2019 Africa Cup of Nations Preview: Where to Watch, Live Stream, Group Stage, Star Players & More
Africa's finest will be heading to Egypt in June to take part in the 32nd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations.
For the first time in its history, the tournament will be hosted in the summer months, which is good news for European teams who have previously had to let their players leave midway through the domestic season.
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Plenty of top talent will be on show for their respective countries - including Premier League Golden Boot winning trio Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Check out 90min's preview of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations for everything you need to know.
Where to Watch
When Is it Being Played? | June 22 to July 19 |
Who Are the Hosts? | Egypt |
Where Are the Host Cities? | Cairo, Suez, Alexandria, Ismailia |
Channel/Live Stream? | Eurosport UK/Eurosport Player |
Reigning Champions? | Cameroon |
Structure
As well as being the first edition of the tournament to take part in the summer months, this year's Africa Cup of Nations see the number of teams competing expand from 16 to 24 - the highest number in its history.
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The group stages will follow the same format that was seen in the 2016 European Championships, where groups of four teams will play each other once. The top two teams from each group will automatically qualify for the round of 16 and will be joined by the four best third place finishers.
The tournament will then follow a straight knockout format until the final on July 19.
Groups
Group A |
Egypt |
Dr Congo |
Uganda |
Zimbabwe |
Group B |
Nigeria |
Guinea |
Madagascar |
Burundi |
Group C |
Senegal |
Algeria |
Kenya |
Tanzania |
Group D |
Morocco |
Ivory Coast |
South Africa |
Namibia |
Group E |
Tunisia |
Mali |
Mauritania |
Angola |
Group F |
Cameroon |
Ghana |
Benin |
Guinea-Bissau |
Hosts
Egypt - the most successful team in Africa Cup of Nations history - will be hosting the competition for the fifth time this summer.
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Egypt weren't initially chosen as hosts and were drafted in as a last minute replacement for Cameroon, who were initially selected as hosts before being stripped of the honour due to delays in the delivery of suitable infrastructure.
The competition will take place in four host cities: Cairo, Suez, Alexandria, Ismailia. Cairo has three stadiums which will be used throughout, including the Cairo International Stadium which will host the final in July.
Teams to Watch Out for
The Africa Cup of Nations tends to be one of the most open international competitions in the world and predicting the eventual winners tends to be a rather tricky process.
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Countries with a high volume of players plying their trade in Europe tend to go far, which indicates that the likes of Senegal, Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Cameroon will all be confident of success.
However, as those who are familiar with the Africa Cup of Nations will attest, there is plenty of room for upsets. Just ask Zambia, who lifted the trophy in 2012 despite having no recognisable names in their 23-man squad.
Zambia's unlikely success should act as inspiration for Madagascar, Burundi and Mauritania, who will all be making their Africa Cup of Nations debut this summer.
Star Players
There will be no shortage of stars on show in Egypt, many of whom will be very familiar for viewing audiences.
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Plenty of the Premier League's finest are expected to be out in force, including Liverpool duo Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, Arsenal's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alex Iwobi and Mohamed Elneny, Manchester City winger Riyad Mahrez and Crystal Palace talisman Wilfried Zaha.
There will also be an opportunity for some up and coming stars to further their reputations ahead of the summer transfer window, including Hakim Ziyech and Nicolas Pepe who will be representing Morocco and the Ivory Coast respectively.
