We're arriving at the midpoint of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign, with the 48 teams competing in the group stage set to face each other home and away as the field begins to take shape for next year's tournament in Morocco.
As ever, there's no shortage of engrossing subplots and fascinating storylines to get stuck into on and off the field during the fixtures to come; here are the big talking points.
Salah and Marmoush together for Egypt
Over the opening weeks of the season, Omar Marmoush of Eintracht Frankfurt, not Liverpool's Mohamed Salah, has been North Africa's outstanding individual in Europe's major leagues.
Salah has been no slouch, having a hand in eight goals for Arne Slot's Liverpool -- scoring four and registering four assists -- but Marmoush has been performing at a different level in the German Bundesliga.
The 25-year-old has hit a new gear under Eintracht coach Dino Toppmoller, scoring eight goals and producing four assists in six league fixtures, and beginning to establish himself as Africa's next superstar.
Marmoush made his Pharaohs debut in 2021, but having scored more goals in his past six Frankfurt matches than in the entirety of his Egypt career, it's safe to say his stock has never been this high.
Now, Egypt fans are salivating at the prospect of in-form Marmoush partnering the legendary Salah for the coming Mauritania double-header, not to mention a potential Nations Cup and FIFA World Cup over the next 20 months.
By the end of this cycle, Salah might even expect to pass the torch to Marmoush.
Senegal's new era begins
For the first time since 2015, Senegal head into an international break without Aliou Cissé as head coach.
The former Teranga Lions captain -- a member of the team's 2002 World Cup side -- took Senegal to two World Cups as manager, and oversaw the West African team's first AFCON final success when they defeated Egypt in the final in 2022.
However, after failing to meet several of his recent objectives -- including retaining the Africa Cup of Nations -- Cissé was informed earlier this month that his contract was not being extended.
Senegal now head into this international break -- and a double-header with Malawi -- under the guidance of interim head coach Pape Thiaw, another member of the 2002 generation, who was previously Cissé's assistant.
Thiaw has no shortage of talent at his disposal, with the likes of Sadio Mané, Nicolas Jackson, Iliman Ndiaye and Boulaye Dia headlining a fearsome attacking unit that should help to see Senegal through this unfamiliar Cissé-less period.
Who leads the line for Osimhen-less Nigeria?
Victor Osimhen has yet again been waylaid with fitness problems, meaning the Galatasaray loanee sits out the Super Eagles' double-header against Libya. It's yet another setback for Africa's reigning Footballer of the Year, whose progress has been punctured by injury concerns since he inspired Napoli to the Serie A title in 2023.
Nigeria, like Senegal, are embarking on an international break without a permanent head coach, and while the Super Eagles' interim, Augustine Eguavoen, has said that Osimhen is "with [the team] spiritually" he still needs to decide who will lead the line for the West African giants.
Despite a wealth of attacking options, Nigeria have struggled to be the sum of their parts in recent international breaks, failing to find the net against lowly Rwanda in their previous international outing.
Victor Boniface, in-form with Bayer Leverkusen, appears to be the most likely Osimhen replacement, with Taiwo Awoniyi and Kelechi Iheanacho among the other options for the stand-in coach.
If Eguavoen can forge an effective attacking unit from the talents at his disposal, then could the Nigeria Football Federation begin to consider him as a viable longer term option?
Ivory Coast without Haller again
Reigning African champions Ivory Coast are also having to get used to life without one of their AFCON talismans, as Sébastien Haller again sits out an international break.
The on-loan Leganés frontman has already spent more time in the treatment room than Osimhen, and he has been forced to withdraw despite being named in Emerse Fae's squad for the international break.
The 30-year-old striker misses out after picking up another injury complaint, to be replaced by uncapped Guy Stephane Bedi, who has been making a name for himself on the domestic Ivory Coast scene with San Pedro.
Despite Haller's absence, Fae will be aware that he can secure his team's place at the next Nations Cup in their pair of matches against Sierra Leone, having already defeated Zambia and Chad in their opening group games.
Paris FC's Jean-Philipe Krasso leads the scoring charts with three goals in Ivory Coast's first two group games, and he's looking to show the Elephants their post-Haller future.
Mali drop a player because of his height?!
Former France Under-21 international Moussa Sylla, currently on the books of Schalke 04, was something of a surprise omission from Tom Saintfiet's Mali squad to face Guinea-Bissau on Friday and Monday.
Sylla debuted for the national side earlier this year, but he has since been overlooked despite his excellent form for Schalke prompting local media to question Saintfiet about his exclusion.
The Belgian head coach had something of a novel explanation for his exclusion.
"Sylla should be here, but we have El Bilal Toure, our first choice, and we're very happy with Sekou Koita," Saintfiet said at a press conference.
"We thought that we have attackers of the same size, and that can be difficult. Mamadou Doumbia is bigger than the others. He's young, but the main reason I chose Doumbia and not Sylla is because we wanted a player with a different height."
Sylla, who stands 180 cm, and who has scored six goals in eight Bundesliga 2 outings this season, must surely be questioning what he can do to force his way back into the coach's plans -- short of growing a centimetre or two.
Appiah forced to step down from Ghana role after 'conflict of interests' accusation
There's an intriguing subplot to Ghana's pair of fixtures against Sudan this week, due to the presence of ex-Black Stars head coach Kwesi Appiah in the Sudan dugout.
The 64-year-old was an AFCON winner with Ghana during his playing career, and he held various roles within the Ghana Football Association (GFA) between 2007 and 2020 -- including overseeing the Black Stars' controversial 2014 World Cup campaign as head coach.
Appiah, the Sudan head coach, until this week also held a position on the GFA's Executive Committee, but he has opted to step down from this role after a Confederation of African Football directive -- as seen by ESPN -- that posited a potential "conflict of interests" for Appiah to be involved with both the Sudanese and the Ghanaian federations at the same time.
Appiah opted to pause his commitments with the Ghana federation, at least until next month, although it remains to be seen whether he'll be welcomed back if the Falcons of Jediane inflict a further qualifying setback on the Black Stars.
Ghana, with just one point from their opening two matches, cannot afford a slip-up.
Eto'o-Cameroon turning over a new leaf?
Cameroon head into an international break in a seemingly serene state, with the hostilities between national federation (FECAFOOT) president Samuel Eto'o and the country's sports ministry having calmed in recent weeks.
Eto'o and sports minister Narcisse Mouelle Kombi showed a united front during a rare public showing together at the Cameroon Cup final in late September, suggesting the nation's footballing civil war might be coming to an end, while Belgian head coach Marc Brys -- a longstanding nemesis of Eto'o -- was allowed to announce his squad in peace.
It's a far cry from recent international breaks, when the federation and the ministry appeared to be pulling in different directions and aiming to score points against one another rather than support the national side.
On Tuesday, Eto'o was even due to visit the Ministry of Sports and Physical Education for the first time in several months, although it remains to be seen whether this uneasy truce will hold beyond the Indomitable Lions' pair of fixtures against Kenya.