As the road to Morocco 2025 continues, all eyes are on Ghana and Senegal during the upcoming Matchdays 3 and 4 of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers over the next week.

Ghana, a four-time AFCON champion and a consistent participant in the last ten tournaments, faces significant challenges in Group F. Following a disappointing 1-0 home defeat to Angola and a 1-1 draw away against Niger in their opening matches, the Black Stars must secure crucial points against Sudan in back-to-back games in Accra and Benghazi on October 10 and October 14, respectively. Coach Otto Addo is under immense pressure to turn things around. “We have good footballers, better footballers than them [Sudan], so we have to win this game,” said Addo, acknowledging the talent of his players while emphasizing the need for focus.

Adding an interesting twist to the narrative, Sudan is coached by James Kwesi Appiah, a former manager of the Black Stars from 2012 to 2014 and 2017 to 2020. “We have so much respect for Kwesi Appiah and what he has done for the national team and Ghanaian football,” noted Addo, but stressed that the focus must remain on the game.

In contrast, Senegal recently made the surprising decision to part ways with coach Aliou Cisse, despite his success in leading the team to AFCON victory in 2021. The Senegal Football Federation (FSF) announced last week that they would not renew Cisse’s contract, even after a solid start in Group F, which included a 1-1 draw with Burkina Faso and a 1-0 win against Burundi. Pape Thiaw will take charge as the interim coach for their upcoming matches against Malawi in Dakar and Lilongwe.

In other notable fixtures, reigning AFCON champions Ivory Coast will face Sierra Leone twice in Group G, while Nigeria takes on Libya in Group D. North African powerhouses Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, and Algeria are also looking to maintain their perfect records, and Cameroon will face Kenya in decisive matches for Group J dominance.

AFCON Qualifiers Fixtures, Matchdays 3-4 (Times in CAT)

Wednesday, October 9
15:00 Namibia vs. Zimbabwe

Thursday, October 10
18:00 Cape Verde vs. Botswana
Ghana vs. Sudan
DR Congo vs. Tanzania
21:00 Algeria vs. Togo
Burkina Faso vs. Burundi

Friday, October 11
15:00 Equatorial Guinea vs. Liberia
Zambia vs. Chad
Mozambique vs. Eswatini
16:00 Madagascar vs. Gambia
18:00 Egypt vs. Mauritania
Nigeria vs. Libya
Benin vs. Rwanda
Cameroon vs. Kenya
Uganda vs. South Sudan
19:00 South Africa vs. Congo
21:00 Tunisia vs. Comoros
Gabon vs. Lesotho
Angola vs. Niger
Ivory Coast vs. Sierra Leone
Mali vs. Guinea-Bissau
Senegal vs. Malawi

Saturday, October 12
18:00 Guinea vs. Ethiopia
21:00 Morocco vs. Central African Republic

Sunday, October 13
18:00 Burundi vs. Burkina Faso

Monday, October 14
15:00 Sudan vs. Ghana
Kenya vs. Cameroon
16:00 Gambia vs. Madagascar
18:00 Togo vs. Algeria
Liberia vs. Equatorial Guinea
Guinea-Bissau vs. Mali
Zimbabwe vs. Namibia
21:00 Ethiopia vs. Guinea
Eswatini vs. Zimbabwe

Tuesday, October 15
15:00 Lesotho vs. Gabon
Chad vs. Zambia
Tanzania vs. DR Congo
South Sudan vs. Uganda
Malawi vs. Senegal
18:00 Mauritania vs. Egypt
Botswana vs. Cape Verde
Rwanda vs. Benin
Niger vs. Angola
Sierra Leone vs. Ivory Coast
Congo vs. South Africa
21:00 Comoros vs. Tunisia
Central African Republic vs. Morocco
Libya vs. Nigeria