AFCON
Facts & Figures as AFCON 2025 qualifiers enter Matchday 3
As the road to the Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco 2025 continues, Matchday 3 promises to deliver thrilling encounters across the continent.
With teams vying for qualification, the stakes are higher than ever as 48 teams are in action from Thursday in their quest to qualify for Africa’s flagship football competition.
Here are the key facts and figures ahead of the upcoming matches.
Namibia – Zimbabwe (10 October 2024)
- Namibia have lost their last three AFCON qualifiers, while they’ve conceded at least once in 12 of their 13 such matches (W4 D2 L7).
- Zimbabwe have drawn each of their two AFCON qualifiers in 2024 0-0, more goalless draws than in their previous 28 qualifying games combined (1).
- Zimbabwe’s Khama Billiat has been involved in more shots (12—5 shots, 7 chances created) without registering a goal or assist than any other player in the AFCON 2025 qualifiers so far.
Cabo Verde – Botswana (10 October 2024)
- Only one of Cabo Verde’s last 10 AFCON qualifiers has ended in a draw (W6 L3), that was against Eswatini in March 2023 (0-0).
- Botswana have won only two of their last 22 AFCON qualifiers (D3 L17). These victories were against Zambia in November 2020 (1-0) and Libya in June 2022 (1-0).
- Cabo Verde’s all-time cap record holder and leading goalscorer Ryan Mendes has had only two shots in this AFCON qualification phase; he’s found the net with both attempts.
Burkina Faso – Burundi (10 October 2024)
- Burkina Faso have lost just one of their last 15 AFCON qualifiers (W8 D6), with their only defeat in this run coming against Cabo Verde in June 2023 (1-3).
- Burundi have alternated between defeat and victory in each of their last five AFCON qualifiers, losing 1-0 to Senegal in their most recent such match.
- Only four teams have had fewer shots than Burundi (15) in the AFCON 2025 qualifiers so far, yet while they’ve scored three goals, only Uganda (28.6%) and Egypt (28%) have a better shot conversion rate than Burundi (20%).
Algeria – Togo (10 October 2024)
- Algeria are unbeaten in their last 16 AFCON qualifiers (W12 D4). Their last defeat dates back to October 2018 against Benin (0-1), and they haven’t lost on home soil in the competition since June 2007 (0-2 against Guinea).
- Togo are unbeaten in their last five AFCON qualifiers (W2 D3), with their last three matches producing 11 goals (an average of 3.7 per game).
- Algeria’s Amine Gouiri has scored three goals in his last four international matches, including two in his last two AFCON qualifiers.
DR Congo – Tanzania (10 October 2024)
- DR Congo have won each of their last six AFCON qualifiers without conceding a goal, with their last defeat coming against Sudan in June 2022 (1-2).
- Tanzania are unbeaten in their last four AFCON qualifiers (W2 D2), with those four matches producing only four goals (3 for, 1 against).
- DR Congo’s Fiston Mayele has scored three goals in his last four AFCON qualifiers, all in the final 15 minutes of the game.
Madagascar – Gambia (11 October 2024)
- Madagascar are winless in their last 12 AFCON qualifiers (D6 L6), with their last victory dating back to November 2019 (6-2 vs Niger). They have only scored two goals in their last 10 qualifiers.
- Gambia have lost seven of their last nine matches in all competitions (W1 D1), with their only victory coming against Seychelles last June (5-1). Their last five matches have produced 21 goals (11 for, 10 against), an average of 4.2 per game.
- Only Cameroon’s Carlos Baleba (10) has completed more dribbles than Gambia’s Yankuba Minteh (8) over the first two matchdays of the 2025 AFCON qualifiers.
Tunisia – Comoros (11 October 2024)
- Tunisia have won their last 16 AFCON qualifiers on home soil. The last team to avoid defeat against them was Sierra Leone in October 2012 (0-0).
- Comoros are unbeaten in their last four AFCON qualifiers (W1 D3), with each of the last three ending 1-1.
- Comoros’ Youssef M’Changama has had only two shots on target in these AFCON qualifiers but has scored with both attempts. Both goals have come from outside the box, including a direct free-kick against Gambia on matchday one.
Gabon – Lesotho (11 October 2024)
- Gabon have lost four of their last five AFCON qualifiers but were victorious in their last outing, beating Central African Republic 2-0 in September.
- Lesotho have won only one of their last 17 AFCON qualifiers (D6 L10), their victory coming against Seychelles in March 2022 (3-1). They have lost each of their last six matches in the competition.
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has scored in each of his last three matches for Gabon. He’ll be attempting to score in a fourth consecutive international match for the first time in his career.
Egypt – Mauritania (11 October 2024)
- Egypt are the leading scorers after the first two matchdays of the 2025 AFCON qualifiers, netting seven times (without conceding a goal), with six different players scoring. Trézéguet is the only player to score more than once for Egypt.
- Egypt have won each of their last six AFCON qualifiers (16 goals for, 1 against). In total, they have lost only one of their last 19 AFCON qualifiers (W14 D4), with that loss coming against Ethiopia in June 2022.
- Mauritania have won only two of their last 14 matches in all competitions (D3 L9). Their wins were against Algeria at AFCON (1-0) and Botswana in the AFCON qualifiers in September (1-0).
Benin – Rwanda (11 October 2024)
- Benin have won only two of their last 11 AFCON qualifiers (D3 L6), with victories against Rwanda in March 2023 (3-0) and Libya in September 2024 (2-1).
- Rwanda have won only one of their last 22 AFCON qualifiers, with that victory coming against Mozambique in March 2021 (1-0). Since 2020, 67% of their AFCON qualifiers have ended in a draw (8/12).
- Benin’s Steve Mounié has contested 28 and won 16 more aerial duels than any other player in the 2025 AFCON qualifiers so far.
Nigeria – Libya (11 October 2024)
- Nigeria have won 14 of their last 19 AFCON qualifiers, losing only once (0-1 vs Guinea-Bissau in March 2023).
- Nigeria and Libya’s two previous clashes in AFCON qualifiers produced nine goals in total, with Nigeria winning both encounters in October 2018 (4-0 and 3-2).
- Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen has scored 16 goals across the last three editions of AFCON qualifiers, more than any other player.
Equatorial Guinea – Liberia (11 October 2024)
- Equatorial Guinea have failed to win any of their last three AFCON qualifiers (D2 L1), their longest winless streak since 2018.
- Liberia have lost only one of their last seven matches in all competitions (W3 D3). Their defeat came against Algeria in this AFCON qualifying edition (0-3).
- Liberia’s 61.2% passing accuracy after two matches is the lowest among the 48 teams in this AFCON qualifying group phase.
Angola – Niger (11 October 2024)
- Angola have lost only one of their last nine AFCON qualifiers (W5 D3), with that defeat coming against Ghana in March 2023 (0-1).
- Niger are winless in their last 11 AFCON qualifiers (D4 L7). Their last victory was against Ethiopia in November 2020 (1-0).
- Only two players have made more tackles than Niger’s Youssouff Oumarou (9) in the AFCON 2025 qualifiers. He’s the only player to both concede (7) and win (8) at least seven fouls in the competition so far.
Ghana – Sudan (11 October 2024)
- Ghana have won only two of their last 11 matches in all competitions (D5 L4) and are winless in their opening two matches of the 2025 AFCON qualifiers (D1 L1).
- None of Sudan’s last 21 AFCON qualifiers has ended in a draw. They have won eight and lost 13 of those 21 matches.
- Jordan Ayew has scored eight of Ghana’s last 12 goals in all competitions. Five of those goals came from the penalty spot.
Zambia – Chad (11 October 2024)
- Zambia have lost only two of their last 10 AFCON qualifiers (W6 D2), both defeats coming against Côte d’Ivoire. They have won their last four AFCON qualifiers on home soil, scoring three goals in each of the last three home fixtures.
- Chad have averaged 30% possession over the first two matches in this AFCON qualifiers group phase, the lowest ratio of any team. They are also goalless after these opening two games.
- No player has attempted more dribbles than Zambia’s Yankuba Minteh (16) in the 2025 AFCON qualifiers so far. Only Cameroon’s Carlos Baleba (10) has completed more than Minteh (8).
Côte d’Ivoire – Sierra Leone (11 October 2024)
- Côte d’Ivoire have won eight of their last 10 AFCON qualifiers (D1 L1), their only defeat in that period coming against Zambia in June 2023. They have averaged 72% possession over the first two matches of this AFCON qualifiers group phase, more than any other team.
- Sierra Leone have won only two of their last 15 AFCON qualifiers (D8 L5), their victories coming against Benin in 2021 (1-0) and São Tomé and Príncipe in 2023 (2-0).
- Côte d’Ivoire’s Jean-Philippe Krasso is the top scorer after the first two matchdays of the 2025 AFCON qualifiers group phase (3 goals in 2 games). He’s found the net with three of his six shots.
Guinea – Ethiopia (12 October 2024)
- Guinea are winless in their last four AFCON qualifiers (D1 L3), their last victory coming against Ethiopia in March 2023 (3-2).
- Ethiopia are one of five sides yet to score in the main round of AFCON 2025 qualifying. They have hit the target with just one of their 19 shots in the competition so far, the worst shooting accuracy of any side (5%).
Mozambique – Eswatini (11 October 2024)
- Mozambique are unbeaten in their last four AFCON qualifiers (W3 D1). They last went five AFCON qualifiers in a row without a defeat in 2018.
- Eswatini’s sole victory in their last 10 AFCON qualifiers was against Somalia in March 2024 (3-0). They have lost both their matches so far in the 2025 AFCON qualifiers, both by a 1-0 scoreline with a goal conceded in the opening 15 minutes.
- No goalkeeper has made more saves than Eswatini’s Mathabela Sandanezwe after the first two matchdays of the 2025 AFCON qualifiers (11).
Mali – Guinea-Bissau (11 October 2024)
- Mali have won 12 of their last 16 AFCON qualifiers (D2 L2). Their last defeat on home soil in the competition came 10 years ago, against Ethiopia in October 2014 (2-3).
- Guinea-Bissau have lost only two of their last 10 AFCON qualifiers (W7 D1) after a run of three consecutive defeats in November 2020.
- Mali’s Yves Bissouma has created more chances from open play (7) and had more shots from outside the box (8) than any other player in the 2025 AFCON qualifiers. He has also scored both of Mali’s goals in the opening two qualifiers, one from distance.
Cameroon – Kenya (11 October 2024)
- Cameroon have lost only one of their last seven AFCON qualifiers (W3 D3). They have kept a clean sheet in each of their last three matches (W2 D1).
- Kenya are unbeaten in their last four AFCON qualifiers (W2 D2), since a 2-1 defeat against Comoros in November 2020.
- Cameroon’s Carlos Baleba has completed more dribbles than any other player in the 2025 AFCON qualifiers (10 over the first two matchdays).
Uganda – South Sudan (11 October 2024)
- Uganda are unbeaten in their last three AFCON qualifiers (W2 D1), their longest unbeaten run since March 2016 and November 2018 (8 games, W6 D2).
- South Sudan have won only one of their last 10 AFCON qualifiers (D2 L7). They are winless in their last seven matches, their last victory coming against Congo in March 2023 (2-1).
- Uganda have scored four goals from 14 shots in the AFCON 2025 qualifiers; it’s the best shot conversion rate (28.6%) in the competition so far.
South Africa – Congo (11 October 2024)
- South Africa’s last five AFCON qualifiers have produced 19 goals, an average of 3.8 per game (11 for, 8 against). Only Egypt (7) have scored more goals than South Africa (5) after the first two matchdays of the 2025 AFCON qualifiers.
- Congo have lost five of their last nine AFCON qualifiers (W3 D1), conceding two or more goals in all five defeats.
- Only Denis Bouanga and Ademola Lookman have had more shots on target (6 each) than South Africa’s Oswin Appollis (5, including 2 goals).
Senegal – Malawi (11 October 2024)
- Senegal are unbeaten in their last 28 AFCON qualifiers (W22 D6), their last such defeat coming 10 years ago against Tunisia in October 2014.
- Malawi are winless in their last seven AFCON qualifiers (D2 L5), with their last victory coming against Ethiopia in June 2022 (2-1).
- Malawi’s Chawanangwa Kawonga has delivered the joint-most assists in the 2025 AFCON qualifiers so far (2, level with Uganda’s Allan Okello).
Morocco – Central African Republic (12 October 2024)
- Morocco are unbeaten against Central African Republic in their five previous encounters, winning three times and drawing twice. Morocco have scored 10 goals and conceded just once in those matches.
- Morocco have lost only one of their last 17 AFCON qualifiers (W12 D4), their defeat coming against South Africa in June 2023.
- Over the last three editions of AFCON qualifiers, Louis Mafuta has scored 11 of Central African Republic’s 17 goals (65%).
-CAF
NFF’s Director of Communications, Dr Ademola Olajire, provides a point-by-point account of how a keenly-anticipated Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match was relegated to a fiasco by Libyan federal authorities and Football Federation
1) The chartered ValueJet aircraft departed from the Victor Attah International Airport, Uyo at 11.55hours on Sunday, 13th October 2024, and landed at the Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano at 13.10hours, for the completion of immigration formalities and for the aircraft to refuel.
2) The aircraft took off from Kano at 15.18hours, for the 3 hours and 35 minutes flight to Benghazi, Libya, expecting to arrive a few minutes before 8pm Libya time.
3) Just as he was about to commence his initial approach into Benghazi, the captain (pilot) was instructed by the control tower that he could not land in Benghazi (despite having all the required landing papers and having completed all formalities before leaving Uyo and later, Kano, but should proceed to the Al-Abraq International Airport, even though the airport lacked the control navigators for landing at such hours. He complained that he was short on fuel but his words fell on deaf ears as he was told sternly that the directive was from ‘higher authorities.’
4) On landing at the Al-Abraq International Airport, in the small town of Labraq, at 19.50 hours, it was clear that the airport was not a well-utilized facility. There were no scanning machines or the usual equipment for this service, and officials had to make do with mobile phones to scan passport data pages.
5) The delegation, which included 22 players and team officials; NFF President Alh. Ibrahim Musa Gusau; Deputy Governor of Edo State, Comrade Philip Shaibu; a couple of NFF Board members; NFF General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi; a couple of parliamentarians; a couple of NFF Management; a couple of media representatives and; a couple of stakeholders, was shown scant respect by the airport authorities who applied curt manners and stern tones.
6) It took over one hour for the team’s luggage to roll through the carousel, despite the fact that the bags and other items had already been hauled from the aircraft immediately on arrival.
7) No official of the Libyan Football Federation was at the airport to receive the delegation, as is the best practice globally. Airport officials could not answer the simple question on where the buses that would take the delegation members back to Benghazi (where the NFF had booked hotel rooms) were.
8) When delegation members including the NFF President, Comrade Shaibu and Dr Sanusi attempted to venture outside the airport to ascertain if there were vehicles waiting for the team, they were stopped in the most uncouth of manners by airport security personnel.
9) Calls to the General Secretary of LFF, Mr. Abdul-Nasser by Dr Sanusi yielded no fruits as the former kept promising that the buses would arrive in ‘10 minutes’, which later became ‘two hours’, and afterwards, ‘three hours.’ Later in the evening, it was no longer possible to reach him on the phone. Frustrated by this attitude, Dr Sanusi approached the security operatives to request that the team be allowed to go out and board the buses the NFF eventually hired. This request was rejected with insults. It took the intervention of the NFF dignitaries to prevent what would have escalated into a row as the NFF President himself was not spared when he heard an exchange of voices between the security personnel and his General Secretary. This aggravated the tension and further frustrated the team.
10) Hour after hour, and with mounting frustration, delegation members, particularly the players, grew restless. There was no food or water provided by the LFF, or where to even procure these items, and there was no network or internet connection at the airport. These swiftly increased the level of frustration and anger.
11) At past midnight, it was learnt that there had been word from ‘higher authorities’ (Libya is a jurisdiction governed by two different administrations – a UN-recognized cabinet in Tripoli and a self-imposed team over Eastern Libya including places like Benghazi and Labraq) that the Nigeria delegation should be delayed for minimum of 10 hours at the airport for what they falsely claimed was done to their team in Nigeria. (All conversations between the NFF General Secretary and the LFF General Secretary on the match in Uyo, both written text and voices notes, are still in the NFF General Secretary’s phone)
12) The NFF team was shocked because the incident referred to in Nigeria was entirely generated by the Libyans. They informed the NFF that their contingent would be landing in Port Harcourt, and not Uyo, only two hours to the team’s arrival in Nigeria. Despite this, the NFF moved swiftly to get authorities to grant their aircraft movement permit from Port Harcourt to Uyo, but this was jettisoned as the LFF apparently did not cherish the additional fee dispatched by the charter company. They opted to travel by road, refused to use the buses hired by the NFF and instead hired their own, and disrespected advice not to travel by night. When they stuck to their guns to move by night, the NFF provided security. The NFF even provided the team training facility the day after the match and secured direct flight permit from Uyo to Benghazi for the delegation.
13) Infuriated, the NFF President reacted: “We anticipated some shocks here given the false account of what happened in Nigeria as narrated by their team captain. But we did not expect these shenanigans. What I am seeing is despicable and has no place in the game of football which is meant to foster excellent relationships among nations and bring peoples from diverse cultures, religious persuasions and economic and political interests together in an ambience of peace and joy.”
14) The NFF learnt that the Embassy of Nigeria in Tripoli had written, a fortnight earlier, to the authorities in Benghazi that they would want to welcome the Nigeria delegation on arrival. This application was said to have been rejected outright.
15) In a conscious effort to play down their frustration, anger and hunger, players and officials resorted to playing games, listening to music, chatting themselves up, scanning through the airport exit door to see if any vehicles had arrived, and generally looked forward to daybreak, which they hoped would bring much-sought-after relief.
16) Many calls were made to higher authorities in Nigeria to apprise them of the situation, and these persons all expressed fears for the safety and security of the team. These fears were real and justified given the plethora of threats thrown by the Libyans on legacy and social media in the days before and after the match in Uyo. At 2am, Captain William Ekong met the NFF President in the company of the NFF General Secretary to inform the President that the team may not be able to go ahead with the match, due to trauma, fatigue and body aches that resulted from lack of food, dehydration and very cruel and unimaginable treatment, which had led to some players falling ill.
17) The NFF repeated calls to officials of the Confederation of African Football, Nigeria’s FIFA Council Member Mr. Amaju Melvin Pinnick and higher authorities in Nigeria. It dispatched a letter to CAF in which it detailed the antics of the hosts and hoped that the continental governing body would go ahead to “punish this rare bestiality visited on the beautiful game.” It noted that the Super Eagles had travelled hoping to enjoy a great game of football but had been sorely disappointed and frustrated by the unprecedented level of hostility and poor attitude of the hosts.
18) At daybreak, Mr. Maurice Eromosele, president of the Nigerian community in Eastern Libya, arrived with words of empathy from the Ambassador of Nigeria to Libya, His Excellency Alhaji Muhammad Muhammad. He expressed shock at the treatment meted out to the Nigeria delegation, who were made to spend the entire night inside the departure lounge of the Al-Abraq Airport. He said His Excellency ordered him to get a few things for the team, and he later returned with plastic bags loaded with croissants and drinks. These served as breakfast for the team.
19) More calls were made and eventually, it was agreed by all parties that the team should not go ahead with the match, but return to Nigeria to await the decision of CAF (who were briefed in detail on the situation) with regards to the un-played match.
20) After spending many more hours waiting for the Al-Abraq airport authorities to sell fuel to refill the chartered ValueJet aircraft (which was initially proving to be some sort of robotic engineering), the Nigeria delegation departed the Al-Abraq Airport (not worth the toga of ‘international’ by any scale) at exactly 15.05hours, bound for the city of Kano, and onwards to the Federal Capital, Abuja.
Two former African Footballers of the Year, Emmanuel Adebayo of Togo and Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang of Gabon have condemned the actions of the Libyan authorities who subjected the Super Eagles of Nigeria to inhumane treatment at the Al Abaq Airport Adebayor was the African Footballer of the Year in 2008 while Aubameyang won the 2015 edition.
Local authorities left the Nigerian contingents unattended for more than 15 hours after they arrived on Sunday night.
Players were seen sleeping on the bench, and the team’s doctors raised concerns over their health ahead of the match.
Adebayor, a legend of African football and Arsenal wrote on X-platform:
“Nigerian Super Eagles were stranded at a Libyan airport, locked in without food, wi-fi, or a place to sleep after their flight was diverted.
“This type of behaviour is unacceptable for the progress of African football. No team should face such treatment. We stand with Nigeria’s Super Eagles.
“Respect and fair play must come first on and off the field.”
His Gabonese counterpart, Aubameyang who also played for Arsenal that the Libyan action should not happen in 2024. He wrote on X:
“Anyway that is not possible in 2024 acting like that.”
In a related development, the cheerleader of Nigerian football, Dr. Raufu Ladipo told Sports Village Square: “It is a big shame that an African country will treat our Super Eagles this way. It is barbaric. If they could do this to our team,
“One could imagine what they would have done to members of the supporters club . It is high time CAF and indeed, FIFA takes a very serious look and takes a decision that will serve as deterrent to forestall future occurrence.”
Just as the Nigerian delegation is set to return to the country from Libya, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has waded in and referred the matter to its disciplinary board for investigation and appropriate action will be taken against those who violated the CAF Statutes and Regulations.
CAF issued the following statement:
“The Confederation Africaine de Football (CAF) has been in contact with the Libyan and Nigerian authorities after it had been informed that the Nigerian National Football Team (‘’Super Eagles’’) and their technical team were stranded in disturbing conditions for several hours at an airport that they were allegedly instructed to land by the Libyan authorities.
“The matter has been referred to the CAF Disciplinary Board for investigation and appropriate action will be taken against those who violated the CAF Statutes and Regulations.”
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