The Africa Cup of Nations 2019 Round of 16 produced some results which shocked the continent’s football fraternity.

The general belief that ‘big teams’ dominate African football is a deep-rooted perception which makes people underrate certain teams to the point of making forthwith conclusions when predicting games.

That being said, this past week’s results showed otherwise.

Benin’s elimination of Herve Renard’s Morocco was a big shock, considering the reputation the North Africans’ coach has in African football.

South Africa’s defeat of hosts Egypt was by far the most shocking result at the continental showpiece so far, the hosts crashed out in front of 70 000 screaming fans, much to the disbelief of football fans across the continent.

Lastly, the fact that Madagascar progressed to the quarter-finals at the expense of DRC makes it football blindness for one to still see the existence  of “small teams” in African football.