1978 African Cup of Nations

1978 African Cup of Nations
Tournament details
Host country	Ghana
Dates	5–16 March
Teams	8
Venue(s)	2 (in 2 host cities)
Final positions
Champions	File:Flag of Ghana.svg Ghana (3rd title)
Runners-up	File:Flag of Uganda.svg Uganda
Third place	File:Flag of Nigeria.svg Nigeria
Fourth place	File:Flag of Tunisia (1959–1999).svg Tunisia
Tournament statistics
Matches played	16
Goals scored	38 (2.38 per match)
Top scorer(s)	File:Flag of Ghana.svg Opoku Afriyie ; File:Flag of Nigeria.svg Segun Odegbami ; File:Flag of Uganda.svg Phillip Omondi ; (3 goals each)
Best player(s)	File:Flag of Ghana.svg Karim Abdul Razak
	← 1976 1980 →

The 1978 African Cup of Nations was the eleventh 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 (except 1959). Ghana won its third championship, beating Uganda in the final 2−0. Ivory Coast and Mali were both disqualified in the second round of qualification: Ivory Coast for using an ineligible player, and Mali after stadium security and police assaulted match officials during the first leg. Since Mali had received a first round walkover after Niger failed to appear, Upper Volta, who had been beaten by the Ivory Coast in the first round, were given their place in the final tournament.

Qualified teams

The 8 qualified teams are:

Team	Qualified as	Qualified on	Previous appearances in tournament^{[lower-alpha 1]}
File:Flag of Ghana.svg Ghana	Hosts		4 (1963, 1965, 1968, 1970)
File:Flag of Morocco.svg Morocco	Holders	14 March 1976	2 (1972, 1976)
File:Flag of Nigeria.svg Nigeria	2nd round winners	26 June 1977	2 (1963, 1976)
File:Flag of Uganda.svg Uganda	2nd round winners	26 June 1977	4 (1962, 1968, 1974, 1976)
File:Flag of Zambia (1964–1996).svg Zambia	2nd round winners	26 June 1977	1 (1974)
File:Flag of Upper Volta.svg Upper Volta^{[lower-alpha 2]}	2nd round winners	17 July 1977	0 (debut)
File:Flag of the People's Republic of the Congo.svg Congo	2nd round winners	31 July 1977	3 (1968 1972, 1974)
File:Flag of Tunisia (1959–1999).svg Tunisia	2nd round winners	16 October 1977	3 (1962, 1963, 1965)

Notes

↑ Bold indicates champion for that year, Italic indicates host.
↑ Ivory Coast originally qualified by beating Mali 2–1 on aggregate, but both teams were disqualified: Ivory Coast for fielding an ineligible player in the second leg, and Mali due to police and stadium security assaulting the match officials during the first leg. Upper Volta, who had lost to Ivory Coast in the previous round, were given their place in the finals^[1].

Squads

Venues

The competition was played in two venues in Accra and Kumasi.

Kumasi
Accra	File:Ghana adm location map.svg File:Red pog.svg Accra File:Red pog.svg Kumasi
Accra Sports Stadium
Capacity: 40,000
File:Ohene Djan Sports Stadium, Accra.jpg
Kumasi Sports Stadium
Capacity: 40,500

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:

Goal difference in all group matches
Greater number of goals scored in all group matches
Drawing of lots

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	File:Flag of Ghana.svg Ghana (H)	3	2	1	0	6	2	+4	5	Advance to Knockout stage
2	File:Flag of Nigeria.svg Nigeria	3	1	2	0	5	3	+2	4	Advance to Knockout stage
3	File:Flag of Zambia (1964–1996).svg Zambia	3	1	1	1	3	2	+1	3
4	File:Flag of Upper Volta.svg Upper Volta	3	0	0	3	2	9	−7	0

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts

5 March 1978

Ghana File:Flag of Ghana.svg	2–1	File:Flag of Zambia (1964–1996).svg Zambia
Afriyie File:Soccerball shade.svg 21' Abdul Razak File:Soccerball shade.svg 55'	Report	Kapita File:Soccerball shade.svg 8'

Accra Sports Stadium, Accra

Attendance: 50,000

Referee: Suleiman El Naim (Sudan)

5 March 1978

Nigeria File:Flag of Nigeria.svg	4–2	File:Flag of Upper Volta.svg Upper Volta
Chukwu File:Soccerball shade.svg 17' Amiesimaka File:Soccerball shade.svg 31' Odegbami File:Soccerball shade.svg 44', 82'	Report	Hien File:Soccerball shade.svg 50' Koïta File:Soccerball shade.svg 52'

Accra Sports Stadium, Accra

Attendance: 50,000

Referee: ... Sylla

8 March 1978

Zambia File:Flag of Zambia (1964–1996).svg	2–0	File:Flag of Upper Volta.svg Upper Volta
P. Phiri File:Soccerball shade.svg 20' B. Phiri File:Soccerball shade.svg 88'	Report

Accra Sports Stadium, Accra

Attendance: 60,000

Referee: C. Monty

8 March 1978

Nigeria File:Flag of Nigeria.svg	1–1	File:Flag of Ghana.svg Ghana
Odegbami File:Soccerball shade.svg 33'	Report	Klutse File:Soccerball shade.svg 76'

Accra Sports Stadium, Accra

Attendance: 60,000

10 March 1978

Zambia File:Flag of Zambia (1964–1996).svg	0–0	File:Flag of Nigeria.svg Nigeria
	Report

Accra Sports Stadium, Accra

Attendance: 25,000

10 March 1978

Ghana File:Flag of Ghana.svg	3–0	File:Flag of Upper Volta.svg Upper Volta
Alhassan File:Soccerball shade.svg 3', 59' Polo File:Soccerball shade.svg 52'	Report

Accra Sports Stadium, Accra

Attendance: 25,000

Referee: Pierre Mutombo (Zaïre)

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	File:Flag of Uganda.svg Uganda	3	2	0	1	7	4	+3	4^{[lower-alpha 1]}	Advance to Knockout stage
2	File:Flag of Tunisia (1959–1999).svg Tunisia	3	1	2	0	4	2	+2	4^{[lower-alpha 1]}	Advance to Knockout stage
3	File:Flag of Morocco.svg Morocco	3	1	1	1	2	4	−2	3
4	File:Flag of the People's Republic of the Congo.svg Congo	3	0	1	2	1	4	−3	1

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Notes:

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Tied on overall points. Overall goal difference: Uganda +3, Tunisia +2.

6 March 1978

Morocco File:Flag of Morocco.svg	1–1	File:Flag of Tunisia (1959–1999).svg Tunisia
Acila File:Soccerball shade.svg 29'	Report	Kaabi File:Soccerball shade.svg 63'

Kumasi Sports Stadium, Kumasi

Referee: Gebreyesus Tesfaye (Ethiopia)

6 March 1978

Uganda File:Flag of Uganda.svg	3–1	File:Flag of the People's Republic of the Congo.svg Congo
Omondi File:Soccerball shade.svg 1' Semwanga File:Soccerball shade.svg 31' Kisitu File:Soccerball shade.svg 81'	Report	Mamounoubala File:Soccerball shade.svg 80'

Kumasi Sports Stadium, Kumasi

Referee: Hussein Fahmy (Egypt)

9 March 1978

Tunisia File:Flag of Tunisia (1959–1999).svg	3–1	File:Flag of Uganda.svg Uganda
Labidi File:Soccerball shade.svg 36' Ben Aziza File:Soccerball shade.svg 38', 83'	Report	Musenze File:Soccerball shade.svg 71'

Kumasi Sports Stadium, Kumasi

Attendance: 50,000

Referee: Abdelkader Aouissi (Algeria)

9 March 1978

Morocco File:Flag of Morocco.svg	1–0	File:Flag of the People's Republic of the Congo.svg Congo
Acila File:Soccerball shade.svg 28'	Report

Kumasi Sports Stadium, Kumasi

Attendance: 50,000

Referee: Youssou N'Diaye (Senegal)

11 March 1978

Congo File:Flag of the People's Republic of the Congo.svg	0–0	File:Flag of Tunisia (1959–1999).svg Tunisia
	Report

Kumasi Sports Stadium, Kumasi

Attendance: 20,000

Referee: Salem Mohamed Adal (Libya)

11 March 1978

Uganda File:Flag of Uganda.svg	3–0	File:Flag of Morocco.svg Morocco
Kisitu File:Soccerball shade.svg 13' Nsereko File:Soccerball shade.svg 32' Omondi File:Soccerball shade.svg 36'	Report

Kumasi Sports Stadium, Kumasi

Attendance: 20,000

Referee: Théophile Lawson-Hétchéli (Togo)

Knockout stage

Semi-finals		Final

14 March – Accra

File:Flag of Ghana.svg Ghana	1
		16 March – Accra
File:Flag of Tunisia (1959–1999).svg Tunisia	0
		File:Flag of Ghana.svg Ghana	2
14 March – Kumasi
		File:Flag of Uganda.svg Uganda	0
File:Flag of Uganda.svg Uganda	2

File:Flag of Nigeria.svg Nigeria	1
		Third place

		16 March – Accra

		File:Flag of Tunisia (1959–1999).svg Tunisia	1

		File:Flag of Nigeria.svg Nigeria	1¹

Semi-finals

14 March 1978

Ghana File:Flag of Ghana.svg	1–0	File:Flag of Tunisia (1959–1999).svg Tunisia
Abdul Razak File:Soccerball shade.svg 57'	Report

Accra Sports Stadium, Accra

Attendance: 10,000

Referee: Youssef El Ghoul (Libya)

14 March 1978

Uganda File:Flag of Uganda.svg	2–1	File:Flag of Nigeria.svg Nigeria
Nasur File:Soccerball shade.svg 11' Omondi File:Soccerball shade.svg 58'	Report	Eyo File:Soccerball shade.svg 54'

Kumasi Sports Stadium, Kumasi

Attendance: 10,000

Referee: Abdelkader Aouissi (Algeria)

Third place match

16 March 1978

Nigeria File:Flag of Nigeria.svg	2–0 (Awarded)	File:Flag of Tunisia (1959–1999).svg Tunisia
Mohammed File:Soccerball shade.svg 42'	Report	Akid File:Soccerball shade.svg 19'

Accra Sports Stadium, Accra

Referee: Théophile Lawson-Hétchéli (Togo)

¹ The 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 suspended for two years (also banning them from the next tournament).^[2]

Final

16 March 1978

Ghana File:Flag of Ghana.svg	2–0	File:Flag of Uganda.svg Uganda
Afriyie File:Soccerball shade.svg 38', 64'	Report

Accra Sports Stadium, Accra

Attendance: 40,000

Referee: Youssef El Ghoul (Libya)

Goalscorers

There were 38 goals scored in 16 matches, for an average of 2.38 goals per match.

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

CAF Team of the Tournament

^[1] Goalkeeper

File:Flag of Morocco.svg Mohammed Al-Hazaz

Defenders

Midfielders

Forwards

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 "African Nations Cup 1978". RSSSF. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
↑ "16 March 1978 – The Eagles Of Carthage Get Grounded". thisdayinfootballhistory.blogspot.com. 16 March 2013. Retrieved 30 March 2013.

External links

[1] Bold indicates champion for that year, Italic indicates host.

[3] Ivory Coast originally qualified by beating Mali 2–1 on aggregate, but both teams were disqualified: Ivory Coast for fielding an ineligible player in the second leg, and Mali due to police and stadium security assaulting the match officials during the first leg. Upper Volta, who had lost to Ivory Coast in the previous round, were given their place in the finals^[1].

[table_hth_UGA0.14739654173488-4] 1.0 ^1.1 Tied on overall points. Overall goal difference: Uganda +3, Tunisia +2.

[:0-2] 1.0 ^1.1 "African Nations Cup 1978". RSSSF. Retrieved 4 June 2018.

[5] "16 March 1978 – The Eagles Of Carthage Get Grounded". thisdayinfootballhistory.blogspot.com. 16 March 2013. Retrieved 30 March 2013.

[lower-alpha 1]

[lower-alpha 2]

[1]

[lower-alpha 1]

[2]

v t e Africa Cup of Nations
Editions	Sudan 1957 United Arab Republic 1959 Ethiopia 1962 Ghana 1963 Tunisia 1965 Ethiopia 1968 Sudan 1970 Cameroon 1972 Egypt 1974 Ethiopia 1976 Ghana 1978 Nigeria 1980 Libya 1982 Ivory Coast 1984 Egypt 1986 Morocco 1988 Algeria 1990 Senegal 1992 Tunisia 1994 South Africa 1996 Burkina Faso 1998 Ghana/Nigeria 2000 Mali 2002 Tunisia 2004 Egypt 2006 Ghana 2008 Angola 2010 Gabon/Equatorial Guinea 2012 South Africa 2013 Equatorial Guinea 2015 Gabon 2017 Egypt 2019 Cameroon 2021 Ivory Coast 2023 Morocco 2025 Kenya/Tanzania/Uganda 2027 TBD 2029
Qualification	1957 1959 1962 1963 1965 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2013 2015 2017 2019 2021 2023 2025
Finals	1957 1959 1962 1963 1965 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2013 2015 2017 2019 2021 2023
Bids	2027 2029
Squads	1957 1959 1962 1963 1965 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2013 2015 2017 2019 2021 2023
Statistics	Finals Appearances Awards Records and statistics Hat-tricks
Miscellaneous	Balls Mascots Music Trophy
Notes The 2021 and 2023 tournaments were actually held in 2022 and 2024 respectively. There were no 1957 and 1959 qualifications as places were given by invitation only. The "finals" articles for 1959 and 1976 are about the decisive matches of final group stages. File:Africa Football 3.svg Football in Africa portal

1978 African Cup of Nations

Contents

Qualified teams

Squads

Venues

Group stage

Tiebreakers

Group A

Group B

Knockout stage

Semi-finals

Third place match

Final

Goalscorers

CAF Team of the Tournament

References

External links

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