AFCON
PICTURE OF TEAMS ON AFCON QUALIFYING ON LAST MATCH DAY
With Africa Cup of Nations, Cameroon 2021 Qualifiers reaching its final Match Day, here’s how it stands in the qualifiers 12 groups.
Group A
- Both Mali and Guinea qualified to Cameroon 2021.
- Chad is disqualified while Namibia is eliminated.
Group B
Burkina Faso guaranteed their spot in next year’s finals. South Sudan is eliminated.
Uganda (8 points) and Malawi (7) battle for the second group slot. They face each other in Blantyre, where draw is enough for Uganda to qualify while Malawi needs a win.
Group C
Ghana qualified for the finals, while Sao Tome and Principe are eliminated.
South Africa (10 points) and Sudan (9) are still in the race. They lock horns in Omdurman, where Sudan must win to qualify while South Africa needs a point.
Group D
Gabon and Gambia qualified. DR Congo and Angola are eliminated.
Group E
Morocco qualified to the finals.
Mauritania (6 points), Burundi (5) and Central African Republic (4) battle for the second ticket.
Central African Republic hosts Mauritania in Bangui while Burundi plays Morocco in Rabat.
– Mauritania qualifies if they win, or draw coupled with Burundi failing to win.
– Burundi qualifies only if they win coupled with Mauritania failing to win.
– Central African Republic qualifies only if they win, coupled with Burundi failing to win.
Group F
Cameroon qualified automatically as hosts.
Cape Verde (7 points), Rwanda (5) and Mozambique (4) are in the race for the second ticket.
Mozambique hosts Cape Verde in Maputo while Cameroon and Rwanda face in Douala.
– Cape Verde qualifies if they win, or draw with Rwanda failing to win.
– Rwanda qualifies only if they win coupled with Cape Verde losing.
– In case of Rwanda winning and Cape Verde having a draw, goal difference will determine who qualifies, as the head-to-head between them is 0-0 in aggregate. Goal difference is currently Cape Verde (+2) and Rwanda (-2).
– Mozambique only qualifies if they win coupled with Rwanda failing to win.
Group G
Egypt and Comoros qualified. Kenya and Togo are eliminated.
Group H
Algeria and Zimbabwe qualified. Botswana and Zambia are eliminated.
Group I
Senegal qualified, Eswatini are eliminated.
Congo (8 points) and Guinea-Bissau (6) battle for the second ticket. They lock horns in Bissau where the hosts need a win to qualify, while just a draw is enough for Congo to go through.
Group J
Tunisia and Equatorial Guinea qualified. Tanzania and Libya are eliminated.
Group K
Cote d’Ivoire qualified; Niger is eliminated.
Ethiopia (9 points) and Madagascar (7) battle for second spot. Madagascar entertains Niger while Ethiopia is away to Cote d’Ivoire.
A draw is enough for Ethiopia to qualify as they enjoy a better head-to-head result with Madagascar, who will only qualify if they win and Ethiopia lose.
Group L
Nigeria qualified, Lesotho is eliminated.
Benin (7 points) and Sierra Leone (4) are still in the race. They lock horns in Freetown.
A draw sees Benin through, while Sierra Leone needs a win to qualify
The Libyan Football Federation (LFF) has sacked its Serbian coach, Milutin Sredojević who is popularly known as Micho.
This is coming ahead of Libya’s back-to-back Africa Cup of Nations clashes with Nigeria next month.
Paradoxically, Sports Village Square gathered that the coach’s contract was only recently renewed for six months before the axe fell on the Serbian.
His sack was precipitated by the results obtained in their teo matches of the AFCON qualifiers.
Libya drew 1-1 with Rwanda at home and lost 2-1 away to Benin Republic despite beig a goal up at half time.
The Libyan side, Mediterranean Knights are due to play against the Nigeria Super Eagles in Uyo on 6 October while the return leg holds on 14 October at the 11 July Stadium in Tripoli.
According to information Sports Village Square gathered from Tripoli, the Mediterranean Knights’ coach, Micho led the Libyan national team to win nine matches since taking over in October of last year, he failed to build a strong team due to his poor choices.
He also took a risk with the footballers chosen in the AFCON qualifiers, and the result was shocking to the Libyan sports audience.
According to sources close to the Libyan Football Federation, there is a strong tendency to sign a national coach to lead the Libyan team during the remaining qualifiers for the African Cup of Nations.
CAF President Patrice Motsepe has lashed out at Ghana and some other African countries whose home grounds were recently banned from hosting CAF matches owing to inadequate facilities. He made the remarks in Nairobi, Kenya during a press conference,
After the MatchDay 2 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, CAF ruled Ghana’s Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi as being inadequate to host international matches. Being the only approved ground in the country, Ghana will now look towards either Cote d’Ivoire or Togo for their remaining home matches of the Afcon qualifiers.
Other African countries without approved home grounds are: Djibouti, Chad, Niger, Eritrea, Gabon, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, São Tomé and Burundi.
Motsepe voiced his frustration over the recurring issue of nations being unable to host home games.
“Nothing frustrates me more than a national team or club side having to play home matches outside,” he stated.
He stressed the significance of playing in front of home fans, adding, “You can’t grow football if the national teams or club sides aren’t playing in front of their home fans.”
Motsepe reiterated CAF’s commitment to working with countries to ensure they have at least one suitable stadium to host international fixtures.
“Our conversations in every country are to make sure there is at least one stadium capable of hosting a CAF category C game,” he emphasized.
The on-going CAF AFCON Cote d’Ivoire 2023 Coaches Symposium in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire has brought together, the last three coaches that handled the Nigeria national football team.
Gernot Rohr, Jose Peseiro and Austin Eguavoen are part of the the elite coaches currently gathered in Abidjan.
Gernot Rohr whose tenure of 5 years and 55 matches is the longest ever by any coach in Nigeria, is currently handling Nigeria’s Africa Cupof Nations and World Cup qualifying rivals, Benin Republic. He was succeeded in the interim by Austin Eguavoen who is currently having another interim stint.
Peseiro left his position after the Africa Cup of Nations
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