31 January 2010 - A Multi-Record Setting Goal

On 31 January 2010, Egypt won the Africa Cup of Nations with a record nineteenth consecutive unbeaten match in the tournament, a streak that dates back to 2004.

The run of unbeaten games started in February 2004, when they played to a scoreless draw with Cameroon in the last group stage match (which was also Egypt's last match of that competition, as they failed to advance). And it continued through the 2006 and 2008 tournaments, both of which Egypt won (their fifth and sixth trophies overall).

Then, in 2010, they remained unbeaten to reach the final, where they faced Ghana. Played before a crowd of 50,000 at the Estádio 11 de Novembro in the Angolan capital of Luanda, the match remained scoreless until the 85th minute, when substitute midfielder Mohamed "Gedo" Nagy scored to put Egypt up 0-1. They held on to that margin to claim their record third consecutive Cup of Nations and seventh title overall.

In addition to being their nineteenth unbeaten match, it was also their record ninth consecutive win. Both streaks remain active as Egypt failed to qualify for the 2012 and 2013 tournaments.

8 October 2011 - Sometimes, It Helps To Read The Rules In Advance

On 8 October 2011, South Africa played to a scoreless draw with Sierra Leone, thinking the result qualified them for the African Cup of Nations. They were wrong.

It was the final match for both teams in Group G of the tournament's qualifying stage, with South Africa starting the day one point behind group leaders Niger, who were playing Egypt at the same time South Africa faced off against Sierra Leone.

With the latter two locked in a scoreless draw midway through the second half, South Africa received news that Niger had fallen behind Egypt by the score of 3-0. If the scores held, South Africa and Niger would finish level on points, but South Africa would have a goal differential of +2 to Niger's -2. Content to play for the draw, South African boss Pitso Mosimane made a late substitution, bringing on a midfielder in place of a striker. And, when the match ended 0-0, the South Africans celebrated the result with a dance and a lap of honor before their exultant fans.

What they failed to realize, however, was that goal differential did not serve as the tie-breaker. Instead, the rules of the tournament provided that teams level on points were to be ranked by their head-to-head record against each other. That metric favored Niger.

South Africa lodged a protest, claiming that goal differential should have been the deciding factor, but later dropped their appeal. Niger advanced to the Cup, where they were eliminated in the group stage after losing all three matches.