| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Ghana |
| Dates | 5–16 March |
| Teams | 8 |
| Venue | 2 (in 2 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Ghana (3rd title) |
| Runners-up |  Uganda |
| Third place |  Nigeria |
| Fourth place |  Tunisia |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 16 |
| Goals scored | 38 (2.38 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Opoku AfriyieSegun OdegbamiPhillip Omondi (3 goals each) |
| Best player | Karim Abdul Razak |
←1976 1980 → | |
The1978 African Cup of Nations was the eleventh edition of theAfrica Cup of Nations, thefootball championship of Africa (CAF). It was hosted byAccra andKumasi, Ghana. The format of thecompetition changed from1976: 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, beatingUganda in the final 2−0.
Ivory Coast andMali 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.
The 8 qualified teams are:
| Team | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previous appearances in tournament[a] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ghana | Hosts | 4 (1963,1965,1968,1970) | |
 Morocco | Holders | 14 March 1976 | 2 (1972,1976) |
| Nigeria | 2nd round winners | 26 June 1977 | 2 (1963,1976) |
| Uganda | 2nd round winners | 26 June 1977 | 4 (1962,1968,1974,1976) |
 Zambia | 2nd round winners | 26 June 1977 | 1 (1974) |
 Upper Volta[b] | 2nd round winners | 17 July 1977 | 0 (debut) |
 Congo | 2nd round winners | 31 July 1977 | 3 (19681972,1974) |
| Tunisia | 2nd round winners | 16 October 1977 | 3 (1962,1963,1965) |
The competition was played in two venues inAccra andKumasi.
| Accra | |
|---|---|
| Accra Sports Stadium | |
| Capacity:40,000 | |
 | |
| Kumasi | |
| Kumasi Sports Stadium | |
| Capacity:40,500 | |
 |
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:
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ghana(H) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 5 | Advance toKnockout stage |
| 2 | Nigeria | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 4 | |
| 3 | Zambia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 3 | |
| 4 | Upper Volta | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 9 | −7 | 0 |
| Nigeria | 4–2 | Upper Volta |
|---|---|---|
Chukwu 17'Amiesimaka 31'Odegbami 44',82' | Report | Hien 50' Koïta 52' |
| Zambia | 2–0 | Upper Volta |
|---|---|---|
| P. Phiri 20' B. Phiri 88' | Report |
| Ghana | 3–0 | Upper Volta |
|---|---|---|
| Alhassan 3',59' Polo 52' | Report |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Uganda | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 4[a] | Advance toKnockout stage |
| 2 | Tunisia | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 4[a] | |
| 3 | Morocco | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 3 | |
| 4 | Congo | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 1 |
| Uganda | 3–1 | Congo |
|---|---|---|
| Omondi 1' Semwanga 31'Kisitu 81' | Report | Mamounoubala 80' |
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 14 March –Accra | ||||||
| Ghana | 1 | |||||
| 16 March –Accra | ||||||
| Tunisia | 0 | |||||
| Ghana | 2 | |||||
| 14 March –Kumasi | ||||||
| Uganda | 0 | |||||
| Uganda | 2 | |||||
| Nigeria | 1 | |||||
| Third place | ||||||
| 16 March –Accra | ||||||
| Tunisia | 1 | |||||
| Nigeria | 11 | |||||
| Ghana | 1–0 | Tunisia |
|---|---|---|
| Abdul Razak 57' | Report |
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]
There were 38 goals scored in 16 matches, for an average of 2.38 goals per match.
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
Goalkeeper
Defenders
Midfielders
Forwards
| Editions |
|
|---|---|
| Qualification | |
| Finals | |
| Bids | |
| Squads | |
| Statistics | |
| Miscellaneous | |
| |
