1978 African Cup of Nations

1978 African Cup of Nations

Coupe d'Afrique des nations de football 1978
Tournament details
Host country	Ghana
Dates	5 March - 16 March
Teams	8 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)	2 (in 2 host cities)
Final positions
Champions	Ghana (3rd title)
Runners-up	Uganda
Third place	Nigeria
Fourth place	Tunisia
Tournament statistics
Matches played	16
Goals scored	38 (2.38 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Opoku Afriyie Segun Odegbami Phillip Omondi (3 goals)
Best player	Abdul Razak
← 1976 1980 →

The 1978 African Cup of Nations was the 11th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa (CAF). It was hosted by Accra and Kumasi, Ghana. The format of the competition changed from 1976: the field of eight teams was still split into two groups of four, but the final group stage was eliminated in favor of the knockout semifinals used in tournaments prior to 1976. Ghana won its third championship, beating Uganda in the final 2-0.

The Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) and Mali were disqualified from this competition in 1978 in the second round of the qualifiers, although the reason is unknown. Upper Volta, who had been beaten by the Ivory Coast in the first qualifying round, were given a place in the finals at their expense.

Host Cities & Venues

Cities	Venues	Capacity
Accra	Accra Sports Stadium
Kumasi	Kumasi Sports Stadium

Squads

Main article: 1978 African Cup of Nations squads

Qualifying Tournament

For qualification results, see 1978 African Cup of Nations (qualification)

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Morocco qualified as holders

Ghana qualified as hosts

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Preliminary round

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24 October 1976	Malawi	1 – 1	Mauritius	Malawi

28 January 1977	Mauritius	3 – 2	Malawi	Mauritius

Mauritius won 4–3 on aggregate.

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First round

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18 September 1977	Algeria	4 – 1	Kenya	Algeria

2 October 1977	Kenya	2 – 1	Algeria	Kenya

Algeria won 5–3 on aggregate.

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18 September 1977	Cameroon	2 – 0	Congo-Brazzaville	Cameroon

2 October 1977	Congo-Brazzaville	4 – 0	Cameroon	Congo-Brazzaville

Congo-Brazzaville won 4–2 on aggregate.

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13 March 1977	Egypt	2 – 2	Tunisia	Egypt

27 April 1977	Tunisia	3 – 2	Egypt	Tunisia

Tunisia won 5–4 on aggregate.

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18 September 1977	Guinea	3 – 0	Libya	Guinea

2 October 1977	Libya	0 – 2	Guinea	Libya

Guinea won 5–0 on aggregate.

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28 September 1977	Mauritius	2 – 3	Ethiopia	Mauritius

12 October 1977	Ethiopia	1 – 0	Mauritius	Ethiopia

Ethiopia won 4–2 on aggregate.

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18 September 1977	Senegal	2 – 1	Togo	Senegal

2 October 1977	Togo	0 – 1	Senegal	Togo

Senegal won 3–1 on aggregate.

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18 September 1977	Sierra Leone	1 – 1	Nigeria	Sierra Leone

2 October 1977	Nigeria	2 – 0	Sierra Leone	Nigeria

Nigeria won 3–1 on aggregate.

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18 September 1977	Upper Volta	0 – 1	Côte d'Ivoire	Upper Volta

2 October 1977	Côte d'Ivoire	4 – 1	Upper Volta	Cote d'Ivoire

Upper Volta progress, Cote d'Ivoire disqualified.

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	Mali	w / o	Niger

Mali progress, Niger disqualified.

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	Uganda	w / o	Tanzania

Uganda progress, Tanzania disqualified.

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	Zambia	w / o	Sudan

Zambia progress, Sudan disqualified.

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Second round

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30 October 1977	Algeria	2 – 0	Zambia	Algeria

13 November 1977	Zambia	2 – 0	Algeria	Zambia

Zambia won 2–2 (6-5p) on aggregate.

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30 October 1977	Congo-Brazzaville	3 – 2	Gabon	Congo-Brazzaville

13 November 1977	Gabon	3 – 3	Congo-Brazzaville	Gabon

Congo-Brazzaville won 6–5 on aggregate.

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30 October 1977	Ethiopia	0 – 0	Uganda	Ethiopia

13 November 1977	Uganda	2 – 1	Ethiopia	Uganda

Uganda won 2–1 on aggregate.

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30 October 1977	Senegal	3 – 1	Nigeria	Senegal

13 November 1977	Nigeria	3 – 0	Senegal	Nigeria

Nigeria won 4–3 on aggregate.

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30 October 1977	Tunisia	3 – 0	Guinea	Tunisia

13 November 1977	Guinea	3 – 2	Tunisia	Guinea

Tunisia won 5–3 on aggregate.

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	Upper Volta	w / o	Mali

Upper Volta qualified, Mali withdrew.

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Participating teams

Congo-Brazzaville Ghana Morocco Nigeria

Tunisia Uganda Upper Volta Zambia

Final tournament

First round

• Teams highlighted in green progress to the Quarter Finals
• 2 points awarded for a win and 1 point for a draw at group stage

Group A

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Ghana	5	3	2	1	0	6	2	+4
Nigeria	4	3	1	2	0	5	3	+2
Zambia	3	3	1	1	1	3	2	+1
Upper Volta	0	3	0	0	3	2	9	-7

5 March 1978	Ghana	2 – 1	Zambia	Accra Sports Stadium, Accra
	Afriyie  21' Abdul Razak  55'		Kapita  8'

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5 March 1978	Nigeria	4 – 2	Upper Volta	Accra Sports Stadium, Accra
	Chukwu  17' Adekiye  31' Odegbami  44', 82'		Hien  50' Koita  52'

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8 March 1978	Zambia	2 – 0	Upper Volta	Accra Sports Stadium, Accra
	P.Phiri  20' B.Phiri  88'

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8 March 1978	Nigeria	1 – 1	Ghana	Accra Sports Stadium, Accra
	Odegbami  33'		Klutse  76'

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10 March 1978	Zambia	0 – 0	Nigeria	Accra Sports Stadium, Accra

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10 March 1978	Ghana	3 – 0	Upper Volta	Accra Sports Stadium, Accra
	Alhassan  3', 59' Mohammed

Group B

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Uganda	4	3	2	0	1	7	4	+3
Tunisia	4	3	1	2	0	4	2	+2
Morocco	3	3	1	1	1	2	4	-2
Congo-Brazzaville	1	3	0	1	2	1	4	-3

6 March 1978	Morocco	1 – 1	Tunisia	Kumasi Sports Stadium, Kumasi
	Acila  29'		Kaabi  63'

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6 March 1978	Uganda	3 – 1	Congo-Brazzaville	Kumasi Sports Stadium, Kumasi
	Omondi  1' Semwanga  31' Kisitu  81'		Mamounoubala  80'

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9 March 1978	Tunisia	3 – 1	Uganda	Kumasi Sports Stadium, Kumasi
	Labidi  36' Ben Aziza  38', 83'		Musenze  71'

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9 March 1978	Morocco	1 – 0	Congo-Brazzaville	Kumasi Sports Stadium, Kumasi
	Acila  28'

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11 March 1978	Congo-Brazzaville	0 – 0	Tunisia	Kumasi Sports Stadium, Kumasi

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11 March 1978	Uganda	3 – 0	Morocco	Kumasi Sports Stadium, Kumasi
	Kisitu  13' Nsereko  32' Omondi  36'

Semifinals

14 March 1978	Ghana	1 – 0	Tunisia	Accra Sports Stadium, Accra
	Abdul Razak  57'

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14 March 1978	Uganda	2 – 1	Nigeria	Kumasi Sports Stadium, Kumasi
	Nasur  11' Omondi  58'		Martins Eyo  54'

Third place playoff

16 March 1978	Nigeria	2 – 01	Tunisia	Accra Sports Stadium, Accra

¹The match was abandoned after Tunisia walked off in the 42nd minute with the score tied at 1-1 to protest the officiating. Nigeria were awarded a 2-0 win, and Tunisia were banned from CAF competitions for two years.

Final

16 March 1978	Ghana	2 – 0	Uganda	Accra Sports Stadium, Accra
	Opoku Afriyie  38', 64'

African Cup of Nations 1978 Champions
Ghana 3rd title

Scorers

• The two scorers in the third place playoff match not added

3 goals

Opoku Afriyie	Segun Odegbami	Phillip Omondi

2 goals

Acila	George Alhassan Abderraouf Ben Aziza	Godfrey Kisitu Abdul Razak

1 goal

Adekiye Christian Chukwu Martins Eyo Godfrey Kisitu Hubert Hien Ali Kaabi	Obby Kapita Willie Klutse Koita Mohsen Labidi Mamounoubala Mohammed	Samuel Musenze Nasur Moses Nsereko Bibwell Phiri Patrick Phiri Semwanga

CAF Team of the Tournament

Goalkeeper

• Mohammed Al-Hazaz

Defenders

• Mokhtar Dhouieb
• James Kuuku Dadzie
• Al-Qasmy
• Al-Araby

Midfielders

• Moses Nsereko
• Abdul Razak
• Adolf Armah
• Phillip Omondi

Forwards

• Segun Odegbami
• Mohammed Polo

External links and sources

• Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF)
• footballmundial.tripod.com
• www.world-results.net