Chad, Eswatini, Liberia, and South Sudan have all secured their places in the main stage of qualifying for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2025) after emerging victorious in their preliminary round fixtures on Tuesday.
These four teams will join the 44 highest-ranked sides on the continent in the main group-stage draw.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) is yet to announce the date of the qualifying draw or the schedule for the finals, which are set to take place in Morocco next year.
The potential scheduling clash arises due to the expanded FIFA Club World Cup, scheduled for June and July next year, which may coincide with AFCON 2025.
Eswatini, Liberia, and South Sudan all managed to avoid upsets against lower-ranked opponents, while Chad secured a victory over Mauritius, who are four places above them in FIFA’s world rankings.
Eswatini, having already secured a 3-0 victory over Somalia in the away leg, sealed their progression with two quick goals early in the second half. Although Somalia managed to salvage a 2-2 draw on the day in South Africa, Eswatini’s aggregate lead was insurmountable.
Chad, despite travelling to Mauritius with a narrow 1-0 advantage, levelled the tie on aggregate just before halftime in the first leg. However, Chad bounced back with an equaliser 16 minutes from time and clinched a late winner deep into injury time, securing a 3-1 aggregate victory.
Liberia, after securing a 2-0 victory in the first leg, played out a goalless draw with Djibouti, ensuring their passage to the main qualifying stage.
South Sudan also progressed following a goalless draw in their ‘home’ leg against Sao Tome and Principe in Berkane, Morocco. The 1-1 draw in the first meeting proved sufficient for South Sudan to advance on away goals.