the "knockout stage." This means if a team lost a game, they were out of the competition. It's like a single-elimination bracket.
The knockout stage included:
- Quarter-finals: The top eight teams played.
- Semi-finals: The four winners from the quarter-finals played.
- Third Place Play-off: The two teams that lost in the semi-finals played to see who would finish third.
- Final: The two winners from the semi-finals played for the championship!
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| Third place play-off | ||||||||||
| 1996 Africa Cup of Nations |
|---|
 South Africa 1st title |
Images for kids
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This map shows the countries that took part in the 1996 African Cup of Nations.
See also
In Spanish: Copa Africana de Naciones 1996 para niños
