Madagascar and Mauritania will be playing in the quarter-final of the African Nations Championship for the first time in their history.
The duo attained the feat in the final group stage games at the ongoing 2022 CHAN tournament in Algeria.
Madagascar did it in style given that they are playing at the CHAN tourney for the first time.
They won all three Group C games but with ease, defeated Sudan 3-0 in the last game to top the group with nine points.
On the other hand, Mauritania have played at two editions previously but had never gone beyond the group stages.
They shocked Mali courtesy of a 1-0 victory in the final group game to lead Group D with four points.
Niger also had something special to jubilate about having reached the quarterfinals for only the second time in history.
They edged Cameroon 1-0 in the final Group E game and cruised to the last eight top of the group with four points.
Besides Madagascar, Mauritania, and Niger, hosts Algeria, Mozambique, Ghana, Senegal, and Ivory Coast are the other five teams that hit the quarterfinals.
The above teams will be in the knockout stage action that will commence on Friday, January 27th.
Algeria topped Group A with the maximum points, nine, and Mozambique came second with four points.
Senegal and Ivory Coast were first and second in Group B with six and four points respectively.
Whereas Madagascar finished at the summit in Group C with a maximum of nine points and were followed by Ghana with six points.
Meanwhile, Mauritania and Niger led proceedings in Group D and E with four points apiece which had only three teams each.
It is worth noting that the defending champions Morocco did not honour the tournament and therefore a new winner shall be crowned.
Quarterfinal lineup
Friday
Algeria vs Ivory Coast
Senegal vs Mauritania
Saturday
Niger vs Ghana
Madagascar vs Mozambique
This article was first published by football256.com and relayed by kick442.com as an official media partner
French 
English