1996 African Cup of Nations
The 1996 African Cup of Nations was the 20th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the soccer championship of Africa (CAF). It was hosted by South Africa, who replaced original hosts Kenya. The field expanded for the first time to 16 teams, split into four groups of four; the top two teams in each group advancing to the quarterfinals. However, Nigeria withdrew from the tournament at the final moment under pressure from then-dictator Sani Abacha, reducing the field to 15.[1] South Africa won its first championship, beating Tunisia in the final 2–0.
![]() African Cup of Nations 1996 official logo | |
Tournament details | |
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Host country | South Africa |
Dates | 13 January – 3 February |
Teams | 15 (from 1 confederation) |
Venue(s) | 4 (in 4 host cities) |
Final positions | |
Champions | ![]() |
Runners-up | ![]() |
Third place | ![]() |
Fourth place | ![]() |
Tournament statistics | |
Matches played | 29 |
Goals scored | 78 (2.69 per match) |
Attendance | 640,880 (22,099 per match) |
Top scorer(s) | ![]() (5 goals) |
Best player(s) | ![]() |
Qualified teams

For full qualification see: 1996 African Cup of Nations qualification
Algeria
Angola
Burkina Faso
Cameroon
Ivory Coast
Egypt
Gabon
Ghana
Liberia
Mozambique
Nigeria (holders)*
Sierra Leone
South Africa (hosts)
Tunisia
Zaire
Zambia
* Nigeria withdrew prior to the start of the finals. Guinea, as the best side to not qualify, was offered Nigeria's spot in the finals, but declined due to a lack of preparation time.
Squads
Venues
Johannesburg | Durban | |
---|---|---|
FNB Stadium | Kings Park Stadium | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Capacity: 80,000 | Capacity: 52,000 | |
Bloemfontein | Port Elizabeth | |
Free State Stadium | EPRU Stadium | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Capacity: 40,000 | Capacity: 33,852 |
First round
Teams highlighted in green progress to the Quarter Finals.
Group A
Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 6 |
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3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 6 |
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3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 4 |
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3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 1 |
South Africa ![]() | 3–0 | ![]() |
---|---|---|
Masinga ![]() Williams ![]() Moshoeu ![]() |
South Africa ![]() | 1–0 | ![]() |
---|---|---|
Williams ![]() |
South Africa ![]() | 0–1 | ![]() |
---|---|---|
El-Kass ![]() |
Group B
Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 | +8 | 7 |
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3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 7 |
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3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 3 |
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3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 | −6 | 0 |
Sierra Leone ![]() | 2–1 | ![]() |
---|---|---|
Sessay ![]() Mohamed Kallon ![]() |
Ouédraogo ![]() |
Algeria ![]() | 2–0 | ![]() |
---|---|---|
Meçabih ![]() |
Algeria ![]() | 2–1 | ![]() |
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Lounici ![]() Dziri ![]() |
Zongo ![]() |
Zambia ![]() | 4–0 | ![]() |
---|---|---|
K. Bwalya ![]() Malitoli ![]() |
Group C
Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 3 |
![]() |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
![]() |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 3 |
Nigeria withdrew, so their three matches were canceled.
Group D
Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 9 |
![]() |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 4 |
![]() |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 3 |
![]() |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 1 |
Ghana ![]() | 2–0 | ![]() |
---|---|---|
Yeboah ![]() Pelé ![]() |
Tunisia ![]() | 1–1 | ![]() |
---|---|---|
Berkhissa ![]() |
Bucuane ![]() |
Ghana ![]() | 2–1 | ![]() |
---|---|---|
Pelé ![]() Akonnor ![]() |
Ben Younes ![]() |
Ivory Coast ![]() | 1–0 | ![]() |
---|---|---|
Tiéhi ![]() |
Tunisia ![]() | 3–1 | ![]() |
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Ben Younes ![]() Ben Hassen ![]() |
M. Traoré ![]() |
Ghana ![]() | 2–0 | ![]() |
---|---|---|
Pelé ![]() Aboagye ![]() |
Knockout stage
Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
January 27 - Johannesburg | ||||||||||
![]() | 2 | |||||||||
January 31 - Johannesburg | ||||||||||
![]() | 1 | |||||||||
![]() | 3 | |||||||||
January 28 - Port Elizabeth | ||||||||||
![]() | 0 | |||||||||
![]() | 1 | |||||||||
February 3 - Johannesburg | ||||||||||
![]() | 0 | |||||||||
![]() | 2 | |||||||||
January 27 - Bloemfontein | ||||||||||
![]() | 0 | |||||||||
![]() | 3 | |||||||||
January 31 - Durban | ||||||||||
![]() | 1 | |||||||||
![]() | 2 | |||||||||
January 28 - Durban | ||||||||||
![]() | 4 | Third place | ||||||||
![]() | 1 (1) | |||||||||
February 3 - Johannesburg | ||||||||||
![]() | 1 (4) | |||||||||
![]() | 0 | |||||||||
![]() | 1 | |||||||||
Quarterfinals
Gabon ![]() | 1–1 (a.e.t.) | ![]() |
---|---|---|
Mackaya ![]() |
Report | Baya ![]() |
Penalties | ||
Mackaya ![]() Kassa-Ngoma ![]() Bekogo-Zogo ![]() |
1–4 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Final
South Africa ![]() | 2–0 | ![]() |
---|---|---|
Williams ![]() |
Scorers
5 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
Billel Dziri
Tarek Lazizi
Khaled Lounici
Joni
Paulão
Aboubakari Ouédraogo
Youssouf Traoré
Boureima Zongo
Georges Mouyémé
Alphonse Tchami
Joël Tiéhi
Moussa Traoré
Samir Ibrahim
Ali Maher
Aurelien Bekogo
Guy Nzeng
Felix Aboagye
Charles Akonnor
Kwame Ayew
Mass Sarr Jr.
Kelvin Sebwe
Tico-Tico
Mohamed Kallon
John Gbassay Sessay
Shaun Bartlett
Mark Fish
Phil Masinga
Abdelkader Ben Hassen
Hédi Berkhissa
Kaies Ghodhbane
Liombi Essende
Roger Lukaku
Elijah Litana
Hillary Makasa
Vincent Mutale
Own goal
CAF Team of the Tournament
Goalkeeper
Defenders
Midfielders
Forwards
External links
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