Ghana hosts Angola at the Baba Yara Stadium
Ghana will host Angola at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium on Thursday, aiming to kick off their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign with a victory.
These two sides faced off during the qualifying series of the last AFCON, with the Black Stars securing a 1-0 home win and a 1-1 draw in the return leg.
Ghana
Otto Addo‘s second stint as Ghana’s head coach has been promising, with two wins and a draw in four matches, despite a defeat to Nigeria in his first match after the comeback.
Ghana’s recent form includes a dramatic 2-1 victory over Mali and a 4-3 win over Central African Republic, both in 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
Ghana’s disappointing group-stage exit at the recent AFCON led to the dismissal of Chris Hughton, but the Black Stars have since turned things around and are now seeking to win three consecutive matches across all competitions for the first time since July-August 2022.
The hosts also have an ongoing unbeaten record against the visitors, winning and drawing two each against them in four previous meetings.
Angola
Angola enters this fixture on a high after winning the COSAFA Cup in July, triumphing in the competition for the fourth time in July.
Pedro Goncalves‘s men went undefeated throughout the tournament, culminating in a 5-0 victory over Namibia in the final, with Victor Pedro Nanque scoring a brace.
The Palancas Negras are aiming for their 10th AFCON appearance, having reached the quarterfinals of the last edition before losing to Nigeria.
Inaki Williams Returns
LA Galaxy winger Joseph Paintsil, Turkey-based Kingsley Schindler, Anderlecht’s Majeed Ashimeru, and Athletic Bilbao’s forward Inaki Williams have all returned to the Ghanaian squad after missing the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Mali and the Central African Republic in June.
Leicester forward Ayew has scored in the last five games for the team and is expected to start in attack once more, with West Ham’s Mohammed Kudus playing behind him.
Prediction
Ghana appear to have rediscovered their form under the new coach, and they have also enjoyed success in this fixture, which is why we are predicting a victory for them on Thursday against Angola, a team that has struggled in AFCON qualifying matches.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Tunisia begin their road to redemption against Madagascar
Tunisia would take on Madagascar at Stade Olympique Hammadi-Agrebi in Rades. Tunisia will begin their road to redemption this week after they were dumped out in the group stage of the previous edition of the Africa Cup of Nations in the Ivory Coast at the start of the year.
The Carthage Eagles were drawn alongside Mali, South Africa and Namibia in the previous competition and failed to win any of their matches, drawing two after a shocking opening match defeat to Namibia.
Since then, the North Africans have posted a mixed bag of results, drawing goalless in back-to-back friendlies against Croatia and New Zealand in March, while they beat Equatorial Guinea 1-0 and played out a 0-0 stalemate against the Brave Warriors in their World Cup qualifiers in June.
Following the most recent goalless draw with Namibia, the Tunisian Football Association brought Faouzi Benzarti to lead the side to continental glory, and he will be featuring in his first match in charge of the Carthage Eagles this week.
Tunisia have a rich history in this competition, qualifying for the main event over 20 times in their history, through they have not won the title in two decades despite reaching the quarter-final in seven of their last 10 attempts.
Meanwhile, Madagascar will see this match as a chance to exact revenge, as it was this very opponent that knocked them out of the only Africa Cup of Nations main tournament they ever qualified for in their history back in 2018-19.
Since then, Barea have failed to make much of an impact in qualifying, with the last edition ending with the side failing to win any of their six group-stage matches, drawing three and losing three.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
CAR & Lesotho eye first ever Afcon qualification
Both Central African Republic and Lesotho are hoping to qualify for the upcoming African Cup of Nations tournament for the first time in their history when they undergo their initial Group B qualifier at Stade El Abdi on Thursday evening. This will be the first meeting between the two nations
CAR head into their first Group B 2025 Afcon qualifier on the back of an eventful 4-3 defeat against Ghana in a CAF World Cup qualifying fixture that took place on the 10th of June. Prior to their encounter against the Black Stars, CAR went on a three-match winning streak.
Lesotho on the other hand, are winless in their last four matches across the board and recently participated in the 2024 COSAFA Cup in July.
Les Fauves are expected to give Amiens striker Louis Mafouta the nod in attack on Thursday, especially after the French Ligue 2 star netted an impressive hat-trick against Ghana last time out.
Savoy also called on the services of Geoffrey Kondogbia and Brad Pirioua for their upcoming list of Afcon qualifiers, with both midfielders plying their trade for French Ligue 1 outfit Marseille.
As for Lesotho, Notsie listed eight players from South Africa’s PSL in his latest squad selection, most notably that of Thabo Makhele, Teboho Letsema, Motebang Sera and Tlotliso Phatsisi
Credit: supersport.com
Algeria welcome Equatorial Guinea
Algeria and Equatorial Guinea are set to clash at the Miloud Hadefi Stadium on Thursday, both aiming to kick off their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign with a victory.
The two sides have met just once previously, with Equatorial Guinea emerging victorious in a 1-0 win at the 2021 AFCON.
Algeria, having suffered a 2-1 defeat to Guinea in their first competitive match under Vladimir Petkovic, quickly rebounded with a 2-1 win over Uganda, as goals from Houssem Aouar and Said Benrahma secured the victory for the Fennec Foxes in the 2026 World Cup qualifying match.
The Northern Africans are now seeking to qualify for a seventh consecutive AFCON edition in a bid to clinch their third title, having won the second one in 2019.
Algeria’s recent AFCON campaign was disappointing, as they failed to advance beyond the group stage for the second time in a row.
Algeria are gradually rebuilding their team under the new coach – their recent performance hinted at a promising future, while they also have an ongoing unbeaten streak in AFCON qualification.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
FIXTURES
Malawi 13:00 Burundi
Central Africa Republic 15:00 Lesotho
Congo 16:00 South Sudan
Ghana 16:00 Angola
Guinea Bissau 16:00 Eswatini
Algeria 19:00 Equatorial Guinea
Tunisia 19:00 Madagascar
