Last places allocated
©IMAGO
Tanzania, Botswana and Mozambique have completed the field of participants for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. Tanzania beat Guinea 1-0, which also meant the elimination of Borussia Dortmund’s Serhou Guirassy, who is on the shortlist for African Footballer of the Year, and VfL Bochum’s Aliou Baldé. Botswana and Mozambique then became the last teams to book their tickets for next year’s tournament. Chemistry Leipzig’s Stanley Ratifo was also happy.
Botswana qualified for the finals for only the second time after picking up the point they needed in a 1-1 away draw against Egypt to finish second in Group C. A draw was also enough for Mozambique, but in the end they won 2-1 in Guinea-Bissau. The match winner was Ratifo with his goal in the 52nd minute.
The Africa Cup of Nations will begin on December 21 next year and last until January 18, 2026. In addition to Morocco as host, the other 20 participants are: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Comoros, DR Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Mali, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
The four-time title holders Ghana with coach Otto Addo, who only collected three points in six games against group opponents Angola, Sudan and Niger, are not there. From ten games under the 49-year-old this year, he only has an average points average of 1.00. His future with the Black Stars is in doubt.
