Sunday and Monday were observed as rest days at the end of the group stage at the 2018 Women Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana. The tournament has so far served up some interesting statistics especially in terms of number of goals scored as teams jostle for World Cup tickets.
Nigeria’s Super Falcons lead the way with ten goals in spite of their opening day loss in the group stage against South Africa while reigning African Women’s Footballer of the Year Asisat Oshoala also made more history for herself.
Before we have the semi-final games on Tuesday, here is a look at ten statistical numbers and how they mostly compare with previous editions from the group stage:
0 – No red card was issued during the group stage of the 2018 AWCON tournament.
1 – Mail, inspired by the impressive Bassira Toure have qualified for the semi-final of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in their history.
1 – Nigeria’s Super Falcons have conceded only one goal in the 2018 tournament, the least by any side so far.
2 – Nigeria forward Asisat Oshoala – by the virtue of her hat trick against Equatorial Guinea – became only the second player ever to score hat tricks in more than one AWCON tournament. Just like Perpetua Nkwocha who boasts of this record, Oshoala is also one of the two players to have done so in consecutive tournaments.
3 – South Africa remained unbeaten after their three group games at the AWCON for the first time in sixteen years and only the third time ever. The previous times they did were in 2000 and 2002.
4 – Nigeria’s Number 9 Desire Oparanozie – scorer of her country’s first goal against Zambia – has now scored in four different AWCON tournaments. Only Perpetua Nkwocha (who scored in six tournaments) has scored in more tournaments than Oparanozie.
4 – South Africa’s Thembi Kgatlana is currently the tournament’s top scorer with four goals from three matches.
7 – A total of seven penalty kicks were converted out of the nine awarded during the group stage of the tournament.
18 – Former champions Equatorial Guinea conceded eighteen goals in the group stage of the 2018 tournament, the highest number by any team in a single tournament since inception.
43 – Forty-three goals were scored in the group stage of the 2018 tournament, a joint-record for a single tournament. The inaugural edition in 1998 and the 2006 edition both hosted by Nigeria jointly hold this record.
