Africa Cup of Nations 2015: Schedule and how to watch on Day 6

More Africa Cup of Nations games on Thursday, please! The European club organizations are done with their midweek action for the most part, so AFCON gets to take center stage on TV. If you live in the United States or Canada, you’re in luck, because both of Thursday’s games will be shown live.

There are two very solid, unpredictable matches on the schedule, with Group B looking as wide-open as initially expected.

There weren’t a lot of goals, but there’s certainly plenty to talk about. Let’s get the negative out of the way first so we can close this section on a positive note.

Equatorial Guinea vs. Burkina Faso was one of the worst games this tournament has produced since non-Africans started to be able to watch it. There were hardly any chances at all, which was most disappointing for Burkina Faso, who were poor for the second game in a row. The Stallions came into this tournament as dark horse favorites, but they’ve had issues with accommodations in Equatorial Guinea and it appears to have affected them to the point that they no longer look capable of challenging for the title. It’s a shame, they have one of the best squads in Africa.

Group A’s other game on Wednesday featured a more positive surprise, with Congo defeating Gabon. After the Panthers’ first round win over Burkina Faso they were expected to grab another three points in their next match, but Congo pulled off the upset and now tops the group. Given the scoring records of Congo’s players at club level, it’s pretty amazing that they have two goals in two games.

Group B is wide open after a pair of 1-1 draws, which was about what everyone expected. It was clear when the draw was made that this was the best group, with no powerhouses or minnows, and that everyone had about an equal chance to advance.

The Copper Bullets scored just two minutes into their first match, and that was about as good as it would get for them. Democratic Republic of the Congo dominated the rest of their match, and Zambia were lucky to draw. Tunsia’s game didn’t unfold in exactly the same way, but the outcome was the same -- a 1-1 draw where they were not the better side. On the evidence of the opening games, each of these teams might need a win to feel good about their chances of advancing.

And that means the other game is one between the new group favorites, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Cape Verde. These two teams have been working their way up the pecking order in African football over the past half-decade and one of them could finally arrive as a contender for Africa Cup of Nations this time around. These are both games worth watching, but if you’re only feeling brave enough to sneak-watch one at work, pick the late one.

Thanks to Wikipedia for being on top of things with handy charts.