Photo Credit: Sudan Football Association media center
Two more days remain as qualifying for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations winds down to its conclusion with 22 matches on Monday and Tuesday. On Monday there are two places at the finals in Morocco up for grabs from matches in Group F and Group D which will all kick off at 16:00 GMT. In the later slate of games beginning at 19:00 GMT, Group A will determine its winner.
Pan-Africa Football will update this article throughout Monday as the results and news comes in from each group. You can also catch up on each of the last three days of qualifying below.
13:00 GMT
Group L: Malawi vs. Burkina Faso (Lilongwe, Malawi)
There is little to nothing at stake in this match where Burkina Faso will finish as runners-up behind Senegal, prompting the Stallions to allow stars Edmond Tapsoba and Issa Kaboré to return back to their European clubs early. Malawi avoided the embarrassment of ending the qualifying campaign pointless with a scoreless draw against Burundi earlier in the window and now the Flames will hope to give their supporters a victory to cheer about against a quality team.
HT: Malawi 1-0 Burkina Faso
The Flames are performing well in front of the home support in Lilongwe with an excellent long range strike from veteran star striker Gabadinho Mhango putting the hosts ahead. After three matches without a goal, Malawi on their way to ending the qualifying campaign on a good note against a Burkina Faso side without a few of their top players.
FT: Malawi 3-0 Burkina Faso
Richard Mbulu and Lloyd Aaron find the goal in the second half for the Flames who end their qualification campaign with four points from their final two matches under Zimbabwean coach Kalisto Pasuwa. Strong performance from a team that continues to look towards future campaigns.
Highlight: Gabadinho Mhango opens the scoring with an excellent team goal for Malawi
16:00 GMT
Group F: Ghana vs. Niger (Accra, Ghana)
Group F: Sudan vs. Angola (Benghazi, Libya)
Group D: Nigeria vs. Rwanda (Uyo, Nigeria)
Group D: Libya vs. Benin (Tripoli, Libya)
This group of matches are where the suspense lies. In Group F, Niger have a tall task ahead in Accra where they need to defeat the Black Stars of Ghana who are already eliminated and will be missing at least Jordan Ayew and Abdul Fatawu Issahaku. Even a victory for Niger may not be enough to overtake second placed Sudan who host group winners Angola in Benghazi, a venue where Sudan have found success and will clinch qualification if they avoid defeat.
Benin will also travel to Libya to face the North African country, where the Cheetahs are guaranteed qualification if they avoid defeat. However, despite having to forfeit their home match against Nigeria in October, the Knights can stun Benin and overtake them for second place if they achieve either a 1-0 victory (due to an away goal scored in the previous meeting) or a victory by two goals. Rwanda suffered a devastating 1-0 defeat at home against Libya earlier in the window and now Amavubi must shock Nigeria away from home and hope for Libya to defeat Benin in order to seize second place and qualification.
HT:
Ghana 0-1 Niger
Sudan 0-0 Angola
Nigeria 0-0 Rwanda
Libya 0-0 Benin
The tension continues to build in Tripoli where proceedings have been delayed on multiple occasions due to Libyan fans invading the pitch where Libya and Benin continue to battle it out in a match with big implications for second place in Group D. A 1-0 victory would be enough for Libya to overtake Benin, otherwise the Knights will need a victory by two goals. Nigeria and Rwanda are scoreless at halftime with Rwanda needing a win and a Libya victory to overtake Benin for second place.
Sudan will qualify as runners-up to Angola in Group F if the current results hold but Niger are doing what they need to do with a first-half goal against hosts Ghana in Accra. If Sudan lose then Niger will overtake them for second place and a ticket to Morocco for the finals.
FT:
Ghana 1-2 Niger
Sudan 0-0 Angola
Nigeria 1-2 Rwanda
Libya 0-0 Benin
Niger and Rwanda did what they needed to do away from home but it is not enough! Benin and Sudan have secured qualification by the narrowest of margins with Benin surviving a couple of close calls in Tripoli against Libya. If Benin had lost the Cheetahs would have been overtaken by Rwanda who came back from a Samuel Chukwueze goal to score twice in three minutes and win in Nigeria.
Sudan and Angola ended scoreless to give Sudan the point they needed to avoid being overtaken by Niger who did what they could with a victory against Ghana in Accra. Poor performances to finish the campaign from both Ghana and Nigeria who each suffer disappointing defeats at home.
19:00 GMT
Group B: Morocco vs. Lesotho (Oujda, Morocco)
Group B: Central African Republic vs. Gabon (Johannesburg, South Africa)
Group A: Tunisia vs. Gambia (Tunis, Tunisia)
Group A: Comoros vs. Madagascar (Al Hoceima, Morocco)
Morocco has become a Theater of Dreams for Comoros who found a dramatic late goal in Berkane earlier in the window to defeat The Gambia and qualify for their second AFCON finals. Les Coelacanthes can win Group A with a victory against Madagascar but they will need The Gambia to avoid defeat in Tunisia. It was not easy for the North African nation but Tunisia would satisfy their supporters by finishing up with a victory against the Scorpions.
In Group B, there is only third place to play for in the group. Central African Republic looked promising earlier in the campaign but an acrimonious split with former coach Raoul Savoy in October came at the wrong time and now Les Fauves will hope to defeat Gabon in South Africa after being stunned by a stubborn Lesotho team last match. Lesotho have impressed with their solid defense which will face the ultimate test in Morocco who are perfect through five matches.
HT:
Morocco 5-0 Lesotho
Central African Republic 0-0 Gabon
Tunisia 0-1 The Gambia
Comoros 1-0 Madagascar
A hat-trick from Real Madrid attacker Brahim Díaz spurred the Atlas Lions to a five-goal first half performance in Oujda where they are thrashing Lesotho and are set to complete a perfect record in AFCON qualifying. Elsewhere, in Group A The Gambia continue to look strong in Tunis where they lead Tunisia while Comoros have found the opening goal early in the second half against Madagascar.
FT:
Morocco 7-0 Lesotho
Central African Republic 0-1 Gabon
Tunisia 0-1 The Gambia
Comoros 1-0 Madagascar
It is only fitting that Morocco finishes qualifying with the most lopsided victory of all matches. The Atlas Lions add two more goals in the second half to complete a 7-0 rout of Lesotho, ending their campaign with a perfect record with 26 goals scored and only 2 goals conceded.
In Group A, Comoros conclude an undefeated campaign with their victory over Madagascar. Tunisia got the job done in qualifying for the finals but the Eagles of Carthage suffer another disappointing result by losing at home to The Gambia and settling for second place in the group behind Comoros.
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