1972 African Cup of Nations
8th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations
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The 1972 African Cup of Nations was the eighth edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the association football championship of Africa (CAF). It was hosted by Cameroon, in the cities of Yaoundé and Douala. Just like in 1970, the field of eight teams was split into two groups of four. The People's Republic of the Congo won its first championship, beating Mali in the final 3−2.
| Coupe d'Afrique des Nations 1972 | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Cameroon |
| Dates | 23 February – 5 March |
| Teams | 8 |
| Venues | 2 (in 2 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Congo (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Mali |
| Third place |  Cameroon |
| Fourth place |  Zaire |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 16 |
| Goals scored | 53 (3.31 per match) |
| Attendance | 425,000 (26,563 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Fantamady Keita (5 goals) |
| Best player | François M'Pelé |
← 1970 1974 → | |
Qualified teams
For the first time, Ethiopia did not compete. The 8 qualified teams are:
| Team | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previous appearances in tournament[a] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cameroon | Hosts | 1 (1970) | |
 Sudan | Holders | 16 February 1970 | 4 (1957, 1959, 1963, 1970) |
 Morocco | 2nd round winners | 16 April 1971 | 0 (debut) |
 Togo | 2nd round winners | 20 June 1971 | 0 (debut) |
| Mali | 2nd round winners | 27 June 1971 | 0 (debut) |
| Congo | 2nd round winners | 18 July 1971 | 1 (1968) |
 Kenya | 2nd round winners | 18 July 1971 | 0 (debut) |
| Zaire | 2nd round winners | 27 October 1971 | 3 (1965, 1968, 1970) |
- Notes
- Bold indicates champion for that year, Italic indicates host.
Squads
Venues
The competition was played in two venues in Yaoundé and Douala.
| Yaoundé | |
|---|---|
| Stade Omnisports | |
| Capacity: 38,720 | |
.JPG) | |
| Douala | |
| Stade de la Réunification | |
| Capacity: 30,000 | |
 |
Group stage
Tiebreakers
If two or more teams finished level on points after completion of the group matches, the following tie-breakers were used to determine the final ranking:
- Goal difference in all group matches
- Greater number of goals scored in all group matches
- Drawing of lots
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cameroon (H) |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 5 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Mali |
3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | |
| 3 | Kenya |
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 2 | |
| 4 | Togo |
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 2 |
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zaire |
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 4 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Congo |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | |
| 3 | Morocco |
3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | |
| 4 | Sudan |
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 2 |
| Zaire | 1–1 | Sudan |
|---|---|---|
Mayanga  53' |
Hasabu El-Sagheer 55' |
| Morocco | 1–1 | Sudan |
|---|---|---|
| Faras 32' |
Abdel-Nadief 49' |
Knockout stage
Goalscorers
There were 53 goals scored in 16 matches, for an average of 3.31 goals per match.
5 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
Jean-Baptiste N'Doga- Paul-Gaston N'Dongo
François M'Pelé
Bako Touré
Kakoko Etepé
1 goal
- Jean Paul Akono
- Simo Emmanuel Mvé
- François N'Doumbe
- Joseph Yegba Maya
- Philippe Michel Mouthé
- Norbert Owona
- Jonas Bahamboula
- Noël Minga
- Paul Moukila
Daniel Arudhi Nicodémus- Jonathan Niva
- Peter "Pelé" Ouma
- Adama Traoré
- Bakary Traoré
- Moussa Diakhité
- Moussa Traoré
Bushara Abdel-Nadief- Kamal Abdel Wahab
- Hasabu El-Sagheer
- Ahmed Bushara Wahba
Covi Adé- Gary Ngassebe
Team of the tournament
Source:[1]
| Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allal Ben Kassou |
Mohamed El-Sir Abdalla
|
Mayanga Maku
|
Kakoko Etepé
|