Africa’s 2022 WCQ kicks into top gear

Wednesday Sep 01, 2021. 09:00

Africa’s 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifying tournament will kick into top gear from Wednesday 1 to Friday 3 September, as 20 fixtures are played across the continent for Matchday 1 of the group phase.

While many nations across the continent have been beset by selection issues (complications over player availability due to ‘red list’ Covid-19 travel concerns) or punished by the Confederation of African Football for the poor state of their venues by playing ‘home’ matches at neutral venues, there is still a palpable sense of excitement, with the Qatar 2022 tournament just over 14 months away.

This phase features 10 groups of four teams each, playing on a round-robin basis. After six Matchdays – 1 and 2 in September; 3 and 4 in October; and 5 and 6 in November – the top team from each group will advance to the final playoff round next March, from which the five qualifiers for Qatar will be determined.

The action gets underway on the afternoon of Wednesday 1 September at the neutral venue of Stade de la Reunification in Douala, Cameroon, where ‘hosts’ Central African Republic will take on the Cape Verde Islands in Group C.

The headline match on Wednesday sees Senegal welcome Togo to Stade Lat Dior in Thies for a West African derby. The Teranga Lions are amongst the favourites to secure qualification for the 2022 finals and coach Aliou Cisse will be targeting a fast start in Group H, which also features Namibia and Congo.

Thursday 2 September opens with an East African derby between Kenya and Uganda in Nairobi and also sees the entrance of a heavyweight trio of North African teams. Reigning continental champions Algeria are expected to comfortably defeat Djibouti in their Group A clash in Blida; Egypt, even without Mohamed Salah, will be favourites against Angola in a Group F game in Cairo; and Morocco tackle Sudan in a Group I match in Rabat.

Egypt coach Hossam El Badry is focused on taking the Pharaohs, who appeared at Russia 2018, to successive World Cups for the first time in their history.

“I was confident that we would reach the Africa Cup of Nations as the group winners and I’m also confident that we will make it to the World Cup finals,” he stated.

Friday 3 September opens with Ivory Coast travelling to Maputo for a Group D clash with Mozambique, as the Elephants look for a return to the global showpiece after missing the 2018 edition.

“Following the players and putting them in the right position so that they can play well together is my long-term project, so far it is going very well,” said Ivory Coast coach Patrice Beaumelle.

“After that, we are a solid team that is difficult to move. Now, we will get to the heart of the matter with these two matches counting for the World Cup qualifiers and prepare well for this next AFCON which is coming with great strides.”

Friday also sees Nigeria open their Group C campaign at home to Liberia in Lagos, with coach Gernot Rohr acknowledging the need for a strong start: “We will be ready in September for the World Cup qualifiers,” the German tactician insisted.

“We have to start well in Lagos and four days later, we play in Cape Verde. Cape Verde beat Cameroon 3-1 on their synthetic pitch recently. So, we know already that it will be very difficult. Our first two matches are very, very important.”

Friday also sees Cameroon and Ghana at home to Malawi and Ethiopia respectively; Tunisia will seek a strong start to their quest for a sixth World Cup appearance when they host Equatorial Guinea; and a Group G scrap between regional rivals Zimbabwe and South Africa in Harare could well prove to be the game of the day.

The second Matchday will see a further 20 fixtures played from Sunday 5 to Tuesday 7 September.

African 2022 World Cup Qualifying fixtures, 1-3 September 2021

Times CAT

Wednesday 1 September

15:00: Central African Republic v Cape Verde

18:00: Senegal v Togo

18:00: Guinea-Bissau v Guinea

21:00: Mali v Rwanda

21:00: Libya v Gabon

Thursday 2 September

15:00: Kenya v Uganda

15:00: DR Congo v Tanzania

18:00: Niger v Burkina Faso

18:00: Namibia v Congo

18:00: Madagascar v Benin

21:00: Algeria v Djibouti

21:00: Egypt v Angola

21:00: Morocco v Sudan

Friday 3 September

15:00: Mozambique v Ivory Coast

15:00: Zimbabwe v South Africa

18:00: Mauritania v Zambia

18:00: Nigeria v Liberia

21:00: Tunisia v Equatorial Guinea

21:00: Cameroon v Malawi

21:00: Ghana v Ethiopia