By Calista Oyeoba / Posted November 19, 2024
A total of 21 best of the continent’s football teams have secured their spots for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) following the match fixtures on Monday, November 18, 2024.
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The countries are:
Morocco, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Algeria, DR Congo, Senegal, Egypt, Angola, Gabon, Uganda and South Africa.
Others include Nigeria, Benin Republic, Comoros, Sudan, Equatorial Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire, Zimbabwe, Mali, Zambia and Tunisia.
However, there are still three slots left to be filled.
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While Morocco will host the 2025 AFCON from December 21, 2025 to January 18, 2026, Cote d’Ivoire the current champions, who defeated Nigeria 2-1 in the final played earlier this year will be expected to defend the cup.
It is important to capture some of the highlights that produced the qualifiers. For instance, while Cote d’Ivoire, the defending champions, secured victory over Nigeria with a score of 2-1 in the final held earlier this year, Sudan qualified late for the tournament on Monday following a dramatic final round of matches, which also saw Benin Republic also, advance to next year’s finals.
It will be recalled that due to ongoing conflict, Sudan has been compelled to play their home matches on neutral ground, and the domestic league has been suspended since the conflict began in April of the previous year. Its team, the Falcons of Jediane required only a single point from their last two matches but suffered a 4-0 defeat against Niger on Thursday. Nevertheless, they achieved second place in Group F by drawing 0-0 with the already-qualified Angola in Libya.
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Hoping for an upset, Niger, who had the opportunity to take advantage of Sudan’s misstep, ultimately missed out on qualification by a single point, despite Oumar Sako’s last-minute goal securing a 2-1 victory over Ghana in Accra.
In Group D, Benin Republic in an intense encounter, were able to secure a crucial draw they required against Libya, marking their return to the finals for the first time since 2019. Had the North Africans emerged victorious on their home ground in Tripoli, they would have qualified. However, Benin advanced due to their superior head-to-head record against Rwanda. Both the Cheetahs and the Wasps concluded the group stage with eight points each, following Rwanda’s unexpected 2-1 comeback victory over Nigeria
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In Group C, Botswana and Mauritania are competing for the second position, while Tanzania needs to secure a win against Guinea at home to advance ahead of the West Africans in Group H. In the Group I lineups, Guinea-Bissau must defeat Mozambique with a score that ensures they hold the advantage in their head-to-head matchup against the Mambas.