Tanzania and Ethiopia set to light Group HÂ
With club football put on ice for the next couple of weeks, Tanzania and Ethiopia will start their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign with a Group H clash at the Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium on Wednesday afternoon. The Taifa Stars have been largely inconsistent throughout 2024 and only began seeing an upturn in results since the month of May.
Tanzania are currently unbeaten in their last three fixtures across the board and go into their next fixture on the back of a 1-0 win against Zambia in a CAF World Cup qualifier that took place on the 11th of June.
Ethiopia on the other hand, recorded back-to-back draws against Guinea-Bissau (0-0) and Djibouti (1-1) in two of their most recent CAF World Cup qualifiers in June.
Positive results have been hard to come by for Ethiopia this year and recorded just one victory in four matches since the turn of 2024, which came in the form of a 2-1 win against Lesotho in a Friendly encounter on the 24th of March.
Tanzania national team interim head coach Hemed Suleiman has revealed that the Taifa Stars will go into their 2025 Afcon qualifying campaign with no injury concerns or worries.
This will be the first meeting between Tanzania and Ethiopia in Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers; however, the two sides have met on three occasions since 2013.
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Sudan and Niger will get things underway in Group F
Sudan and Niger will get things underway in Group F, as the Falcons of Jediane welcome the Menas to Juba Olympic Stadium for an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Wednesday.
Both sides will be meeting for the first time in a competitive match, as they look to take a step towards participation in the prestigious tournament. Sudan will begin their quest for an appearance at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco after missing out on the last edition in Ivory Coast.
One-time winners of the competition after triumphing in 1970, Sudan have struggled to match that performance, with only managing to reach the quarterfinals once since then – in 2012.
Head coach, James Kwesi Appiah, appointed in September 2023, has led the side to a tremendous start in the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign, as they currently top Group B with 10 points, two points ahead of African powerhouse Senegal.
The coach will hope his side can translate this form into the AFCON qualifiers, having won their last three competitive matches and lost just one of their last eight matches across all competitions.
Sudan are unbeaten in five of their last six home games and are enjoying a fine run of form and have demonstrated their capabilities in the World Cup qualifiers, remaining unbeaten to date.
Niger, conversely, are experiencing a difficult period and enter this match on a poor run. Given the disparity in form, we anticipate Sudan to have too much for their opponents to handle.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Libya welcome Rwanda to the 11th June Stadium
Group D at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers kicks off this weekend with Libya taking on Rwanda at the 11 June Stadium in Tripoli on Wednesday evening.
The group also features African powerhouse Nigeria and Benin, who will lock horns in their opening match on Saturday at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo.
Libya will head into their first match of AFCON qualifying in good spirits after putting on a solid display to beat Botswana 1-0 in a friendly match at this venue over the weekend.
While the Mediterranean Knights were not the most attacking in that game, scoring with pretty much their only big chance of the game, they were impressive in defence, conceding just three shots on target, none of which looked likely to find the back of the net.
Since the Libyan Football Federation announced the appointment of Serbia tactician Milutin Micho Sredojevic at the start of October, the side have experienced a notable upturn in performances, with the new boss suffering only one loss in 11 matches since his arrival.
Libya are set to feature in their 11th AFCON qualifying campaign this year, but have only reached the main draw three times, with the last being in the 2011-12 tournament.
Meanwhile, Rwanda will be aiming for a major improvement in this qualifying campaign after finishing rock bottom in the last edition and failing to win any of their six group-stage matches.
However, the Wasps head into this competition carrying solid form, currently sitting atop their group in CAF World Cup qualification with a record of two wins one draw and just one loss in their first four games.
Both these sides have made notable improvements under new management and are carrying solid form into this match. There is very little to choose between these two and we feel there will be nothing to split them at the final whistle as well.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Comoros take on Gambia in Group A
Just seven months on from the previous edition, qualification for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations will get underway in midweek when the Comoros take on Gambia at Stade Ben Ahmed El Abdi.
These two sides have been drawn into Group A of these qualifiers, which also features Madagascar and Tunisia who will face off on Thursday night in Rades.
The Comoros come into AFCON qualifying following an impressive COSAFA Cup campaign which saw them bow out 3-1 to Mozambique on penalties after a 2-2 draw in regulation time in the match for third place.
Les Coelacantes failed to qualify for the 2023 edition of the AFCON, finishing third in their group, six points above Lesotho but six behind Zambia and the eventual tournament winners Ivory Coast.
Since then, though, Stefano Cusin‘s side have enjoyed an impressive CAF World Cup qualifying campaign so far, currently leading their group with nine points after four matches, a period during which they secured a notable 1-0 win over African giants Ghana in November last year.
The Comoros have participated in seven AFCON qualification campaigns since their first appearance in 2010-11 but have only reached the main draw on one occasion, which was the 2021-22 season where they were knocked out in the round of 16 by Cameroon.
While the Comoros enter this match with slightly better form, Gambia have made significant strides forward in recent years and have a few big names arriving in Casablanca for these qualifiers.
We are expecting a closing contested opening match here but fancy the Scorpions to come away with the victory.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
TODAY’S FIXTURES
Sudan 13:00 Niger
Comoros 15:00 Gambia
Libya 16:00 Rwanda
Tanzania 16:00 Ethiopia
