Following their shock 1-0 defeat to South Africa at Cairo International Stadium on Saturday (6 July 2019), Egypt joined an unfavorable list of host teams that were eliminated from the first round of knockout stages.
Since adopting the knockout stage (apart from the semifinal of the 8 teams Africa Cup of Nations format) in 1992 when the number of participating teams raised to 12, only six previous hosts crashed from the first knockout stage of the competition. The Pharaohs became the first host to crash out of the newly introduced round of 16 as this is the first AFCON edition to witness the participation of 24 teams.
Hosts Senegal lost 1-0 to Cameroon in the 1992 quarter finals. In 2000, co-hosts Ghana suffered the same fate against South Africa. Angola lost by the same result to Ghana in 2010. In 2012, both co-hosts Equatorial Guinea and Gabon lost in the quarterfinals, Equatorial Guinea 3-0 to Cote d’Ivoire and Gabon on penalty shootout to Mali. Mali once again eliminated the hosts a year later beating South Africa on penalties also in 2013.
List of host teams that crashed out of AFCON knockout stage
1992 Quarter finals Senegal 0-1 Cameroon
2000 Quarter finals Ghana 0-1 South Africa
2010 Quarter finals Angola 0-1 Ghana
2012 Quarter finals Equatorial Guinea 0-3 Cote d’Ivoire
2012 Quarter finals Gabon 1-1 (4-5 pen.) Mali
2013 Quarter finals South Africa 1-1 (1-3 pen.) Mali
2019 Round of 16 Egypt 0-1 South Africa
