The Africa Cup of Nations already knows which teams have made it to the knockout stage

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Tanzania and Tunisia secured the last two available spots in the Africa Cup of Nations last 16 on Tuesday, completing the lineup before half of the groups had concluded their final games.

Tanzania's 1-1 draw with Tunisia in Group C wrecked Angola's hopes of squeezing through as one of the best third-place finishers with just two points from Group B. Angola’s goal difference was better than that of Comoros, the third-place finisher in Group A.

Feisal Salum’s equalizer for Tanzania sent the Taifa Stars through. While Tanzania and Angola both finished with two points and a goal difference of minus 1, the goal scored by Salum, who is commonly known as Fei Toto, took Tanzania's tally to three — one better than Angola's two goals.

All the other group stage survivors were decided already on Monday because of Angola and Comoros’ relatively low points total. It meant teams that already had more than two points and were already assured of at least third place in their groups could be certain of reaching the last 16.

The four best third-place teams from the six groups progress, along with the top two in each. Head-to-head results are the first determining factor if two teams finish with the same amount of points in a group.

Here's a look at which teams went through from the six groups:

Host nation Morocco progressed as the winner of Group A, followed by second-place Mali with just three points from three draws. Morocco next faces a third-place finisher from Groups C, D or E on Sunday. More importantly for the Atlas Lions, they will continue their run to the final in the almost 70,000-capacity Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, which will also stage the final on Jan. 18. Mali awaits Tunisia for a showdown in Casablanca on Saturday.

Seven-time champion Egypt booked its place after two games and won Group B to advance with South Africa in second, ahead of Angola. Egypt stays in Agadir and next faces a third-place finisher from Groups A, C or D on Jan. 5. South Africa faces a likely tough game against the runner-up in Group F on Sunday.

Nigeria was already sure of topping Group C before its 3-1 win over Uganda on Tuesday. The Super Eagles will remain in Fez for their first knockout game against a third-place finisher from Groups A, B or F on Jan. 5. Tunisia faces Mali in the last 16, and Tanzania progressed as the fourth-best third-place finisher.

In Group D, which had its final games later Tuesday, 2021 winner Senegal, Congo and Benin were all sure of progressing as they all had three points or more, and were already certain to finish above Botswana, which lost to Senegal and Benin before its final game against Congo. Even if Botswana beat Congo, it could not finish above Benin because of their head-to-head record.

Algeria is certain to win Group E before its final group games, and Burkina Faso and Sudan are certain to advance because they cannot finish below Equatorial Guinea, which lost both games against them. Algeria will play the second-place finisher from Group D on Jan 6. in the same Rabat stadium where it has played all its games so far. On Wednesday, Sudan play Burkina Faso and Algeria plays Equatorial Guinea.

Defending champion Ivory Coast, five-time winner Cameroon, and Mozambique are assured of progress from Group F. Gabon, sure to finish last, was already eliminated before the last round of group games on Wednesday, when the order of the top three teams will be decided. Ivory Coast plays Gabon and Cameroon faces Mozambique.

AP at the Africa Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-cup-of-nations

Morocco fans wait for the start of the Africa Cup of Nations group A soccer match between Zambia and Morocco in Rabat, Morocco, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

Tunisia's supporters wait for the start of the Africa Cup of Nations group C soccer match between Tanzania and Tunisia in Rabat, Morocco, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

A Moroccan fan waits for the start of the Africa Cup of Nations group A soccer match between Zambia and Morocco in Rabat, Morocco, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

A Moroccan fan waits for the start of the Africa Cup of Nations group A soccer match between Zambia and Morocco in Rabat, Morocco, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

Senegal fans support their national team during the Africa Cup of Nations group D soccer match between Senegal and DR Congo in Tangier, Morocco, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — The formula for getting to this season's Orange Bowl apparently went like this: Score a ton of points, allow very few points, have a big play on basically every possession, excel on third downs offensively, be stingy on third downs defensively.

That was Texas Tech's path.

That was also Oregon's path.

Numbers-wise, Texas Tech and Oregon have basically been mirroring images of one another this season. They're both 12-1, neither has lost since mid-October, both have top-10 scoring offenses, both have top-10 scoring defenses ... the similarities go on and on and on.

The Red Raiders ( No. 4 AP, No. 4 CFP) and Ducks (No. 5 AP, No. 5 CFP) will square off in the Orange Bowl on New Year's Day in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals, with the winner headed to the national semifinals at the Peach Bowl next week against either Indiana or Alabama.

“Everybody knows the stakes,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said. “These are moments that you’re excited to get to go be a part of.”

There are no shortage of numbers that have one team looking a lot like the other. Points per game, it’s Texas Tech 42.5 and Oregon 39.2. Points allowed per game, it’s Texas Tech 10.9 and Oregon 16.3. Yards per game, it’s Texas Tech 480 and Oregon 469. Yards allowed per game, it’s Texas Tech 254 and Oregon 271. Yards allowed per play, it’s Texas Tech 3.96 and Oregon 4.36.

“How lucky are we? And that’s not a question, but man, a statement of gratitude,” Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire said. “You know, if you had told my 13-year-old self that I’m getting ready to coach on January 1st in the Orange Bowl at 11 a.m. Central time, man, I would have probably never believed it. So, I’m just so fortunate and grateful that we get to do this and man, we’re excited.”

It could be argued that this is already the best season in Texas Tech history, with a school record for wins and a strong likelihood that the Red Raiders will finish the year 10th or better in the final AP Top 25 for the first time.

Clearly, they are aiming for much more.

"It's more of an internal thing for us to push through and try to be the best that we can no matter what the outside voices say," star Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez said. “If they say that we’re the best, we’ll try to play the best. If they say we're the worst, we'll try to play the best.”

Oregon quarterback Dante Moore said after the Ducks' win over James Madison in Round 1 of the CFP that this has been the longest season of his life — now 14 games and counting, with the potential of two more after this one.

And he's not complaining.

“I feel like with this team, we were very young at the beginning of the year, but we’ve had a lot of experience,” Moore said. “We’ve been pushing each other every day.”

Texas Tech will be playing for the sixth time this season in a game starting at noon Eastern, or 11 a.m. Central. The Red Raiders are 5-0 in those games this season.

“I started saying we're the best 11 o'clock team in the country,” McGuire said.

It's the second noon Eastern — or 9 a.m. Pacific — game for Oregon. The Ducks beat Northwestern 34-14 on Sept. 13 in the other early kick they had this season.

And obviously, both teams have been in South Florida for a few days — plenty of time to acclimate to time changes.

The game features some of college football's active career leaders in a few different statistical categories at the FBS level.

Oregon's Dillon Thieneman leads all active players in solo tackles per game over a career (4.78), while Texas Tech's 1-2 defensive punch of Rodriguez and David Bailey are also on the active leader lists.

Rodriguez is second in forced fumbles among active FBS players (13), while Bailey is third in forced fumbles (10) and third in sacks (28).

A good rule for the Orange Bowl: 35 points is typically enough. And these two teams make scoring 35 points look easy at times.

Teams that score 35 or more points in the Orange Bowl are 24-1 all-time. The exception was Jan. 3, 2014, when Clemson beat Ohio State 40-35.

The average score of an Orange Bowl to this point: 28-14.

This could have been the third consecutive season where Oregon and Texas Tech met on the field. They played in 2023 and were scheduled to again last season — but altered those plans so Oregon could continue its annual rivalry game with Oregon State.

The 2024 game was moved to the 2033 season.

Another numerical similarity: Big plays.

Oregon has 91 plays for 20 or more yards this season, the most in the country. The No. 2 team on that list? Texas Tech, with 90 such plays.

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

FILE - Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire looks on during the Big 12 Conference championship NCAA college football game between Texas Tech and BYU Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)