Defending AFCON champs begin qualification campaign

by Graeme Jackson

Friday Sep 06, 2024. 11:00

A busy Friday in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying will see 10 matches played across the continent – headlined by reigning champions Ivory Coast taking their first steps toward the next tournament finals.

The Elephants, who won the AFCON in dramatic style on home soil earlier this year, will host Zambia in a Group G match in Bouake kicking off at 21:00 CAT, while at the same time 2021 champions Senegal will open their Group L fixtures at home to fellow West Africans Burkina Faso in Dakar.

Teranga Lions coach Aliou Cisse has included 19-year-old El Hadji Malick Diouf in the squad for the first time, noting that the promising Slavia Prague player will have the chance to integrate into the team.

“We are looking to strengthen on the wings and on the left side, we have Ismail Jakobs and Ismaila Sarr was able to play in this sector and was effective. But having a boy like Diouf… He has a good pedigree and he’s only 19 years old,” said Cisse.

“Bringing him in very early so that he can immerse himself in the group and the realities of the selection is very, very good. There is a new generation that is arriving, I really have hope for Senegalese football.”

Friday opens in Kampala with an afternoon (3pm CAT kick-off) clash between Kenya (who are playing in Uganda due to a lack of CAF-approved venues in their country) and Zimbabwe, while a quartet of early-evening clashes (6pm CAT kick-off) is headlined by South Africa tackling Uganda in Soweto.

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos will have to do without captain and first-choice goalkeeper Ronwen Williams, who is recovering from an injury.

“If you have a guy like Ronwen who will not be with us in the two games, that is a big problem. He is not just a good goalkeeper, he is also a good captain,” said the Belgian.

The evening matches will also feature North African heavyweights Morocco (hosts of the 2025 tournament and already qualified) and Egypt, playing at home to Gabon in Group B and Cape Verde in Group C respectively, while Mozambique’s Mambas face a testing Group I game away to Mali in Bamako.

“We need to do our homework, work together, focus on our first game in September against Mali, work hard, and create synergies to have a good game,” said Mozambique coach Chiquinho Conde.

“For our team, if we can’t win, we must not lose – that’s our motto. We must humbly respect our opponents and take it game by game.”

AFCON qualifiers fixtures, Friday 6 September

Times CAT

15:00: Kenya v Zimbabwe

18:00: DR Congo v Guinea

18:00: Sierra Leone v Chad

18:00: South Africa v Uganda

18:00: Togo v Liberia

20:00: Morocco v Gabon

21:00: Egypt v Cape Verde

21:00: Ivory Coast v Zambia

21:00: Mali v Mozambique

21:00: Senegal v Burkina Faso