Morocco & DR Congo target second successive win

by Austin Ditlhobolo

Monday Sep 09, 2024. 11:00

Morocco and DR Congo will be eyeing their second win on Monday in matchday two of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

The Atlas Lions of Morocco will take on a wounded Lesotho side in Agadir with the North African giants having started their Group B campaign with an impressive 4-1 victory over Gabon at home on Friday.

“Every match is an opportunity to improve and maintain our competitive edge. We respect Lesotho and will approach the game with utmost seriousness,” Morocco coach Walid Regragui said with Lesotho having lost 3-1 to Central African Republic on Thursday.

Meanwhile, DR Congo will square off with an unpredictable Ethiopia side in Tanzania with the Leopards having secured a 1-0 victory over Guinea in Friday’s Group H match.

Senegal, on the other hand, started their qualifying campaign with a 1-1 draw against Burkina Faso on Friday as Ousseni Bouda’s late equaliser canceled out Sadio Mane’s opening goal in a Group L match played in Dakar.

Aliou Cisse’s side have since travelled to Malawi where they will take on Burundi who will be oozing with confidence after starting their Group L campaign with a 3-2 victory over Malawi on Thursday.

Ghana, on the other hand, will be away to Niger in Morocco where the Black Stars will be keen to bounce back to winning ways after losing 1-0 to Angola in Kumasi on Thursday – conceding in stoppage time in a Group F clash.

“Absolutely, absolutely, we observed them (Niger), we watched a lot of games that they played and they look strong. They have good players on their team and they play together as a team,” Ghana coach Otto Addo said.

“Like I said, they had some losses, but it was always very, very close and they also had their chances, so we have to be aware of that.”

Lastly, Uganda will be hoping to secure their maiden win in Group K when they host Congo-Brazzaville in Kampala having drawn 2-2 with South Africa in Friday’s entertaining match.

2025 AFCON Qualifiers Fixtures

Monday, 09 September

Kick-off Times In CAT

15:00 – Burundi v Senegal

17:00 – Equatorial Guinea v Togo

17:00 – Niger v Ghana

18:00 – Madagascar v Comoros

18:00 – Uganda v Congo-Brazzaville

20:00 – Lesotho v Morocco

21:00 – Angola v Sudan

21:00 – Ethiopia v DR Congo