Publications
Partners
Bata - Five facts on the Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals ahead of the matches in Equatorial Guinea this Wednesday and Thursday.
1. The 49 Cup of Nations semi-finals - there was only one at the first tournament in Sudan 58 years ago - have produced 146 goals at an average of 2.97 per match.
2. Crowds at the 1968 tournament were treated to a record 12 semi-finals goals with Ghana banging in four, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) and Ivory Coast three each and hosts Ethiopia two.
3. But the semi-finals at Cup of Nations tournaments in Egypt (1986) and Equatorial Guinea and Gabon (2012) were severely rationed when it came to goals with just one in each of the four games.
4. Seventeen of the semi-finals went to 30 minutes of extra-time, and eight of those needed a penalty shootout before a winner emerged.
5. Egypt and Nigeria, non-qualifiers for the 2015 Cup of Nations, share the record for semi-finals victories with seven each followed by Cameroon and Ghana with six apiece.
