Fixtures on 31st May: Tanzania Vs Mauritius Cameroon Vs Cape Verde Namibia Vs Kenya Uganda Vs Niger Gabon Vs Lesotho Senegal Vs Algeria Botswana Vs Madagascar Rwanda Vs Mauritania Morocco Vs Ethiopia Togo Vs Zambia Malawi Vs Djibouti on 1st June: Guinea Vs Zimbabwe Angola Vs Benin Equatorial Guinea Vs Sierra Leone Nigeria Vs South Africa Ghana Vs Libya Liberia Vs Gambia Cote d'Ivoire Vs Mozambique Burundi Vs Seychelles Tunisia Vs Burkina Faso Mali Vs Congo Egypt Vs Congo DR Eritrea withdrew leaving Swaziland not playing there opening game until the 8th June at home to Togo.
On Wikipedia it says now that the Second group stage will decide who will advance to the African Cup of Nations? So they have changed this again?
After the first group stage, there will be 20 teams left, split into five groups of four. The teams that finish 1st, 2nd, and 3rd iin each group plus Angola will qualify for Cup of Nations.
Tanzania 1-1 Mauritius Cameroon 2-0 Cape Verde Namibia 2-1 Kenya Guinea 0-0 Zimbabwe Uganda 1-0 Niger Angola 3-0 Benin Equatorial Guinea 2-0 Sierra Leone Nigeria 2-0 South Africa Ghana 3-0 Libya Senegal 1-0 Algeria Liberia 1-1 Gambia Botswana 0-0 Madagascar Cote d'Ivorie 1-0 Mozambique Rwanda 3-0 Mauritania Morocco 3-0 Ethiopia Burundi 1-0 Seychelles Tunisia 1-2 Burkina Faso Mali 4-2 Congo Togo 1-0 Zambia Malawi 8-1 Djibouti Egypt 2-1 Congo DR
Recently I read that they changed it to the 12 group winners and top three second place teams in the first group stage plus Angola.
Yes, that's what I heard on this forum. But I can't seem to find any proof for this anywhere on the internet (including wikipedia and caf). You don't think they've changed it again??
Burkina Faso over Tunisia is huge, though the latter will probably get 12 points from the other 2 teams regardless. Togo over Zambia is big too in a 3 team group, though if Zambia wins the return fixture the goal difference could come into play. I've thought that Gambia could be a surprise qualifier; they did well to get a point on the road.
So what is the deal. Do Zambia have to over perform in 4 matches to make it through or do they get a break with Eritrea being out.
7th June Cape Verde Vs Tanzania Kenya Vs Guinea South Africa Vs Equatorial Guinea Sierra Leone Vs Nigeria Libya Vs Gabon Mauritania Vs Morocco Seychelles Vs Tunisia Burkina Fasp Vs Burundi Chad Vs Mali 8th June Mauritius Vs Cameroon Zimbabwe Vs Namibia Benin Vs Uganda Niger Vs Angola Lesotho Vs Ghana Gambia Vs Senegal Madagascar Vs Cote d'Ivoire Mozambique Vs Botswana Ethiopia Vs Rwanda Congo Vs Sudan Swaziland Vs Togo Congo DR Vs Malawi
Cape Verde 1-0 Tanzania Kenya 2-0 Guinea South Africa 4-1 Equatorial Guinea Sierra Leone 0-1 Nigeria Mauritania 1-4 Morocco Seychelles 0-2 Tunisia Burkina Faso 2-0 Burundi
Mauritius 0-3 Cameroon Zimbabwe 2-0 Namibia Benin 4-1 Uganda Niger 1-2 Angola Lesotho 2-3 Ghana Gambia 0-0 Senegal Madagascar 0-0 Cote d'Ivoire Mozambique 1-2 Botswana Ethiopia 1-2 Rwanda Congo 1-0 Sudan Swaziland 2-1 Togo Congo DR 1-0 Malawi
13th June Mauritania Vs Ethiopia Djibouti Vs Congo DR 14th June Tanzania Vs Cameroon Kenya Vs Zimbabwe Namibia Vs Guinea Uganda Vs Angola Niger Vs Benin Sierra Leone Vs South Africa Gabon Vs Ghana Gambia Vs Algeria Botswana Vs Cote d'Ivory Rwanda Vs Morocco Seychelles Vs Burkina Faso Chad Vs Congo Sudan Vs Mali Malawi Vs Egypt 15th June Mauritius Vs Cape Verde Equatorial Guinea Vs Nigeria Lesotho Vs Libya Liberia Vs Senegal Madagascar Vs Mozambique Burundi Vs Tunisia Swaziland Vs Zambia
So the 12 groups winners and top 8 second place advance. However, groups 7 and 11 only have three teams. So how are the second place teams figured when 10 groups have 4 teams and 2 groups have 3? Is it points per match?
Wow. Malawi has beaten African Champ Egypt 1-0 and Burkina Faso got their 3rd win which is almost the ticket to the next round. With 70' of play, Botswana ties Cote d'Ivore 1-1 while having the lead in the 1st half. The qualifiers gonna be VERY close in the end.
Question.... According to the CAF, Chad is in trouble for not showing up to the Sudan match. Supposedly they are now ineligible for the 2010 Cup of Nations, and only matches between the other three teams in the group will be relevant for 2010 Cup of Nations qualifying. Fine. But then they say that Chad can still qualify for the World Cup. How is that possible?? The next round of the WCQ & the Cup of Nations Qualifiers are one and the same. How can one qualify for one and not the other??
To answer this myself... I see one link that says that the Cup of Nations qualifying is over after the first round. It's the 12 group winners plus the three best runners up... can anybody else confirm this? If that is indeed the case then it answers the question how one team can be out of the Cup of Nations Qualifying, but still in the WC Qualifying.
Wiki says: Angola: Host country for 2010 African Cup of Nations Winner of 2nd Group Round Group 1,2,3,4,5 Runner-up of 2nd Group Round Group 1,2,3,4,5 3rd Team of 2nd Group Round Group 1,2,3,4,5
I understand that those were the original rules, but I believe that the rules have been changed mid-stream here. I mean, CAF has ruled that Chad is out of the Cup of Nations qualifiers, but still in the WCQ.... logically that means that the cup of nations qualifiers MUST be over at the end of this round. There seems to be no other possibility. Those cup of nations qualifiers were stupid to begin with - it meant that the three teams drawn with Angola would be automatically qualified for the Cup of Nations, regardless of their performance in the final round. My understanding of the new rules is that the cup of nations qualifiers will now be the 12 group winners and the three best runners up (and Angola automatic, of course).
This day really produced a lot of suprises or even sensations: Sudan 3-2 Mali Malawi 1-0 Egypt (!) Uganda 3-1 Angola Sierra Leone 1-0 South Africa (!) Gabun 2-0 Ghana Botswana 1-1 Ivory Coast Ruanda 3-1 Morocco (!) So the only teams with 3 wins of 3 matches are currently Burkina Faso and Rwanda. Both were not a CAN 2008, which shows how competitive the qualifiers are. None of 3 WC 2006 teams could win today!