We're down to the final three matches at the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations tournament after Senegal won the first semifinal to advance to its second consecutive final.
Host Cameroon will look to join the Lions of Teranga in Sunday's final, but standing in the way of the Indomitable Lions is world star Mohamed Salah and Egypt.
Many have speculated that Salah needs this AFCON title for a potential run at the 2022 Ballon d'Or individual honor handed out in the second half of the season. If Salah can get past the host, he would face off against Liverpool teammate Sadio Mane in a final that would generate widespread interest. Awaiting the loser of that second semifinal is the third-place match finalist Burkina Faso
MORE: AFCON 2022 final group standings
Among other top teams that qualified for the tournament, Nigeria and the Ivory Coast were eliminated in the Round of 16, while defending champion Algeria and traditional power Ghana were ousted in the group stage.
If there's a draw after 90 minutes of regulation during these knockout rounds, there will be 30 minutes of extra time played, followed by a penalty-kick shootout if the deadlock persists. Only the third-place match on Feb. 5 will bypass extra time and head straight to penalty kicks.
AFCON 2022 matches today
The semifinals will wrap up on Thursday, determining the final matchup that will be played on Sunday.
Pre-tournament favorite Senegal has made it to its second straight final by beating Burkina Faso 3-1 behind a goal and assist from Sadio Mane.
The most compelling of the two semifinals is arguably Salah and Egypt against host nation Cameroon and the top two scorers of the tournament so far, Vincent Aboubakar and Karl Toko Ekambi.
Today's AFCON matches: Thursday, Feb. 3
Semifinals
| Date | Match | Time (ET) | TV & Stream |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wed, Feb. 2, 2022 | Burkina Faso 1, Senegal 3 | Highlights | |
| Thurs, Feb. 3, 2022 | Egypt vs. Cameroon | 2 p.m. | beIN Sports, fuboTV |
3rd Place
| Date | Match | Time (ET) | TV & Stream |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, Feb. 5, 2022 | Burkina Faso vs. Loser SF2 | 2 p.m. | TBA, fuboTV |
Final
| Date | Match | Time (ET) | TV & Stream |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun, Feb. 6, 2022 | Senegal vs. Winner SF2 | 2 p.m. | beIN Sports, fuboTV |
MORE: Updated AFCON 2022 schedule, results & highlights
AFCON 2022 knockout bracket
The AFCON 2022 quarterfinals were held over two days on Jan. 29-30 with the semis and finals happening in a span of five days in February.
Quarterfinals
| Date | Match | |
|---|---|---|
| Sat, Jan. 29, 2022 | QF1: Gambia 0 , Cameroon 2 | Highlights |
| Sat, Jan. 29, 2022 | QF2: Burkina Faso 1 , Tunisia 0 | Highlights |
| Sun, Jan. 30, 2022 | QF3 : Egypt 2 , Morocco 1 (a.e.t.) | Highlights |
| Sun, Jan. 30, 2022 | QF4: Senegal 3 , Eq. Guinea 1 | Highlights |
Round of 16 results
| Date | Match | |
|---|---|---|
| Sun, Jan. 23, 2022 | Burkina Faso 1, Gabon 1 (7-6 PKs) | Highlights |
| Sun, Jan. 23, 2022 | Nigeria 0 , Tunisia 1 | Highlights |
| Mon, Jan. 24, 2022 | Guinea 0 , Gambia 1 | Highlights |
| Mon, Jan. 24, 2022 | Cameroon 2 , Comoros 1 | Highlights |
| Tues, Jan. 25, 2022 | Senegal 2 , Cape Verde 0 | Highlights |
| Tues, Jan. 25, 2022 | Morocco 2 , Malawi 1 | Highlights |
| Wed, Jan. 26, 2022 | Ivory Coast 0 , Egypt 0 (4-5 PKs) | Highlights |
| Wed, Jan. 26, 2022 | Mail 0 , Equatorial Guinea 0 (5-6 PKs) | Highlights |
How to watch AFCON 2022
- Dates: Jan. 9 through Feb. 6 (52 matches)
- Times: 8 a.m., 11 a.m., 2 p.m. ET
- TV Channels: beIN Sports, beIN Sports XTRA
- Spanish-language TV: beIN Sports en Espanol, beIN Sports XTRA en Espanol
- Streaming: fuboTV , beIN Sports Connect and other platforms
The AFCON tournament is being carried by beIN Sports in the USA and Canada, and coverage will be available in both English and Spanish.
Cable and satellite TV channels beIN Sports and beIN Sports en Espanol will carry matches, as will free channel beIN Sports XTRA. Fans can access all of them on fuboTV , which is available for new users via a free trial .
beIN streams are also available for users of Fanatiz and YouTube TV. And since beIN XTRA is free, it's available on a host of other streaming platforms including Roku and Pluto TV.
MORE: Updated list of AFCON top scorers
AFCON 2022 tournament format
Similar to other continental championships and World Cup tournaments, the Africa Cup of Nations began with a group stage, followed by knockout rounds all the way to the final.
- Group stage: Jan. 9-20
- Round of 16: Jan. 23-26
- Quarterfinals: Jan. 29-30
- Semifinals: Feb. 2-3
- Third place: Feb. 6
- Final: Feb. 6
The 24 nations were divided into six groups of four nations each. At the conclusion of round-robin group play — with three points awarded for a win, one for a draw and none for a loss — the top two teams in each group based on points (and tiebreakers, if necessary) advanced to the knockouts. The remaining slots in the Round of 16 were completed by the four best third-place finishers.
A predetermined knockout bracket is being played out all the way through to the final. If any knockout match ends in a tie after 90 minutes, the teams will play 30 minutes of extra time. If the draw persists, a penalty-kick shootout will determine the team to move on. The third-place match on Feb. 6 is the only one that would skip extra time and move straight to the shootout in case of a draw.
For the first time in the competition's history, all 52 matches are featuring the use of a Video Assistant Referee (VAR).
MORE: Ranking the top 10 players at AFCON
Who will win AFCON 2022?
Judging by BetMGM's pre-tournament odds, Senegal-Algeria was the projected repeat final, but that won't be happening given Algeria's group-stage elimination. Senegal had the lowest odds of the bunch going into AFCON 2022, and it is the presumed favorite in the knockouts to win its first AFCON title.
Among the other nine nations judged the most likely to win it all, host Cameroon is still alive and will meet Egypt in the semifinal stage. Burkina Faso was one of the long shots and didn't figure among the top 10 most likely to win it all.
| Nation | BetMGM Pre-Tournament Odds |
|---|---|
| Senegal | +350 (from +550) |
| Algeria | +450 (from +600) |
| Ivory Coast | +750 (unchanged) |
| Egypt | +800 (from +600) |
| Cameroon | +850 (from +800) |
| Morocco | +850 (from +900) |
| Nigeria | +1000 (from +800) |
| Mali | +1600 (from +2200) |
| Ghana | +1800 (from +1400) |
| Tunisia | +2200 (from +1600) |