AFCON 2023: the teams who have retained their title
Cameroon and Egypt are the only countries to have successfully defended and retained the African champions' title.
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Senegal will try to retain their African title at AFCON 2023. If they manage it, the Lions of Teranga will join a very select group of countries who have pulled off the feat. So far, only Egypt, Cameroon and Ghana have done it.
Egypt, forever the first
The most successful nation (7), Egypt pulled off a historic double at the first two AFCONs: first in 1957, then in 1959 under the name of the United Arab Republic (Egypt, Syria and Yemen). The Egyptians beat Ethiopia (4-0) and Sudan (2-1) respectively in the finals. It was the first back to back for the Pharaohs.
A landmark moment in African football history that would become even more remarkable in the 2000s. Indeed, the Egyptians went on to win 3 trophies in that period, on top of the two titles claimed at the 1986 and 1998 editions. Hosts of the AFCON in 2006, Egypt lifted the trophy and began a run that will go down in the history books.
With a golden generation, the Pharaohs won the next two editions as well (2008 and 2010), completing a historic treble, the only one in the history of the Africa Cup of Nations. Since then, no African champion has managed to retain their title.
Read more on the same topic: AFCON 2023: who can dethrone Édouard Mendy?
Cameroon in 2000 and 2002
Cameroon are one of the few African champions to have defended their title and kept it. Winners of AFCON 2000 against Nigeria (2-2, 4-3 on penalties), the Indomitable Lions repeated the feat at the next edition in Mali against Senegal (0-0,3-2 on penalties). The Cameroonians thus won their 3rd and 4th Africa Cups. They claimed a 5th AFCON in 2017 but could not repeat the feat of retaining it, going out in the round of 16 in 2019.
Read more on the same topic: AFCON 2023: everything you need to know about Ivory Coast?
Ghana in 1963 and 1965
In 1963, Ghana won their first continental title. The Black Stars went on to play 3 consecutive finals after that triumph. They retained their title in 1965 but lost respectively to DR Congo and Sudan in the other two. Ghana returned to the final in 1978 to win their 3rd title. At the following edition, the Black Stars failed again, going out in the first round. At the edition after that, Ghana won a 4th AFCON.
🇩🇿Algeria, reigning African champions, made a premature exit from AFCON 2021. The Fennecs were knocked out in the first round. But Algeria are not the only nation to have suffered such a disappointment. AFCON history has a good dozen of them.… pic.twitter.com/IFahaDJMlL
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