AFCON
Equatorial Guinea revive 2023 AFCON qualifying chances after win over Libya
Equatorial Guinea revived their chances of qualifying for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations when beating Libya 2-0 in Malabo on Monday night.
An own goal by Libyan defender Mohammed Alhadddaj and a penalty converted by Frederico Bikoro in the second half sealed the victory for the home side in Malabo.
The victory put the Nzalang Nacional back in contention for a place at the tournament to be staged in Cote d’Ivoire next year after losing their opening Group J match.
Following their emphatic 4-0 defeat at the hands of Tunisia in their opening group match over the weekend, the Equatoguineans were eyeing a win to revive their campaign.
The Nzalang Nacional were keen on making amends but found Mediterranean Knights difficult to crack in the first-half as they dominated the exchanges. After the break, the Libyan defence finally lost concentration when left-back Basilio Ndong laid a nice pass to Juan José whose attempt at goal was inadvertently turned in by Libyan defender Mohammed Alhadddaj in the 51st minute.
Despite the pressure of the Libyans, the Nzalang Nacional managed to extend their lead with six minutes remaining when Bikoro converted a penalty after Sand Masaud handled the ball in his own penalty area.
Tunisia and Libya, who had won in the first match of the group stage against Equatorial Guinea (4-0) and Botswana (1-0) respectively, have now been stopped.
Libya lost 2-0 on Monday while Tunisia only drew 0-0 on Sunday against Botswana.
This means all the teams in the group remain in the race for qualification for AFCON TotalEnergies 2023 which will take place in Côte d’Ivoire.
At the end of the six matches, the first two teams will get their ticket for Cote d’Ivoire 2023.
According to Libyan sources, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) will announce its final decision on the botched Libya-Nigeria Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match.
The two parties had until Sunday, October 19th, to submit their sides of the case. But as Libya Al-Ahrar Channel puts it, not just the failed match at Benina Stadium is being investigated.
The publication has it that the Libyan Football Federation (LFF) may have asked that the first-leg match that Libya lost should be included in the investigation.
According to Libya Al-Ahrar Channel, investigations “will include the events that accompanied the first and second leg matches between the national team and Nigeria in the qualifiers for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.”
The Libyan Federation submitted all the documents it collected with a specialized lawyer assigned by the Libyan Federation to supervise the Libyan file with the Confederation of African Football.
AFCON
Prominent Libyan football official calls for tough sanction on those responsible for Super Eagles’ maltreatment
A prominent Libyan football official, Al-Siddiq Abu Hadima,has called for tough sanctions on the Libyan Football Federation officials responsible for the crisis that engulfed the suspended Libya-Nigeria Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match.
Hadima, a former president of the Al-Dhahra Club, asked for the dismissal and prosecution of those responsible for the crisis.
In a publication in Libya’s outlet. Al-Wasat, Hadima recommended that if such people failed to submit a report that will exonerate them when the Sunday 20 October deadline issued by CAF lapses, “then they must be prosecuted and permanently dismissed.”
Al-Wasat got Hadima’s comments from his post on Facebook and remarked that “this negligence – if it happened – constitutes a betrayal of trust and a lack of awareness of the gravity of responsibility.”
It will be recalled that the Nigerian delegation to the botched match was held up for close to 20 hours at an abandoned Labraq Airport where their aircraft already on descent was dangerously diverted to.
The Nigerians were left without food and water for nearly 20 hours. CAF has already strongly condemned the actions of the Libyans.
As an investigation into the botched Libya-Nigeria Africa Cup of Nations match, the Libyan FA secretary, Nasser Al-Suwaie has raised queries on the integrity of the personnel of the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
In a report published in the online version of Libyaalahrar.tv, Al-Suwaie remarked that there may be collusion from some parties within CAF, but the position of the Libyan Federation is strong.
He added that the Libyan Federation did not change the course of the plane’s landing to Al-Abraq Airport, and the reason for changing the plane’s landing to Al-Abraq was a decision by the Libyan state, and that the sovereignty of the Libyan state must be respected by everyone.
He however was silent on why the team was held hostage at the Al Abraq Airport and why the Libyan FA did not provide any logistic support to the Nigerian team that was held up at the airport for more than 16 hours without food and water.
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