1. Angola to miss Mabulu in Lbya
Mabulu will sit out in Angola’s clash against Libya after being suspended for yellow card accumulation in their trip to Tripoli. Angola has won 6 points from four games and is behind Cameroon, who sit on top with two points. Angola’s trip to Libya could be a make or break for them in their bid to qualify for their first World Cup since 2006. Pedro Goncalves’s side did hit top form in the 2025 AFCON qualifiers and would be glad to continue from there, even though they will miss their star man, Mabulu.
2. Aliou Cisse to commence Libya reign
2021 AFCON-winning coach Aliou Cisse will start his Libyan reign with a fixture at home against Angola. The Senegalese head coach who is now the second highest-paid coach in Africa, will get the opportunity to know his men for the first time. Libya is the only North African country to never qualify for the FIFA World Cup, and it looks likely that it will continue in 2026 even though they are not far behind in the group. Libya is just a point behind leaders Cameroon having won 7 points from four games. Aliou Cisse will steal the attention and will definitely give the Libyans the needed moral booster if they can beat Angola to give them a 4-point lead.
3. Assane Diao to make Senegal bow
The 19-year-old Como striker was in a huge dilemma choosing between Spain and Senegal. Born in Senegal but trained in Spain, the youngster has played for Spain’s U19 and was part of their team that conquered Europe in the U19 championship in 2024. Spain’s head coach, Luis de la Fuente, was ready to give him a call, but the boy chose Senegal. His father promised him massive support from the family if he chose any of the two. Senegal will face Togo, and the youngster is set to make his bow, especially since Illiman Ndiaye and Nicolas Jackson are missing.
4. Ghana can’t give any excuse if they don’t break their winless run
The Black Stars failed to beat any of their opponents – Niger, Sudan and Angola in two encounters against each. They finished bottom. Of the group in the AFCON qualifiers and struggled to score goals with stars like Kudus Mohammed, Antoine Semenyo, Ernest Nuamah, Inaki Williams, Kamaldeen Sulemaana and Ayew Jordan available. It was so shocking for Ghanaians and African football fans to see Ghana failing to win a slot for Morocco 2025. Now, the Black Stars face Chad and must win and win convincingly to end the 6 successive runs of no victory in competitive matches. Head coach Otto Addo is optimistic about turning things around for Ghana and it must start against Chad.
5. Eric Chelle has every opportunity to win Nigerians heart
It is very shocking to see a Malian coaching the Nigeria national team. West Africans barely appoint coaches from the region for their national teams, so the NFF choosing Eric Chelle was very big news. Eric Chelle was heavily criticised by the Malian media for failing to beat Ghana at home in round three of the World Cup qualifiers in Bamako. Ghana won 2-1 to put more pressure on Mali with a Malian journalist ordering the head coach to resign immediately after the defeat. Eric Chelle was eventually sacked and surprisingly got the Super Eagles’ job. Nigeria in Group C sits just a place above the bottom. The Super Eagles have won three points from a possible 12 and must beat Rwanda and Zimbabwe in those games to put themselves in the right place. It will be disastrous for Eric Chelle to fail to beat any of the two. The Malian will win the hearts of Super Eagles fans with wins.
6. Morocco to host 6 games in round 5
Morocco’s Cities of Oudja, El Jadida, Meknes, Casablanca, and Berkane will host home matches involving Niger, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Ethiopia, Comoros, Central Africa Republic and Madagascar.
Morocco will definitely decide on some of the groups, especially Group I. As it stands, Ghana and Mali are the only nations among the 6 that have a fit venue to host home games.
Central African Republic v Madagascar, Comoros v Mali, Burkina Faso v Djibouti, Ethiopia v Egypt, Burundi v Ivory Coast, Niger v Morocco will all be hosted by Morocco.
