WITH 10 teams already qualified for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea, six places will now be decided on Wednesday. Equatorial Guinea have qualified automatically for the tournament to be played between January 17 and February 8 after they replaced Morocco as the host country.
Nine other countries have booked their passage to Equatorial Guinea after five rounds of qualifying matches at the weekend. They are Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde Islands, Gabon, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia and Zambia
Nigeria and Congo are locked in Group A for the remaining ticket as they have seven points apiece, but enjoy the advantage of having whipped out a 3-2 loss they suffered at the hands of the Red Devils three months ago courtesy of the 2-0 win they recorded in Pointe-Noire at the weekend. A home win of whatever shade at the brand-new Akwa Ibom International Stadium in Uyo for Nigeria against group winners South Africa will guarantee them an 18th appearance at the final tournament. This is notwithstanding what Congo manage in Sudan also on Wednesday.
Mali, Malawi and Ethiopia will jostle for another ticket in Group B, which has already been won by on-form Algeria. Mali are second with six points and welcome Algeria to Bamako in midweek, while Malawi, who also have six points and an inferior goals difference, square up against bottom team Ethiopia, who are three points.
Bottom team Ethiopia could still qualify if they beat Malawi by at least two clear goals and Mali lose at home to Algeria. Malawi are also in contention should they beat Ethiopia by a big score after they defeated them 3-2 at home in September. They will go up to nine points and have cancelled out Mali on the head-to-head after they reversed a 2-0 loss in Bamako three months ago by also beating the West Africans 2-0 in Malawi. Mali have only to beat Algeria to seal qualification.
It is a straight fight between the Ivory Coast and DR Congo for a place in the finals. The Elephants are second in the standings on nine points and need a draw at home against their conquerors Cameroon to qualify at the expense of DRC, who will be expected to beat bottom team Sierra Leone at home.
Group E is very much wide open and any four teams – Ghana, Uganda, Guinea and Togo – could still clinch the two tickets still up for grabs. After their sensational 4-1 win in Togo, Guinea also now lead the third-best slot with seven points. They now have to beat Uganda in Morocco by a better score than 2-0 loss they suffered when both teams clashed in Kampala in September. Seven-time winners Egypt with six points are close on their heels on six points, but face a tougher task when they visit Tunisia on Wednesday.
Contenders for other six places at a glance
Group A (1 place): Nigeria, Congo Brazzaville
Group B (1 place): Mali, Malawi, Ethiopia
Group D (1 place): Cote d’Ivoire, DRC Congo
Group E (2 places): Ghana, Uganda, Guinea, Togo
Best third-place team: Guinea lead with one match day left on Wednes, November 19
