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AFCON defies logic to turn event into unexpected success

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Although the final itself was a disappointment, the knockout stages were packed with drama.

Algeria captain Riyad Mahrez lifts the trophy as his team celebrate winning the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations Final against Senegal at the Cairo International Stadium on July 19, 2019 in Cairo, Egypt.Played in the searing heat of the Egyptian summer, against a backdrop of chaos in the regional governing body CAF and enlarged to an unwieldy 24 teams, this year's Africa Cup of Nations defied logic and, on the pitch at least, turned into a surprising success.

In terms of drama on the field and football quality, the tournament was a step up on previous editions and, encouragingly, two teams led by young African coaches reached Friday’s final with Algeria beating Senegal 1-0.South Africa knocked out hosts Egypt and then lost out to a last minute goal in the quarter-final against Nigeria who themselves were sunk by a Riyad Mahrez free kick deep into stoppage time in their semi-final against Algeria.

Senegal and Tunisia both missed penalties in their semi-final before Tunisia scored a bizarre own goal and then had another penalty revoked by VAR.

 

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