* Now look ahead to the next phase where they will join the 44 exempted countries for the group stages
* The official draw of the group stages will be announced by CAF after the conclusion of the preliminary stages
Maravi Express
Confederation of Southern African Football Association (COSAFA) member, eSwatini secured their place in the qualifying group phases of the CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Morocco 2025 alongside Chad, Liberia and South Sudan.
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They all secured their places after edging past their opponents following the second-leg matches of the preliminary stages.
Played at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit, South Africa, eSwatini faced off against Somalia in a high-stakes encounter and despite Somalia’s valiant efforts to stage a comeback, the COSAFA side held their ground, ultimately drawing the match 2-2.
Ndzinisa Sabelo opened the scoring for eSwatini in the 46th minute, followed by Matsebula Bongwa’s goal in the 49th minute but Somalia fought back with goals from Awad Mohammed in the 76th minute and Ahmed Yusuf in the 86th minute.
Despite the draw, eSwatini advanced to the next round with a 5-2 aggregate score, thanks to their convincing 3-0 victory in the first leg.
Mauritius 1-2 Chad
Played at National Sports Complex in Saint Pierre, Mauritius clashed with Chad in a tense encounter with Jeremy Villeneuve giving Mauritius hope with a goal in the 45th minute, but Chad responded fiercely.
Charles Tchouplaou leveled the score in the 74th minute before Ousmane Hassan sealed the victory with a goal deep into stoppage time, securing Chad’s advancement with a 3-1 aggregate score.
Liberia 0-0 Djibouti
The Samuel Kanyon Doe Stadium in Monrovia witnessed a goalless draw between Liberia and Djibouti. Despite the lack of goals, Liberia secured their progression to the next round with a 2-0 aggregate score, following their victory in the first leg.
South Sudan 0-0 Sao Tome e Principe
In Berkane, Morocco, South Sudan and Sao Tome and Principe battled to a goalless draw at the Stade Municipal de Berkane and with the aggregate score tied at 1-1, South Sudan advanced to the next round on the away goals rule, having secured a vital away goal in the first leg.
Chad, eSwatini, Liberia and South Sudan will now look ahead to the next phase of the qualifiers where they will join the 44 exempted countries for the group stage of the qualifiers.
The official draw of the group stages of the qualifiers for the AFCON Morocco 2025 will be announced by CAF now that the preliminary stages have been concluded.
Meanwhile, while Malawi, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Zambia took advantage of the FIFA window for strength-testing matches to prepare for the forthcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2025 AFCON qualifying campaigns — by organising the 4-Nations Tournament won by Kenya — Algeria and South Africa battled to a pulsating 3-3 draw at the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Algiers.
Yassine Benzia stole the spotlight with a brace for the hosts, finding the net in the 22nd and 70th minutes, while Yassine Brahimi added to the tally in the 53rd minute.
However, South Africa’s resilient response, spearheaded by Themba Zwane’s strikes in the 34th and 45+5 minutes, alongside Ikram Reiners’ goal in the 66th minute, ensured an electrifying deadlock that thrilled the spectators.
Reigning African champions Côte d’Ivoire continued their impressive form, overcoming Uruguay 2-1 in Lens, France, courtesy of goals from Matías Oliveira and Guilla Doy.
However, it was disappointment for Nigeria, who lost to Côte d’Ivoire in the final of the AFCON Côte d’Ivoire 2023, as they succumbed to a 0-2 defeat against Mali in Marrakech, with Bilal Toure and Kamouri Doumbia finding the net for the victorious Malian Eagles.
In another FIFA Series games, Egypt lost 2-4 to Croatia in Cairo with Rami Rabia and Mohamed Abdel Moneim scoring for the Pharaohs while at Marrakech Stadium witnessed a fierce duel between Uganda and Ghana, culminating in a captivating 2-2 draw.
Jerome Opoku and Jordan Ayew struck early for the Black Stars, countered by Stephen Mukwala’s penalty and Mohamed Shaaban’s late equalizer for Uganda, leaving fans on the edge of their seats until the final whistle.
In France, Senegal clinched a narrow 1-0 victory over Benin, with Sadio Mane converting a crucial penalty in the 59th minute to secure the win.
In other fixtures, Burkina Faso drew 1-1 against Niger; Morocco played out a goalless stalemate with Mauritania and Togo settled for a 1-1 draw against Libya.
The enthralling array of friendly matches showcased the competitive spirit and talent across the African footballing landscape with the 4-Nations Tournament in Malawi witnessing Kenya beating the hosts 4-0 while Zimbabwe and Zambia played out a 2-2 draw, which the Warriors won 5-5 on post match penalties.
For the final, Kenya emphatically beat Zimbabwe 3-1 while Zambia scored two quick goals before Malawi replied five minutes later but the game went on to 90+4 at 2-1 — for the Chipolopolo to earn the third-place title.
All three visiting coaches for the 4-Nations Tournament — Kenya’s Engin Firat; Zimbabwe’s Norman Mapeza; Zambia’s Avram Grant — including the hosts’ Patrick Mabedi, expressed their satisfaction of the high levels of competitiveness that prepares them for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2025 AFCON qualifying campaigns.
Firat told the media that he was glad his charges had embraced a winning mentality, adding that he will have good results in June if he put sthe team together and have them mentally prepared.
“The crop of players we shall be having in June will be the most determining factor,” he is quoted as saying. “We don’t have a large pool of players to choose from compared to teams like Senegal and Morocco.
In their 2026 FIFA World Cup Group F qualifiers, Kenya are alongside Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, The Gambia, Burundi and Seychelles while Zimbabwe are up against Nigeria, South Africa, Benin, Rwanda and Lesotho in Group C and the Warriors coach, Norman Mapeza said despite the loss they had a wonderful tournament:
Zambia’s Avram Grant also said they had gained a lot from the tournament ahead of the World Cup qualifiers in June in which they are in Group E with Morocco, Congo, Tanzania, Niger and Eritrea.
“The tournament helped us a lot as we have crucial matches in the World Cup qualifiers,” he is quoted as saying after beating the Flames 2-1 in the third place play-off. “We met good teams as Malawi and Zimbabwe gave us good game.”
On his part on the Flames’ overall performance during the tournament, coach Patrick Mabedi said he was happy with the team’s performance, emphasising that there were plenty of positives.
“It was a good tournament in terms of trying some new players,” he was quoted as saying, adding his team were “able to build attacks but finishing was the problem — it is work in progress and we’ll get over it.”
In their Group H of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the Flames are alongside. Tunisia, Equatorial Guinea, Namibia, Liberia and São Tomé e Principe and after Day 1 & 2 of qualifying matches in November, for the 2026 FIFA World Cup started in November, Tunisia are at the top having a goal difference of 5 against Equatorial Guinea’s two.
The Flames — who beat Liberia 1-0 away in Monrovia before losing by same margin against Tunisia at home — also tie on 3 points with Namibia but the Brave Warriors.
Equatorial Guinea first overcame Namibia 1-0 before beating Liberia also 1-0 while Tunisia first beat São Tomé e Principe 4-0 before beating the Flames 1-0 with Namibia seeing off Sao Tome e Principe 2-0.
After June, the next qualifying matches for Flames’ Group H will be in 2025 (March, September, October and November).—Info on AFCON preliminaries and friendlies by CAFonline
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