Angola welcome Ghana in reverse fixture
In the second of two consecutive meetings between the teams four days apart, Angola welcome Ghana to Estadio de 11 Novembro for their fourth AFCON qualifier on Monday.
The hosts will be looking to exact revenge on their visitors following a narrow 1-0 defeat at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi last time out. Despite being on the front foot for large spells of the contest, Ghana left it late in their matchday-three clash against Angola on Thursday evening.
Antoine Semenyo was the hero of the occasion as he came off the bench to score a 96th-minute winner and hand Chris Hughton a winning start to life at the helm of affairs.
Picking up seven points from a possible nine, the Black Stars have opened up a three-point lead at the top of Group E midway through the qualifying campaign.
They will now aim to continue their near-perfect record against an opposing outfit who have been beaten in two of the previous three encounters between the sides.
Potentially three points away from securing a place at next year’s AFCON, Monday’s visitors now set out to complete their major objective with two games left to spare.
With little time to dwell on their disappointing defeat last time out, Angola must now pick themselves up and deliver another solid performance against Ghana.
There was little to choose between Angola and Ghana last time out, and another tight affair is on the cards here. We are anticipating an open and entertaining affair with the teams nullifying each other, giving rise to a share of the spoils at the end of the 90 minutes.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Nigeria seek revenge against Guinea-Bissau
Nigeria will go in search of revenge when they face hosts Guinea-Bissau in an Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier at Estadio 24 de Setembro in the early evening of Monday. The teams met at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium on Friday evening and the Djurtus claimed a shock 1-0 away win thanks to a first-half strike from Mama Balde.
While the Super Eagles boasted household names in attack (such as Victor Osimhen, Samuel Chukwueze and Moses Simon) and created numerous chances, they simply lacked the precision and patience to break down a resilient defence, leading to a surprise triumph that angered the home crowd in Abuja.
The result saw Guinea-Bissau leapfrog to the top of the group A table on seven points, pushing Nigeria down to second on six points. Sierra Leone (third, two points) and Sao Tome & Principe (fourth, one point) complete the quartet and will meet for their clash in Agadir on Sunday.
While the defeat is unlikely to affect Nigeria’s ultimate Afcon ambitions, coach Jose Peseiro hoping his team enjoy better luck and finishing on Monday evening.
Guinea-Bissau coach Baciro Cande, meanwhile, wants his team to forget Friday’s triumph and focus on securing another positive result against their heavyweight opponents.
Credit: supersport.com
Niger host Algeria in Group F double-header
Seeking their first win of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign, Niger play host to Algeria in the second of their Group F double-header on Monday.
The Desert Warriors journey to the Stade Olympique de Rades on a run of three wins from their opening three qualifying games and will look to continue in the same vein.
Niger failed to get their quest for a place in Ivory Coast up and running as they fell to a 2-1 loss against Algeria when the sides squared off at the Stade Nelson Mandela last Thursday.
The Menas had themselves to blame as they squandered their first-half lead, with Abdel Rahim Alhassane scoring a 54th-minute own goal before Manchester City’s Riyad Mahrez completed the comeback with two minutes left to play.
The West Africans have now lost their last three matches across all competitions, including a painful 1-0 loss to Madagascar in the third-place playoff of the 2022 Africa Nations Championship for home-based players earlier this year.
Having kicked off their AFCON qualifying campaign with successive draws against Tanzania and Uganda, Niger have just two points from a possible nine and sit third in Group F, just one point above the bottom of the pile.
Algeria have now won each of their last eight clashes across all competitions against Niger. Algeria will be looking to maintain their 100% record in the qualifying campaign as they eye a fifth AFCON appearance on the bounce since missing out on the continental showpiece in 2012.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Sudan looking to avenge lossto Gabon
Sudan host Gabon at the Al Hilal Stadium in Omdurman in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, looking to avenge their earlier loss. Gabon beat Sudan 1-0 in Franceville on Thursday courtesy of a late goal from Lloyd Palun as the Panthers climbed atop Group I with seven points in three games.
Aiming for a second consecutive appearance at the AFCON, Patrice Neveu’s side will edge closer to sealing their berth at the Cote d’Ivoire showpiece with another victory next week.
Sudan, meanwhile, remain third, failing to take advantage of second-placed Mauritania’s loss to DR Congo in the other game. The Secretarybirds have three points, one less than the Lions of Chinguetti, and are ahead of Congo on goal-difference.
While Gabon could go with an unchanged lineup, Sudan could tweak their XI, with experienced defender Athar El Tahir likely to get the nod.
Sudan’s qualification chances will diminish further if they lose, but their form hasn’t been good enough lately to predict anything special from them.
Sudan have never beaten Gabon in four previous meetings, losing thrice.
Credit: sportskeeda.com
