Top nations breathe easy and play for pride in final round of AFCON qualifiers

The last batch of fixtures in the AFCON qualifying campaign sees a number of nations go up against each other, whilst others will find themselves playing for pride.

The matches begin on Sunday evening, with an interesting clash between Algeria and Liberia set to take place on Sunday evening at the Hocine Ait Ahmed Stadium on Sunday.

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

Les Fennecs have already grabbed a place at the next AFCON and have already been confirmed winners of Group E following their intense 0-0 draw against Equatorial Guinea.

As for Liberia, the West African country will be playing for pride since their fate has already been sealed and they did not do enough to make it to the tournament in Morocco next year.

On Monday, 18 November, fellow Westerners 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 nation.

“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.”

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

The Warriors confirmed their spot in the next continental tournament following their 1-1 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 match in Group K.

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