\n<\/p>\n
Former Ivory Coast defender Emmanuel Eboue told the BBC before the tournament that African sides were susceptible to conceding late goals because of a lack of concentration.<\/p>\n
His assertion was born out as DR Congo<\/a> and the Ivorians<\/a> both conceded winners in the 86th minute of their last-32 ties, while Canada scored in the second minute of added time to send South Africa home<\/a> in the same round.<\/p>\n Senegal (against Belgium in the last 32) and Egypt (against Argentina in the last 16) went from 2-0 up late on to 2-2 within the space of three and five minutes respectively. The Teranga Lions eventually lost to a 125th-minute penalty<\/a> and the Pharaohs were eliminated by Enzo Fernandez’s 92nd-minute header.<\/a><\/p>\n With Algeria and the Ivorians also conceding injury-time goals when on the brink of famous results in the group stage, it begs the question: do African teams have a problem closing out games?<\/p>\n “I wouldn’t say it was a trend. I think it’s just unlucky,” Dr Nikita Rowley, a chartered psychologist and course director for sport and exercise psychology at Coventry University, told BBC Sport Africa.<\/p>\n “Every team is more susceptible to mistakes in the closing stages of a match. By that point players are experiencing both physical and cognitive fatigue.<\/p>\n “That cognitive fatigue can affect attention, decision making, communication and makes more lapses more likely. Emotions can be heightened and every action carries greater significance.<\/p>\n “The closer you get to something historic, the more psychologically demanding it can become.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n