AFCON
AFCON 2019: AMUNEKE’S TANZANIA, 5 OTHERS MAY QUALIFY THIS SUNDAY
BY APESIN ADEMOLA.
Six more teams may join the nine who have already booked their spots in next year’s Africa Cup of Nations to be hosted by Cameroon.
The finalists include the Super Eagles of Nigeria, hosts Cameroon, record title winners Egypt and former champions Tunisia and Morocco.
The rest are Senegal, Mali, Uganda and debutante Madagascar.
Among the possible qualifiers on Sunday are Tanzania, coached by ex-Nigerian international Emmanuel Amunike, as well as Algeria, Guinea, Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso and Mauritania. Côte d’Ivoire may also be in the number.
Amunike was hired on August 6 to manage the Taifa Stars whose only appearance in the continent’s flagship tournament was in Nigeria 38 years ago when they were eliminated in the first round.
Tanzania played the opening match of Nigeria 1980 at the National Stadium in Surulere, Lagos and got beaten 3-1 by the home team. And defeat to Egypt 1-2, plus a 1-1 outcome against the Ivorien Elephants placed the east Africans at the foot of the table in Group A.
Amunike has been in charge of three matches since, returning from Kampala with a point against Uganda, losing to Cape Verde away and achieving his first win (2-0) against the same opposition in the reversed fixture.
If Tanzania lift their game and overcome their hosts in Lesotho in the only Group L match of the day, they will be listed among the finalists of Cameroon 2019.
A draw in Maseru will mean that Tanzania will have to better the result of the chasing duo of Cape Verde and Lesotho who will face themselves on the last matchday of the qualifiers, while the Taifa Stars host Uganda.
In the first leg played last June 10 at the Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium, Dar-es-Salam, Lesotho forced the home team to a 1-1 draw.
In Group D, Algeria will join the finalists if they make it double victory over Togo having won the first leg by a lone goal.
Since winning the African title on home soil in 1990 by beating Nigeria in the final, Algeria’s best outing in the competition was fourth place in Angola 2010 where Nigeria got their revenge by winning the third placed match 1-0.
If Algeria lose, they will remain on top of the table, but on same points with Benin Republic with whom they have head-to-head advantage.
In Group H, Guinea will go through with just a point, or if Central Africa Republic fail to win.
It will be Guinea’s 12th time in the finals, although their best outing was way back in 1976 when they were runners-up to Morocco in Ethiopia.
Guinea won the first leg against their hosts Côte d’Ivoire, who will try to avoid double defeats.
For the Ivorien, the results of their match and that of Central Africa Republic in Rwanda are of essence. The Elephants will qualify for Cameroon 2019 if they avoid defeat and Rwanda beat their guests.
Zimbabwe’s quest for a fourth appearance in AFCON finals will be confirmed if they pick a point in Monrovia against the Liberian side they humbled 3-0 in Harare. But defeat will mean that the Harambe Stars, presently leading Group G, will have to battle it out on the last matchday when they host Congo Republic.
Congo Republic will step up from the bottom of the table if they triumph over DR Congo, who won the first leg 3-1, while Liberia are also in the mix with only one point behind second placed DR Congo.
Mauritania are on the verge of history. If they beat Botswana, which lost at home 0-1 in the reversed fixture, they will have qualified for the continental competition for the first time. Any other result will however still keep the northwest African team in contention until the last match of the group stage when they travel to Ouagadougou to face Burkina Faso.
The Burkinabe, who are presently No 2 in Group I with two points adrift of surprise elements Mauritania, engage Angola in Luanda. The Angolans will seek revenge after losing the first leg 3-1, and realising that victory will lift them above their opponents and put them in good stead to qualify for Cameroon 2019.
In Group J, eSwatini (formerly Swaziland) and Niger Republic play for pride having already lost out to Tunisia and Egypt in the race for Cameroon 2019. The first leg of this dead rubber ended goalless in Niamey.
Mozambique will count on their home fans to back them as they strive to repeat their first leg result against Zambia, who lost at home 0-1 in the first leg. If the Mozambicans succeed, 2012 champions Zambia will be eliminated, while Mozambique will close in on Group K front runners Guinea-Bissau and Namibia, who will then be only one point ahead.
In Group F, the situation is uncertain as CAF is yet to determine what happened to the two matches Sierra Leone were stopped from playing with Ghana as a result of the suspension of that country’s FA then.
Kenya lead the group with seven points from four matches, while Ethiopia have four points from the same number of games.
Ghana and Sierra Leone have played only two matches each and have three points.
Ethiopia host Ghana seeking to deal with their guests who won 5-0 in the first leg, while Kenya are home to Sierra Leone. The West Africans won the first leg 2-1.
Madagascar, already in Cameroon 2019 finals, fight to snatch Group A leadership from Senegal as they go for a double over Sudan, who were beaten 1-3 at home in the first leg.
Fixtures…
Group A: Madagascar v Sudan (first leg Madagascar 3-1) (12:30pm)
Group D: Togo v Algeria (first leg Algeria 1-0) (5pm)
Group F: Ethiopia v Ghana (first leg Ghana 5-0), Kenya v Sierra Leone (first leg Sierra Leone 2-1) (both 2pm)
Group G: Congo Republic v DR Congo (first leg DR Congo 3-1) (3:30pm), Liberia v Zimbabwe (first leg Zimbabwe 3-0) (5pm)
Group H: Rwanda v Central Africa Republic (first leg Central Africa Republic 2-1) (2:30pm), Guinea v Côte d’Ivoire (first leg Guinea 3-2) (6pm)
Group I: Angola v Burkina Faso (first leg Burkina Faso 3-1) (4pm), Mauritania v Botswana (first leg Mauritania 1-0) (6pm)
Group J: eSwatini v Niger Republic (first leg 0-0) (2:30pm)
Group K: Mozambique v Zambia (first leg Mozambique 1-0) (2:30pm)
Group L: Lesotho v Tanzania (first leg 1-1) (3pm)
AFCON
Liberia, Eswatini hold upper hand in AFCON 2025 preliminary qualifiers –
After commanding victories in the first leg matches of the Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco 2025, qualifiers, Chad, Liberia, and Eswatini find themselves in advantageous positions as they gear up for the return fixtures scheduled for Tuesday.
As the second leg of the preliminary fixtures approach, all eyes will be on these teams as they vie for their coveted spots in the group phase of the qualifiers, with the hopes of making their mark on the continental stage.
Chad emerged victorious with a narrow 1-0 win over Mauritius, joining Liberia and Eswatini in the lead after their impressive triumphs earlier last week.
Liberia secured a 2-0 victory against Djibouti, while Eswatini displayed their dominance with a 3-0 win over Somalia.
The second leg promises to be fiercely contested, particularly for Chad, who will face a challenging encounter against Mauritius on the latter’s home turf.
Coach Kevin Nicaise’s players are keen to defend their slender lead and secure their spot in the next phase of the qualifiers but the trainer admits they have an arduous task.
“We are far from perfect, far from being a top team in the world. We are in the construction phase. There are still things to work on and improve,” coach Nicaise said after their first-leg win.
“It is not overnight that we will be a top team in the world, we are aware of that, however we are working hard with the group and the staff to achieve this goal.”
Meanwhile, Liberia will host Djibouti, aiming to build on their first-leg success and seal their progression to the next round.
Eswatini will host Somalia with confidence, seeking to maintain their winning momentum and secure passage to the next stage of the tournament.
South Sudan and Sao Tome and Principe will also face off in what is expected to be a closely contested encounter, following their goalless draw in the first leg.
With both teams eager for victory, the match promises to be a thrilling battle for supremacy.
-CAF
AFCON
Liberia and Eswatini take control of AFCON preliminary ties
Liberia and Eswatini took commanding leads in their respective Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco 2025, preliminary round ties after claiming impressive away victories on Wednesday.
Liberia captain Murphy Dorley scored one of two first-half goals as the Lone Stars defeated hosts Djibouti 2-0 in the opening leg in Marrakech.
Mohammed Sangare broke the deadlock from the penalty spot on 23 minutes before Dorley coolly slotted home Sebastian Teclar’s cross 12 minutes later.
Djibouti struggled to lay a glove on their more illustrious opponents as the Lone Star side kept them at bay to take two away goals into next week’s second leg in Monrovia.
Eswatini were also celebrating after demolishing Somalia 3-0 in the Moroccoan city of El Jadida to put one foot in the group stage qualifiers.
Striker Sabelo Ndzinisa was the hero, netting twice either side of Felicio Figuareido’s 40th minute opener for the visitors.
Somalia now face an uphill battle to qualify when they travel to the Mbombela Stadium in the South African city of Nelspruit for the return on March 26th.
The opening leg victories give Liberia and Eswatini a huge advantage heading into the second legs as they target a place in the group stage on the road to next year’s finals in Morocco.
Back from the locker room, Somalia still couldn’t play its game.
Worse, Eswatini widened the gap with Ginindza who scored his double of the evening in the 56th minute. 3-0, the score remained unchanged on the scoreboard until the final whistle.
Victory for Eswatini which will still have to perform in the return leg to ensure its qualification for the qualifiers.
AFCON
Road to Morocco 2025 begins today
Following last month’s grand closing to the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations held in Cote d’Ivoire where the hosts were crowned champions for the third time, Africa’s biggest competition is now shifting its focus to the 35th edition set to be held in Morocco next year.
A total of 52 Nations will be engaged to compete for a place in the 24-nation competition.
To mark the start of the qualifiers following the draw that was held in Cairo on 20 February 2024, eight lowest ranked nations will compete in the Preliminary Qualifiers starting on Wednesday, 20 March over a two-legged format that will decide the four nations that will join the other 44 African nations to make up the group stages of the qualifiers.
The CAF AFCON Morocco 2025 journey officially gets underway on Wednesday, 20 March with two fixtures as Somalia plays host to Eswatini, while Djibouti faces Liberia.
Two days later, Chad locks horns with Mauritius before Sao Tome and Principe takes on South Sudan.
The return legs will conclude on Tuesday, 26 March with all matches set to take place on the day to officially decide the preliminary phase of the competition.
AFCON Morocco 2025 Preliminary Qualifiers:
First Leg Fixtures:
Wednesday, 20 March
- 18:00 GMT | Somalia – Eswatini
- 22:00 GMT | Djibouti – Liberia
Friday, 22 March
- 18:00 GMT | Chad – Mauritius
- 19:00 GMT | Sao Tome and Principe – South Sudan
Return Leg Fixtures:
Tuesday, 26 March
- 13:00 GMT | Eswatini – Somalia
- 16:00 GMT | Liberia – Djibouti
- 17:00 GMT | South Sudan – Sao Tome and Principe
- 15:00 GMT | Mauritius – Chad
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