The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign is in the books, with all 24 qualifiers for next year's biennial competition now confirmed. ESPN present the definitive recap on all things AFCON.
It was a frantic and intense AFCON qualifying group stage, with high-profile sides like Ghana missing the finals and some of the continent's lesser lights looking forward to a shot at Africa's grandest prize.
Losing to Rwanda was not the result Nigeria were expecting in their final game of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, despite having already sealed their place in Morocco.
Benin and Sudan qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations, but heavyweights Ghana, Nigeria and Tunisia suffered embarrassing home defeats on the penultimate day of preliminaries for the finals.
The goalkeeper learned of his father's death only after helping the Super Eagles secure AFCON qualification.
Ghana failed to reach the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time since 2004 after drawing with Angola 1-1 in qualifying on Friday.
It was not pretty, but Nigeria's Super Eagles did just enough to eke out the point that cemented their place at the 2025 African Cup of Nations, drawing 1-1 with Benin on Thursday.
Goalkeeper star in Ronwen Williams - Tick! However, at the other end of the field, South Africa have yet to fully settle on a permanent answer to: Who can be relied upon to lead the line to continental glory?
Unless the unimaginably catastrophic happens, it is tough to see Nigeria not getting that point, at the very minimum, and then switching their focus to other tactics and achievements.
We assess the talking points and subplots to track across the conclusion to a compelling qualifying campaign.
Holders Ivory Coast and Equatorial Guinea became the latest countries to qualify for next year's Africa Cup of Nations finals.
Galatasaray forward Victor Osimhen is back in the Nigeria squad after missing last month's Africa Cup of Nations qualifying fixtures against Libya due to injury.
Nigeria have been awarded a 3-0 victory over Libya, and three vital points, from their scheduled Africa Cup of Nations qualifier earlier this month which they refused to play after being stuck in a remote Libyan airport for half a day before the match.
African football fans were treated to a spectacular, if controversial, international break.
A 96th-minute winner from Sadio Mane earned Senegal a 1-0 win over Malawi and a place at the Africa Cup of Nations finals in Morocco next year, but Ghana are in serious danger of missing out after a surprise loss to Sudan on Tuesday.
Nigeria have pulled out of their Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Libya on Monday, according to their captain William Troost-Ekong and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
A spicy dimension has been added to the reverse fixture of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations between Nigeria and Libya, with each sides accusing the other of pre-match travel sabotage.
Mohamed Salah was on target to help Egypt maintain their 100% record in 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying with a comfortable 2-0 home win over Mauritania, but Tunisia slipped to a shock 1-0 home defeat to Comoros in their fixture on Friday.
Wasteful Ghana were held to a 0-0 home draw by Sudan in Africa Cup of Nations qualification on Thursday to leave them in a perilous position midway through the campaign, but several sides edged closer to the finals in Morocco late next year.
With Nigeria striker Victor Osimhen out injured, the spotlight will be on Victor Boniface for another opportunity to prove he can translate his club form to the international stage.
Egypt fans are salivating at the prospect of Marmoush partnering Salah in Mauritania AFCON double-header.
Injury has knocked star striker Victor Osimhen out of the Nigeria squad to take on Libya in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier double header against Libya this month.
From unforgettable debuts to African heavyweights being humbled, here's the current state of affairs across the continent following the first international break of the 2024-25 season.
Four points, three goals, two clean sheets, one win and one draw have seen Augustine Eguavoen guide Nigeria to the top of their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying group. But will he stay in the job?
Ademola Lookman and Victor Osimhen stole the headlines for Nigeria in their win against Benin on the weekend, but more will be required to make it through the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers successfully.
| Group A | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comoros | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 12 |
| Tunisia | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | +1 | 10 |
| Gambia | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 |
| Madagascar | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | -4 | 2 |
| Group B | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
| Morocco | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | +24 | 18 |
| Gabon | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | -2 | 10 |
| Lesotho | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -11 | 4 |
| Central African Republic | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | -11 | 3 |
| Group C | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
| Egypt | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | +10 | 14 |
| Botswana | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | -3 | 8 |
| Mauritania | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | -3 | 7 |
| Cape Verde Islands | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -4 | 4 |
| Group D | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
| Nigeria | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | +6 | 11 |
| Benin | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 |
| Rwanda | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | -2 | 8 |
| Libya | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -4 | 5 |
| Group E | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
| Algeria | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | +14 | 16 |
| Equatorial Guinea | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | -3 | 8 |
| Togo | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -3 | 5 |
| Liberia | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -8 | 4 |
| Group F | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
| Angola | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | +5 | 14 |
| Sudan | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | -2 | 8 |
| Niger | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | +1 | 7 |
| Ghana | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | -4 | 3 |
| Group G | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
| Zambia | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | +3 | 13 |
| Ivory Coast | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | +9 | 12 |
| Sierra Leone | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -5 | 5 |
| Chad | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | -7 | 3 |
| Group H | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
| Congo DR | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | +4 | 12 |
| Tanzania | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | +1 | 10 |
| Guinea | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | +4 | 9 |
| Ethiopia | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -9 | 4 |
| Group I | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
| Mali | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | +9 | 14 |
| Mozambique | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | +4 | 11 |
| Guinea-Bissau | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -2 | 5 |
| Eswatini | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | -11 | 2 |
| Group J | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
| Cameroon | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | +6 | 14 |
| Zimbabwe | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 9 |
| Kenya | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | -3 | 6 |
| Namibia | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | -5 | 2 |
| Group K | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
| South Africa | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | +11 | 14 |
| Uganda | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | +3 | 13 |
| Congo | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -8 | 4 |
| South Sudan | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | -6 | 3 |
| Group L | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
| Senegal | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | +9 | 16 |
| Burkina Faso | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | +3 | 10 |
| Burundi | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -7 | 4 |
| Malawi | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -5 | 4 |
