Five things we learned from this week's AFCON qualifiers
11/20/2024 06:02 AM
The identity of all 24 teams set to participate at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations is now known after the qualifying campaign concluded on Tuesday, November 19.
In this feature we look at some of the information gleaned from the final round of qualifiers as nine teams finished with unbeaten records.
Morocco the team to beat
Morocco have taken their game to another level in the last three months and their performances in Group B showed that they will be clear favourites on home soil when the tournament gets underway on 21 December 2025. The Atlas Lions were the only team to win all six of their matches in qualifying and they did it in style, scoring a remarkable 26 goals while only conceding two. Walid Regragui’s side put the icing on the cake with a 7-0 demolition of Lesotho on November 18 to register their biggest win of 2024.
Nigeria still have some work to do
Nigeria may have qualified for AFCON as Group D winners, but there remains plenty of work to be done in 2025 if they want to replicate their exploits of the 2023 edition which saw them reach the final. Augustine Eguavoen spoke of his desire to maintain the standards set in the opening five matches after recording three wins and two draws, but the Super Eagles looked lethargic both on and off the ball against Rwanda, who pulled off a famous 2-1 win in Uyo to bring an end to their unbeaten run in the qualifiers.
Bafana Bafana have the fans on their side again
Hugo Broos has received praise for transforming South Africa’s fortunes and they put on a show in Cape Town on November 19 against Sudan, playing an exciting brand of football to get the crowd buzzing. Bafana Bafana ran out 3-0 victors on the night, but in truth they could have won the game by six goals given the amount of chances they created. Oswin Appollis wowed the supporters inside the Cape Town Stadium with his trickery and Relebohile Mofokeng raised the volume with his showboating after being introduced off the bench in the second half. The atmosphere was palpable throughout which is a testament to how Broos’ side have won over the fans again.
Ghana are in crisis
Much was expected of Ghana when Otto Addo returned to the helm in March after he guided them to the 2022 World Cup during his first spell. However, things have not gone according to plan for the Black Stars as they failed to even qualify for the 2025 AFCON finals. The West African giants finished bottom of Group F with a record of three draws and three defeats, the first time they had not won a single game in qualifying since 1994. Addo had an array of talent at his disposal and there are already calls for him to resign as head coach.
The COSAFA region is cooking
COSAFA is emerging as a force on the continent after a record seven teams from the region qualified for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. Comoros, Angola and South Africa won their respective groups with unbeaten records, while Botswana, Zambia, Mozambique and Zimbabwe joined them at the African showpiece. The Coelacanths wrapped up an impressive campaign with a historic 1-0 win over Madagascar on November 18 to finish two points above 2004 champions Tunisia in Group A, while the Zebras qualified for only the second time in their history after holding the mighty Egypt to a 1-1 draw on November 19.
