Five more places at next year’s Africa Cup of Nations finals are up for grabs as the qualifying campaign for the 2025 tournament concludes on Monday and Tuesday.
A total of 19 counties have already booked their places in Morocco next December and by midnight Tuesday the identity of all 24 finalists will be known.
The top two countries in each of the 12 groups qualify.
Those who are through already are: Algeria, Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Comoros Islands, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, the Ivory Coast, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
These are the permutations for the five groups, where a place must still be decided:
GROUP C: Botswana are in second spot with a three points advantage over Mauritania, who are also still in the running. But the Zebras missed their best chance last Friday when Mauritania held them to a 1-1 draw in Francistown. Morena Ramoreboli’s side finish their campaign on Tuesday away in Cairo and if they lose to already-qualified Egypt, and Mauritania beat the Cape Verde in Nouakchott at the same time, then Mauritania will go through on the better head-to-head record. Mauritania must win to stand any chance of overhauling the Zebras but, even then, if Botswana get an unlikely point in Cairo, then they will be off to only their second-ever Cup of Nations finals appearance.
GROUP D: Libya could get go from last to first in the group and snatch a place alongside Nigeria from this group. Libya forfeited the points from their last home match against Nigeria last month after ‘locking’ up their opponents in a deserted airfield but will likely be on their best behaviour for Tuesday’s home match against Benin. Libya (4) are three points behind Benin (7) but a 1-0 home win in Tripoli will see them level and usurp Benin on the head-to-head between the two countries. Rwanda (5) have a chance, too, but must beat Nigeria away in Uyo at the same time. They will qualify with an unlikely away win but only if Benin do not win.
GROUP F: Sudan only needed one point from their last two games to qualify but a 4-0 loss to Niger last week means they could yet lose their opportunity. It is still in their own hands and a draw in their home match against Angola on Monday will see Sudan qualify. The civil war in Sudan means the match is being played in Benghazi, Libya. If Sudan lose, however, the door is open for Niger to snatch the second place in the group behind already-qualified Angola. But in order to do so they must beat Ghana away in Accvra where the Black Stars will be smarting from being eliminated last week and will want to ensure they do not finish bottom of the group.
GROUP H: Guinea boosted their hopes in spectacular style on Saturday when Borussia Dortmund striker Serhou Guirassy scored a last gasp winner over top of the table DR Congo. It pushed Guinea up to nine points in second place, two above third paced Tanzania on seven. Tuesday sees Tanzania host Guinea in Dar-es-Salaam in a straight shootout for a place in the final with the Taifa Stars needing to win at home while Guinea will advance with an away draw. A sell out crowd is expected in the Tanzania capital.
GROUP I: Losing at home to Mali on Friday has put Mozambique’s hopes in deep peril. They remain in second place in the group with a three-point advantage over Guinea Bissau but are away in Bissau on Tuesday and will be eliminated if their hosts win 1-0. Mozambique beat Guinea Bissau 2-1 in September at the start of the qualifiers so Guinea Bissau need to better the head-to-head record in order to qualify ahead of the Mambas.