Nations play for pride in final round of Afcon qualifying fixtures

The final round of fixtures in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers will see various nations go head-to-head to secure a spot in the tournament, which is set to be hosted in Morocco next year.

The round begins with a clash between Algeria and Liberia at the Hocine Ait Ahmed Stadium on Sunday evening.

Kick-off is at 18:00 CAT (SA, GMT+2)

Les Fennecs have already booked a spot at the next Afcon and have already been confirmed as the winners of group E following their tense 0-0 draw against Equatorial Guinea.

Liberia, on the other hand, will be playing for pride since their fate has already been sealed and they did not do enough to get over the line.

On Monday, 18 November, Nigeria will go up against Rwanda at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo.

The Super Eagles have also sealed qualification for the next Afcon and Calvin Bassey states that he’s proud to be representing the West Africans.

“When Nigeria played Argentina, they lost 2-1 but it was a good game,” Bassey told Sky Sports.

“Messi, of course – Messi is Messi, innit – he scored that outrageous goal. I think it was knee, left foot, then right foot. It was top. But that was more of motivation to me to want to play for Nigeria and also play on the big stage.”

BAFANA'S SUCCESSFUL YEAR

Tuesday, 19 November brings a potential mouthwatering encounter between Cameroon and Zimbabwe.

The Warriors confirmed their spot in the next showpiece following their draw against Kenya at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Friday.

The evening fixture on Tuesday will see South Africa take on South Sudan in their final group K match.

Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has labelled 2024 as a successful year for South African football, having also qualified for the tournament without losing a single match so far in the qualifiers.

“We try to win every game, we don’t play to lose, we want to win every game,” he added.

“And it’s very important for South Africa, again, that we win this group. We will qualify, but we wouldn’t be happy to be second in the group.”

FIXTURES

All times CAT

Sunday, 17 November

18:00 — Algeria v Liberia

18:00 — Togo v Equatorial Guinea

Monday, 18 November

15:00 — Malawi v Burkina Faso

18:00 — Nigeria v Rwanda

18:00 — Sudan v Angola

18:00 — Libya v Benin

18:00 — Ghana v Niger

21:00 — Tunisia v Gambia

21:00 — Comoros v Madagascar 

21:00 — Central African Republic v Gabon

21:00 — Morocco v Lesotho

Tuesday, 19 November 

15:00 — Kenya v Namibia

15:00 — Cameroon v Zimbabwe

17:00 — Mauritania v Cape Verde

17:00 — Egypt v Botswana

18:00 — Guinea-Bissau v Mozambique

18:00 — DR Congo v Ethiopia

18:00 — Tanzania v Guinea

18:00 — South Africa v South Sudan

18:00 — Sierra Leone v Zambia

18:00 — Mali v Eswatini

18:00 — Ivory Coast v Chad

18:00 — Congo Brazzaville v Uganda

21:00 — Senegal v Burundi