Who is missing at Afcon 2021
Gone With The Wind. Goalie Denis Onyango (C) retired soon after Cranes failed to qualify for the Nations Cup.
What you need to know:
- Uganda, whose best performance - a runners up finish in 1978 preceded a 39-year long absence from the showpiece, have been to nine editions including Gabon 2017 and Egypt 2019
Uganda
Uganda missed out on qualification for the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in a group that saw Burkina and Malawi qualify. Uganda, whose best performance - a runners up finish in 1978 preceded a 39-year long absence from the showpiece, have been to nine editions including Gabon 2017 and Egypt 2019. Uganda’s other East African neighbours Tanzania and Rwanda missed out in groups that had Tunisia and Equatorial Guinea plus Cameroon and Cape Verde qualify respectively.
DRC
The 1968 and 1974 champions have been to 19 editions including the last four since 2013 when the tournament was switched back to odd-numbered years. However, this time, they failed to make it from a group that was topped by Gambia, who will be debutants, followed by Gabon.
Zambia
Fortunes seem to be turning for the worse in Zambia, which is home to one of Afcon’s greats Kalusha Bwalya. Zambia have been to seven appearances since affiliating to Caf in 1965. They won the tournament in 2012 but in a classic story of ‘easy to get to the top but tough to maintain it’, they did not get through group stages in 2013 and 2015. They are now missing out on a third successive edition after Algeria and Zimbabwe progressed from their qualification group.
South Africa
The 1996 champions and 2019 quarterfinalists failed to make it from a qualification group that had Ghana and Sudan progress. On the back of that was controversial officiation in their final and decisive match with Ghana after both countries went into it level on 10 points from five games.
BIG MISSES
Congo. Congo, who won Afcon in 1972, failed to make it from a group where Senegal and Guinea-Bissau qualified. An interesting part about Congo, who have been to seven editions, missed the first two Afcons in 1957 and 1959 because they considered themselves part of France. After that, they did not affiliate to Caf till 1968 but they went on to win on their second appearance.
Togo. Togo, too, considered themselves to be part of France before 1960 and did not affiliate to Caf until 1964.
They are probably more popular as home to former Arsenal and Real Madrid striker Emmanuel Adebayor but they have been to seven editions since 1972.
Interestingly, they have withdrawn from three Afcons; 1972, 1990 and 2010, which they pulled out due to the rebel attack on their team bus. In 2013 for the first time in history, Togo reached the quarterfinals of the Nations Cup .
