World Cup play-offs: Last but one stage, this Friday, on the road to "Qatar 2022
Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - A fiery last but one stage! This Friday, 25 March, the first leg of the play-offs for the African zone of the World Cup "Qatar 2022" will be played.
On the programme, five matches are as exciting as each other. Less than two months after the end of the African Cup of Nations ( AFCON) 2021, won by Senegal, 10 African big names will meet to compete for the five places at stake for the final phase.
DR Congo - Morocco in Kinshasa, Mali - Tunisia in Bamako, Cameroon - Algeria in Douala, Egypt - Senegal, the two finalists of the last AFCON, in Cairo, and Ghana - Nigeria in Kumasi.
Of the lot, only DR Congo was not at the last African Cup of Nations played in Cameroon from January 9 to February 6, 2022.
But this does not make it an easy opponent for Morocco. Because the "Leopards" will want to show that their absence from the last AFCON was only a false step.
Mali - Tunisia will be a promising meeting between "Eagles" who had faced each other during this AFCON in Cameroon with a short victory for the Malians (1 - 0).
The Cameroonians will enter their home game against Algeria with the "advantage" of never having lost in an official match against the "Fennecs".
Under the leadership of the former emblematic defender and captain Rigobert Song, the "Indomitable Lions" will have at heart to make up for their more or less missed AFCON (3rd in the final ranking).
But the Algerians who were defending their title had been much less since they were eliminated in the first round. The men of Djamel Belmadi will therefore seek to limit the damage before the return leg at home.
In the evening, at the Cairo International Stadium, Egypt will meet Senegal who prevented them, last February 6, from an eighth continental title with the ambition to take their revenge.
But the "Lions" will defend their new status of African champions.
At the same time, in Kumasi, the West African derby will pit Ghana against Nigeria. An undecided match since the "Black Stars" did not even get out of their group C during the AFCON and even lost to Comoros (2 - 3).
Nigeria, despite the first round of fire, was eliminated in the eighth-finals by Tunisia (0 -1).
A qualification to the Qatari World Cup would be a big consolation prize for one or the other team.
But, there will remain for all these 10 teams the return leg, perhaps decisive, which will be played next Tuesday.
As a reminder, the draw for the groups and matches of the final phase of this World Cup "Qatar 2022" scheduled for next November and December, will take place on Friday, 1 April in Doha.
The programme of matches:
Friday, 25 March (GMT) at 3 pm at the Martyrs Stadium in Kinshasa: DR Congo - Morocco; at 5 pm at the Stadium of 26 March in Bamako: Mali - Tunisia; at the Japoma Stadium in Douala: Cameroon - Algeria; at 7:30 pm at the International Stadium in Cairo: Egypt - Senegal; at Baba Yara Stadium, Kumasi: Ghana - Nigeria.
-0- PANA BKN/IS/MTA/RA 24March2022
