Giants make tricky Match Day 2 trips in Afcon route
L-R: Nigeria’s Victor Osihmen hopes to strike when the Super Eagles visit Lesotho in Maseru, new Bafana Bafana coach Molefu Ntseki is equally test to impress the home fans in Johannesburg against Sudan while Liverpool striker Sadio Mane is intent on opening his account in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers away against Eswatini on Sunday. COURTESY photos
Kampala- Until now, the decision by Confederation of African Football (Caf) to expand the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals from 16 to 24 teams still shapes debate in the corridors of the game across the continent.
The ripple effect is that lesser known nations have a chance to grace the grand table and attempt to narrow the gap between them and Africa’s soccer bigwigs, much to Caf’s desire to grow the game.
However, other pundits feel the Afcon qualification format have been greatly diluted and the real competition at the tournament finals only begins at the last 16 stage.
Bottom line, a reported $83m (Shs307b) profit was made by Caf from the first 24-team Afcon held in Egypt four months.
The route to the 2021 edition, another 24-team showpiece, got underway on Wednesday with 48 teams targeting a top-two finish across 12 groups.
Heading into Match Day 2, a number of giants are making trips away from home, seeking to set early pace in the opening 180 minutes of the journey to Cameroon.
After coming from down to get an opening 2-1 home victory against Benin, Nigeria’s Super Eagles head to Maseru to face Lesotho in Maseru on Sunday in a Group L affair.
Nigeria’s coach Gernot Rohr is keen on building on the momentum picked after taking third place in Egypt.
Whereas Afcon top-scorer Odion Ighalo (five goals) retired, Rohr now has Victor Osihmen who replicated his form (seven league goals) at French club Lille with the equaliser against Benin. He has support from Samuel Kalu and Samuel Chukwueze.
As the minnows mingle, the top sides are at test. Lesotho has never qualified for Afcon but in the previous qualification, they picked four of their six points at home including a 1-0 win over Tanzania.
Another big side to mention are two-time Afcon runners-up Senegal who, with time, are keen on forgetting the 1-0 loss to Algeria in the final.
The Teranga Lions were off the mark in Group I with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Congo-Brazzaville with Sidy Sarr and Habibou Diallo’s strikes. Sadio Mane and company take the same mojo to visit Eswatini at the Mavuso Sports Centre in Manzini. Eswatini suffered 3-0 loss away in Guinea-Bissau on Day 1.
And after a tricky to Cape Coast in Ghana to face a new-look Black Stars’ side on Thursday, South Africa will want a perfect show against Group C opponents Sudan in front of their own faithful at Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg.
Molefi Ntseki replaced Stuart Baxter three months ago and by now, he knows there is little or virtually no room for error with the Bafana Bafana since he is the team’s 17th coach in two decades.
On Monday, Kwesi Appiah’s Stars visit São Tomé at the Estádio Nacional 12 de Julho.
Meanwhile in Group G, record seven-time Afcon champions Egypt will still do without Liverpool ace Mohamed Salah who has an ankle problem when they visit Comoros.
AFCON 2021 Q
REST OF AFRICA
TODAY, NOVEMBER 16
Ivory Coast vs. Niger, 10pm
TOMORROW, NOVEMBER 17
Eswatini vs. Senegal, 4pm
South Africa vs. Sudan, 5pm
Lesotho vs. Nigeria, 7pm
Rwanda vs. Cameroon, 7pm
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18
Comoros vs. Egypt, 4pm
Sao Tome vs. Ghana, 7pm
Botswana vs. Algeria, 10pm
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19
Burundi vs. Morocco, 4pm
Ethiopia vs. Ivory Coast, 4pm
Zambia vs. Zimbabwe, 7pm
E. Guinea vs. Tunisia, 10pm
AFCON NUMBERS
TEAMS YET TO QUALIFY FOR AFCON FINALS: CAR, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Eswatini, Gambia, Lesotho, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan
MOST TOURNAMENTS HOSTED
5: Egypt (1959, 1974, 1986, 2006, 2019)
4: Ghana (1963, 1978, 2000*, 2008)
3: Ethiopia (1962, 1968, 1976) & Tunisia (1965, 1994, 2004)
2: Sudan (1957, 1970), Cameroon (1972, 2021), Nigeria (1980, 2000), Ivory Coast (1984, 2023), South Africa (1996, 2013), Equatorial Guinea (2012*, 2015) and Gabon (2012*, 2017)
* Co-hosted
