1972 African Cup of Nations

1972 African Cup of Nations
Coupe d'Afrique des Nations 1972
Tournament details
Host countryCameroon
Dates23 February – 5 March
Teams8
Venue(s)2 (in 2 host cities)
Final positions
Champions Congo (1st title)
Runners-up Mali
Third place Cameroon
Fourth place Zaire
Tournament statistics
Matches played16
Goals scored53 (3.31 per match)
Attendance425,000 (26,563 per match)
Top scorer(s)Mali Fantamady Keita
(5 goals)
Best player(s)Republic of the Congo François M'Pelé
← 1970
1974 →

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.

Qualified teams

Main article: 1972 African Cup of Nations qualification

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
  1. ^ Bold indicates champion for that year, Italic indicates host.

Squads

Main article: 1972 African Cup of Nations squads

Venues

The competition was played in two venues in Yaoundé and Douala.

Yaoundé
Stade Omnisports
Capacity: 38,720
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:

  1. Goal difference in all group matches
  2. Greater number of goals scored in all group matches
  3. 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
Source: [citation needed]
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Cameroon 2–1 Kenya
N'Doga 7'
N'Dongo 20'		 Niva 44'
Attendance: 40,000
Mali 3–3 Togo
B Traoré 10'
F. Keita 46'
B. Touré 49'		 Kaolo 45' (pen.), 60'
Adé 81'
Attendance: 45,000
Referee: Andre Bernard Ickias (Congo)
Mali 1–1 Kenya
F. Keita 45' Nicodémus 60'
Attendance: 45,000
Cameroon 2–0 Togo
Maya 64'
Mvé 79'
Attendance: 45,000
Referee: Babikr Eissa (Sudan)
Togo 1–1 Kenya
Kaolo 60' Pelé Ouma 30'
Attendance: 45,000
Cameroon 1–1 Mali
N'Doumbé 67' F. Keita 43'
Attendance: 45,000
Referee: Mostafa Kamel (Egypt)

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
Source: [citation needed]
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Congo 1–1 Morocco
Moukila 45' Faras 34'
Attendance: 15,000
Referee: Alfred Olimba (Kenya)
Zaire 1–1 Sudan
Mayanga 53' Hasabu El-Sagheer 55'
Attendance: 5,000
Morocco 1–1 Sudan
Faras 32' Abdel-Nadief 49'
Attendance: 7,000
Zaire 2–0 Congo
N'Tumba 16', 59'
Attendance: 7,000
Morocco 1–1 Zaire
Faras 36' Mayanga 3'
Attendance: 20,000
Congo 4–2 Sudan
M'Bono 8', 55'
M'Pelé 32'
Bahamboula 46'		 Abdel Wahab 37'
Wahba 44'
Attendance: 20,000

Knockout stage

 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
 2 March – Yaoundé
 
 
  Cameroon 0
 
 5 March – Yaoundé
 
  Congo 1
 
  Congo 3
 
 2 March – Douala
 
  Mali 2
 
  Zaire 3
 
 
  Mali (a.e.t.) 4
 
Third place
 
 
 4 March – Yaoundé
 
 
  Cameroon 5
 
 
  Zaire 2

Semifinals

Cameroon 0–1 Congo
Minga 31'
Attendance: 40,000
Referee: Mostafa Kamel (Egypt)
Zaire 3–4 (a.e.t.) Mali
N'Tumba 6'
Etepé 61'
Ngassebe 78'		 A. Traoré 17'
F. Keita 48', 92'
B. Touré 68'
Attendance: 2,000

Third place match

Cameroon 5–2 Zaire
Akono 4' (pen.)
N'Dongo 31'
Owona 32'
Mouthé 34'
N'Doga 42'		 Etepé 13'
Mayanga 17'
Attendance: 4,000

Final

Main article: 1972 African Cup of Nations Final
Congo 3–2 Mali
M'Bono 57', 59'
M'Pelé 63'		 Diakhité 42'
M. Traoré 75'
Attendance: 40,000

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

1 goal

Team of the tournament

Source:[1]

Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards
Morocco Allal Ben Kassou Sudan Mohamed El-Sir Abdalla

Zaire Bwanga Tshimen

Cameroon Paul N'lend

Morocco Boujemaa Benkhrif

Zaire Mayanga Maku

Republic of the Congo Noël Minga-Tchibinda

Cameroon Paul-Gaston N'Dongo

Cameroon Jean-Pierre Tokoto

Zaire Kakoko Etepé

Republic of the Congo François M'Pelé

References

  1. ^ "African Nations Cup 1972 - Final Tournament Details". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 10 October 2023.