AFCON Group Stage: Ghana 11/8 to win Group B

The Africa Cup of Nations 2023 is just around the corner and we have provided the group odds for each team ahead of the 34th edition in the Ivory Coast.

It will be the second time the Ivory Coast has hosted the tournament, having also done so in 1984, and Senegal are the defending champions after edging out Egypt 4-2 on penalties in 2021.

The event begins on 13th January and will conclude on 11th February 2024.
 

Group A

Team	Group Winner Odds
Ivory Coast	5/6
Nigeria	11/8
Equatorial Guinea	12/1
Guinea-Bissau	16/1

Host nation the Ivory Coast are the 5/6 favourites to top Group A and the two-time champions, who last lifted the trophy in 2015, are on a five-game unbeaten run heading into their opener against Guinea-Bissau on 13th January.

Three-time AFCON winners Nigeria will be a big threat and they reached this tournament by topping their qualifying group, winning five of their six matches and scoring an impressive 22 times.

The Super Eagles have the likes of Victor Osimhen, Kelechi Iheanachi and Victor Boniface to call upon in attack and Jose Peseiro's side could be one to watch out for.

Equatorial Guinea and Guinea-Bissau make up the pool and it will be tough for either side to finish in the top two, although there is still one of the four best third-placed spots to battle for.

Group B

Team	Group Winner Odds
Egypt	4/5
Ghana	11/8
Cape Verde	10/1
Mozambique	28/1

Egypt are the most successful team in AFCON history with seven titles, the last of those in 2010, and they are always going to be a threat with Liverpool's Mohamed Salah leading the line.

The Pharaohs won five of their qualifying matches to top Group D and they were particularly frugal at the back, conceding just three goals and two of those came in the only defeat to Ethiopia.

Ghana were unbeaten in qualifying, winning three and drawing three, and they will be hoping to lift the trophy for the first time since 1982, which is the most recent of their four victories.

Cape Verde and Mozambique, who finished runners-up in their respective qualifying groups, make up this quartet and it looks like a tall order for either team to progress.

Group C

Team	Group Winner Odds
Senegal	4/5
Cameroon	7/4
Guinea	13/2
Gambia	20/1

Reigning champions Senegal broke their AFCON duck in 2021 and they will be hoping for a repeat of that performance as they aim to become the first back-to-back winners since Egypt.

They are fancied at 4/5 to top Group C although they could face stiff competition from 7/4 Cameroon, who have won this title five times and also featured at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Guinea are an intriguing price at 13/2 to finish top and their hopes of progression will likely depend on whether Serhou Guirassy transfers his sensational club form onto the international stage.

The 27-year-old, who has two goals in seven caps for his country, has netted 15 times in just 10 Bundesliga appearances this season for Stuttgart and is challenging Bayern Munich's Harry Kane for the Golden Boot in the German top flight.

Rounding off this group is Gambia, who reached the quarter-finals on their AFCON debut in 2021 and should not be taken lightly.

Group D

Team	Group Winner Odds
Algeria	1/3
Burkina Faso	4/1
Mauritania	11/1
Angola	14/1

It looks hard to go against 1/3 Algeria to go through as Group D winners, as they are the standout team in a pool that includes Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Angola.

Two-time champions Algeria won five of their six qualifying matches, conceding a miserly two goals, and they will be desperate to make amends for the group stage exit suffered in 2021.

Burkina Faso are a handy outfit and they showed this during their fourth-place finish in 2021, with a runners-up result in 2013 the closest they have come to lifting the trophy. They are spearheaded by Aston Villa forward Bertrand Traore, who has 15 goals for his country, although his lack of playing time at club level this season is a concern.

Mauritania are making their third straight appearance in this tournament, though they have never gone beyond the group stage, while Angola are featuring for the first time at AFCON since 2019.

Group E

Team	Group Winner Odds
Tunisia	10/11
Mali	13/8
South Africa	11/2
Namibia	22/1

This looks to be the tightest group in regards to the odds to win Pool E, with 10/11 Tunisia followed by 13/8 Mali and 11/2 South Africa. Namibia are the rank outsiders here at 22/1 as they are appearing for the first time since 2019.

Tunisia proved they have what it takes to go all the way when winning the title in 2004 on home soil, and they have managed to get out of the group in their last four AFCON outings.

Mali have a good mix of youth and experience in their squad and they qualified as group winners, winning five of their matches and conceding just twice.

South Africa also represent a danger and defeated Morocco in qualifying as they progressed as Group K runners-up, showing they have the quality to beat one of the favourites for this tournament.

Group F

Team	Group Winner Odds
Morocco	4/9
DR Congo	9/2
Zambia	6/1
Tanzania	11/1

Morocco will be the team everyone is watching out for after their World Cup heroics in Qatar, where they knocked out Spain and Portugal before losing to France in the semi-finals.

It will be interesting to see whether they can manage the expectation levels on their shoulders at AFCON, an event they won back in 1976, but going through as Group F winners looks likely.

Battling for second will be two-time champions DR Congo, 2012 winners Zambia and Tanzania, who have failed to get out of the group on their two previous AFCON appearances.