The Africa Cup of Nations 2023, which many are also calling CAN 2023 or AFCON 2023, is the 34th edition of Africa’s biggest footballing event, and the host nation this year is the Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire) in West Africa. The tournament is already underway and will end with the final on February 11, 2024.
The tournament was supposed to have been held in 2023, but due to adverse weather conditions in the Ivory Coast, there were many delays, so it didn’t get started until January 13, 2024. This is why some people have been calling the tournament AFCON 2024 when it’s actually AFCON 2023.
Let’s dive straight in to examine which AFCON bets might be worth taking a risk on and which bets are best left alone on major South African iGaming sites such as the official 10bet SA online sports betting website.
Who Are The odds-on Favourites To Win AFCON 2023?
We are still not even halfway through the group stages of AFCON 2023, but today’s most trusted online bookmakers (sports betting website operators) are already backing Senegal to win the tournament outright.
They are the current reigning champions after beating Egypt 4-2 (a.e.t.) on penalties in the final at AFCON 2023. They are already at the top of Group C, above Guinea, Cameroon, and Gambia.
Let’s take a closer look at the latest average odds currently being offered on trusted iGaming sites like 10bet for Senegal to win AFCON 2023 outright and compare those odds with some of the other favourites who also have a good chance of winning:
- Team: Senegal. Decimal odds: 4.33. Implied probability rate (IPR): 23.10%
- Team: Morocco. Decimal odds: 5.00. IPR: 20.00%
- Team: Ivory Coast. Decimal odds: 8.00. IPR: 12.50%
- Team: Nigeria. Decimal odds: 10.00. IPR: 10.00%
In other words, based on these latest, accurate Africa Cup of Nations betting odds, placing a wager on Senegal to win AFCON 2023 outright would be a relatively safe bet.
However, always remember that no bets are ever guaranteed to return you any winnings and that anything can happen in football.
Additionally, these latest odds are subject to change at any time, so if you want to place an outright winner bet on who might win this year, always pay close attention to the latest odds.
For example, 4.33 might be an excellent price right now for Senegal. If they make it to the final, the decimal odds they are currently priced at (4.33) are [theoretically] likely to come down to around 1.57, meaning they would have a better chance of winning outright (63.60%), but you would win less if you bet the same amount of money.
With that in mind, it would be a good idea to place a bet right now on Senegal to win (if you think they will go on to win) rather than waiting until the final.
Which Player Will Score The Most Goals And Win The Golden Boot Award?
The Golden Boot award goes to one player who scores the most goals throughout a tournament or season in fewer games than any other player.
For example, if a player scores ten goals at AFCON 2023, but their team crashes out in the group stages, and another player scores ten goals and makes it all the way to the final, the player who scored 10 goals but crashed out in the group stages would win the golden boot award because he scored more goals in fewer games, which makes things fair.
Let’s take a quick look at what some of the latest odds are for which player might end up scoring more goals than anyone else in the least amount of games played:
- Team: Egypt. Player: Mohamed Salah. Decimal odds: 6.00. IPR: 16.70%
- Team: Nigeria. Player: Victor Osimhen. Decimal odds: 7.00. IPR: 14.30%
- Team: Morocco. Player: Youssef En-Nesyri. Decimal odds: 13.00. IPR: 7.70%
- Team: Senegal. Player: Sadio Mane. Decimal odds: 13.00. IPR: 7.70%
Another surprise contender who could score the most goals is 34-year-old Emilio Nsue, who plays for Equatorial Guinea. He managed to net a hat-trick (3 goals in one match) in their 4-2 win over Guinea-Bissau. Also, Baghdad Bounedjah has already scored a brace (2 goals in one game) in a 2-2 draw against Burkina Faso.
Final note
Although there is often a temptation to place a bet on markets with long odds (low implied probability rates) because of the potential profit margin, these bets are best left alone.
Try to bet sensibly and gamble responsibly by placing informed bets that are more likely to return a profit. You can do so by understanding what the odds/IPR are trying to tell you.
You can also place better wagers that are more likely to win by gathering as much relevant data as possible before betting. This means reading the latest team news and finding out which players are in form, injured, etc.
If you live in South Africa and want to place any bets on AFCON before it’s too late, head over to SA’s number-one iGaming site, 10bet South Africa, and register your free account. This fully licensed and regulated online sports betting site is well-known for having some of the industry’s most competitive soccer betting odds.
