Ghana’S Black Stars must beat the Palancas Negras of Angola in Luanda, today and pray that Sudan lose all their games to retain any hope of qualifying for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations finals, in Morocco.
The Ghanaians have been one of the surprise teams of the qualifying series with their poor performance in a group comprising Niger Republic, Sudan and Angola.
The Black Stars failed to win any of their last four games, a situation that has made it compulsory that they must beat Angola and Niger Republic in their last two games with a prayer that Sudan fails to get a draw in their own two games.
The Ghanaians face an uphill task, as Sudan, who met Niger Republic yesterday, are tipped to get the solitary point they require to edge out the Black Stars. But despite the odds stacked against is side, Coach Otto Addo is still optimistic that a miracle could happen in these dire times.
Ghana is going into the clash without eight of their top stars, including Mohammed Kudus and Thomas Partey, who withdrew from the squad. While Ghana is living on prayers, cup holders, Cote d’Ivoire and Equatorial Guinea have no such worries because they have qualified without kicking a ball, as the penultimate round of qualifiers began on Wednesday.
The Ivoirians are certain of finishing in the top two places in Group G after Sierra Leone were held to a 1-1 draw by Chad in Abidjan. They have nine points from four matches, with Zambia second in the group on seven from four. Sierra Leone have five points with one game to play and Chad are eliminated.
Chad moved the clash to Cote d’Ivoire because they are one of 18 countries barred from hosting international matches because of the poor state of their stadiums, reports timeslive.co.za.
They went a goal behind to Abu-Diaby Dumbuya’s stunning 29th-minute effort but equalised with a Panenka-style penalty from defender Mahamat Thiam five minutes later.
A 1-0 win for Liberia over Togo in Monrovia in Group E eliminated both countries and guaranteed Equatorial Guinea progress to the tournament in Morocco, which is to be played from December 21, 2025 to January 18, 2026. The top two sides in each of the 12 qualifying groups advance to the finals.
Equatorial Guinea, who were a surprise package at the last finals, sit on seven points from their four matches, while Liberia who have four points from five games and Togo have two.
Even if Liberia finish with same points tally as Equatorial Guinea, who hosted group leaders Algeria yesterday, they cannot overhaul them in the standings because of the head-to-head record between the two.
Equatorial Guinea beat Liberia home and away last month, but on Wednesday substitute Mohammed Sangare, who came through the ranks at Newcastle United, but now plays his club football in Switzerland, tucked away an 83rd-minute penalty to ensure Liberia’s first win of the group.
It was also a maiden victory for caretaker coach Thomas Kojo, drafted in last month after Romanian Mario Marinica was fired. Earlier on Wednesday, Cameroon hung on for a goalless draw away against Namibia in their Group J clash played in Johannesburg, South Africa
Namibia came close to snatching victory midway through the second half when diminutive forward Prins Tjiueza hit the upright with a header and then slammed the rebound onto the same post as Andre Onana kept a clean sheet for a fourth time in five matches in the qualifiers.
Cameroon had already qualified from Group J while it was the first point of the campaign for the already-eliminated Namibia. Afterwards, Cameroon coach Marc Brys bemoaned the poor organisation which saw his side arrive less than 24 hours before kick off and have to do without Brentford striker Bryan Mbeumo and Brighton & Hove Albion’s Carlos Baleba, who did not make it to the game on time after playing in the Premier League at the weekend.
Algeria, Equatorial Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire and Cameroon are joined by Angola, Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Morocco and Senegal in the finals.
