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Just a few months to the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON, The Scope News looks at the list of the African countries that have so far qualified for the football competition that will take place in Ivory Coast from January to February 2024. .
The 2023 AFCON qualifiers’ teams are made up of 48 countries.
Out of the 54 countries of Africa, only 48 qualified for this group stage of the competition. Out of this number only half will be in Ivory Coast for the final round of AFCON
As of this publication each of the competing countries have gone just half the circuit. Each is to play six matches each, but have played three so far.
There are 12 groups, listed according to FIFA rules they are caliberated alphabetically, that is A to L. There are four teams in ewch group.with four teams making up a group. This means that bar any twists in the course of the competition only the first two of the four will inadvertently qualify
For the football buffs, the remaining AFCON qualification fixtures will take place from 28 March 2023, 12-20 June 2023 and 4-12 September 2023.
This is how they presently stand
In Group A, DAILY POST reports that Nigeria and Guinea Bissau are currently the top two teams in the group with 9 and 7 points, respectively, after four matches. Both nations are in pole position to make it to Ivory Coast ahead of Sierra Leone and Sao Tome and Principe.
In Group B, Burkina Faso and Cape Verde are in the driving seat to qualify for the AFCON 2023 ahead of Eswatini and Togo. Both Burkina Faso (first position) and Cape Verde (second position) have 9 and 4 points, respectively, while Eswatini and Togo sit in third and fourth positions with 2 points and 1 point after three matches.
Group C is still open, with Cameroon currently on top with 4 points after two matches, while Namibia sits in second position with 2 points from the same number of games, Burundi (third position) with 1 point and Kenya (fourth position) with no point.
Group D is still open as Egypt sits on top with 6 points from three games, Guinea in second position with 6 points also from the same number of games, while Malawi (third position) with 3 points and Ethiopia (fourth position) with 3 points also from the same number of games.
Group E is a battle between Ghana (first position with 8 points), Central African Republic (second position with 7 points) and Angola (third position with 5 points), as Madagascar currently have a point and sit in the bottom after four matches.
In Group F, Algeria have already qualified for the 2023 AFCON with two games to spare. They sit on top of the group table with 12 points from four games. Behind the North Africans are Tanzania in second position with 4 points from three games, while Niger (four games) and Uganda (three games) sit in third and fourth positions with 2 points and 1 point.
In Group G, Mali are obviously going to make it to Ivory Coast as they top the group with 9 points from three matches. Congo are in second position with 6 points from four games, while Gambia and South Sudan all have 3 points each from three and four games, respectively.
Group H is still open between Zambia, Ivory Coast, and Comoros. They all have 9, 7 and 3 points, respectively. Lesotho sits in the bottom place with 1 point after four games. However, Ivory Coast and Comoros have played three games each.
Group I is also still open as Gabon sits on top of the group with 7 points from three games, while Mauritania is in second place with 4 points, Sudan and DR Congo are in third and fourth positions with 3 points each.
Group J is still open between Tunisia, Equatorial Guinea and Libya. They all have 7, 6 and 3 points, respectively. Botswana sits in the bottom place with 1 point after three games.
In Group K, Morocco are definitely going to qualify for 2023 AFCON as they currently top the group with 6 points from two games, while the likes of Liberia and South Africa sit in second and third positions with 1 point each, while Zimbabwe are bottom with no point from two games.
Group L is the same as Group B. In Group L, Senegal and Mozambique are in the driving seat to qualify for the AFCON 2023 ahead of Rwanda and Benin. Both Senegal (first position) and Mozambique (second position) have 9 points and 4 points, respectively, while Rwanda and Benin sit in third and fourth positions with 2 points and 1 point.
