5 most memorable comebacks in AFCON history

Every football fan loves a good comeback as long as your favourite team is not on the receiving end. Watching a team claw something back after all hope seemed to have been previously lost makes for exciting viewing.

Thankfully the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) has produced a good number of those in the past, which Pulse Sports will now explore in preparation for the upcoming latest edition of African football’s premier tournament.

Here are the five most memorable comebacks in AFCON history in descending order of excitement and importance of the game.

The Congo derby is one of the biggest rivalries in African football, a fact that added more spice to the quarter-final clash at the 2015 AFCON. Congo dominated proceedings and eventually found the breakthrough after a barren first half.

Ferebory Dore and Thievy Bifouma scored in the 55th and 62nd minutes to establish a comfortable lead for the Red Devils.

But Dieumerci Mbokani pulled one back instantly for DRC, followed by two more goals before Mbokani scored again to wrap things up and secure a 4-2 win which took the Leopards to the semifinals.

Nigeria played the quarter-final of the 2000 AFCON on home soil against Senegal but the game started in the worst possible manner as Khalilou Fadiga fired Senegal into an unprecedented lead just seven minutes into proceedings. The early goal rocked Nigeria, who failed to find a rhythm in the first half and should have conceded a second. They were however let off the hook by Senegalese defender Assane N’diaye, who missed a gilt-edged chance.

That miss proved costly as Julius Aghahowa came off the bench to equalise in the 85th minute and send the game to extra time. He then scored again to win it for Nigeria and spark a now-infamous pitch invasion.

The third-place playoff match between 1998 AFCON host nation Burkina Faso and DR Congo will go down as one of the best games in football history mainly for the activities in the final 15 minutes.

Burkina Faso took an early lead in Ouagadougou, Alassane Ouedraogo’s 6th minute shot from the right-wing was the only goal of an otherwise close first half.

The second half on the other hand was anything but quiet, as the hosts scored two goals within four minutes of the restart to establish what seemed at the time like a comfortable 3-0 lead.

So much so that when substitute Lokenge Mungongo scored for DR Congo in the 76th minute, it felt like a consolation, especially as Burkina Faso reinstated their three-goal lead in the 86th minute when Ibrahima Talle made it 4-1.

What followed was incredible, to say the least. DR Congo scored three goals in the following three minutes to tie the game at 4-4. After such a crazy end to the 90, extra time proved fruitless and the game went to penalties.

DR Congo won the shootout 4-1, perhaps thanks to the Burkina Faso players still being in shock at what happened between the 86th and 90th minutes.

The Final of the 2000 AFCON in Lagos between Cameroon and co-hosts Nigeria is one of the best finals in recent memory. The Super Eagles had a supremely gifted group of players and were playing at home, which should have given them the edge against an equally stacked Indomitable Lions.

Much had been made pre-game of the potent partnership of Samuel Eto’o and Patrick Mboma, and that was soon proven true as both players linked up to each find the back of the net and put Cameroon 2-0 up after 31 minutes.

Nigeria pulled one back on the stroke of half time against the run of play, Raphael Chukwu, whose starting berth had been heavily criticised, slotted home from inside the box.

And just as the Lagos crowd started to settle back into their seats for the second half, Jay Jay Okocha scored one of the all-time great AFCON final goals: a spectacular half-volley from outside the box from the Nigerian magician drew the game level at 2-2.

Nigeria would then go on to miss multiple chances and then controversially lose the final in a penalty shootout. 

As far as tournament-opening games go, they don’t get much better than the spectacle Angola and Mali served at the Estádio 11 de Novembro in Luanda.

The Angolan players were spurred on by the home crowd as they raced to a 2-0 lead at half time thanks to a brace from Flavio. Two second-half penalties by Gilberto and Manucho made it 4-0 after 74 minutes, so surely this was done and dusted – easy home win, right? 

Mali had other ideas: they scored four times in the remaining 15 minutes, including a 94th-minute equaliser to create a singular piece of history.