The biggest AFCON upsets in recent times 

The 2021 AFCON has come to life after a slow start that was marked by low scoring games and cautious approaches by the participating teams. The excitement and entertainment levels have gone up and it is living to the billing of the bonanza it was expected to be. All this in spite of the Covid menace. 

The 33^rd edition of the competition, just like it has been in earlier ones, has had surprise teams qualifying and going on to shock the heavyweights. Surprise results have already been witnessed at the 2021 competition with the underdogs turning tables on the favourites, in results that have gone on to upset the betting odds on Wincomparator, pushing up the entertainment levels. 

Here we look at some of the biggest upsets that have been witnessed at the AFCON competitions over the years. 

South Africa 1996

South Africa may have dropped in the rankings and magnitude in African football, but it hasn't always been the case. There's a time they ruled the continent, and it was on a very unlikely background. Just admitted into international football a few years earlier, South Africa got the rights to host the 1996 finals. That was just two years after their independence and still struggling to deal with the big scars of apartheid and division. They however rode through a wave of patriotism to clinch the title, beating Tunisia 2-0 in the final to set up one of the biggest upsets in international football. 

Angola 2010

 The 27th edition of the AFCON competition was held in Angola and could be remembered for some of the worst non-footballing memories. In the run to the tournament, Togo, one of the participating nations had to withdraw after their bus was attacked by bandits and members of their entourage killed. On the pitch though, there was one big upset in Group A, when a less fancied Malawi thrashed World Cup bound Algeria 3-0 in the two nations' opening game at the 11^th November Stadium in Luanda. Algeria would still advance to the quarter finals though, as Malawi finished last in the group. 

Read also: Africa Cup Of Nations 2021: 6 People Dead After The Match At Olembe Stadium 

Gabon/Equatorial Guinea 2012

 For only the second time in AFCON history, the competition was jointly hosted in 2012, as Gabon and Equatorial Guinea teamed up. The spectacle in this tournament was that another unfancied team went on to list the title – Zambia. Paying homage to the country's fallen heroes in the 1993 plane crash was the biggest news that Zambia would take to the competition, but they grew steadily with great teamwork. In the semifinal, they gave the biggest indication yet of their ambitions by beating an Asamoah Gyan-inspired Ghana. They went on to face Didier Drogba and his star-studded Ivory Coast side in the final and pushed it all the way to extra time, before winning on penalties in one of the greatest showcases of African football. 

South Africa 2013

 For the second time, South Africa got the rights to host the AFCON finals, in 2013. This time though, they were way past their golden years and it was Burkina Faso who stole the thunder at the competition. Underdogs going into the competition, Burkina Faso finished top in a group that had defending champions Zambia, former champions Nigeria and Guinea. At the semis, they were expected to see the end of the road after drawing Ghana but in one eventful game, they were denied two penalties, had a goal disallowed and star player John Pitroipa sent off, wrongfully. They would also concede a penalty and Ghana scored, but Aristide Bance levelled to send the game to penalties, which Burkina Faso won. Their fairy tale would however be stopped in the final as they lost 1-0 to Nigeria but they already had the accolade for the biggest surprise of the tournament.