With the 2018 African Nations Championship group stages reaching the final round, we look at the countries that have already qualified to proceed to the quarter-finals.
Group A.
In Group A, hosts Morocco and Sudan settled for a goalless draw in the final fixture that was meant to decide who tops the table. Opting to use a different starting XI from one used in the opening two games, hosts Morocco were held to a 0-0 draw by Sudan in the final game of the Group.
The point was still enough for Morocco to top Group A to set up a meet with first-time participants Namibia while second-placed Sudan faces off with Zambia on Saturday. In the other final group fixture, Guinea who crashed out in the second round beat Mauritania to defend their pride, ending its campaign on three points.
| |
Played |
Wins |
Draws |
GD |
Pts |
| Morocco |
3 |
2 |
1 |
6 |
7 |
| Sudan |
3 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
7 |
| Guinea |
3 |
1 |
0 |
-2 |
3 |
| Mauritania |
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
Group B.
Zambia and Namibia also settled for a 1-1 stalemate in the final fixture that was meant to decide the table topper with the former winning the top spot. Heading into the game, both sides had already qualified ahead of Uganda and Ivory Coast who crushed out after the second round.
The two eliminated sides ended their campaigns on an all-time low after playing out to a 0-0 draw in Marrakech. Ivory Coast who was considered a potential favorite in the group, crushed out without finding the back of the net while Uganda only scored once.
| |
Played |
Wins |
Draws |
GD |
Pts |
| Zambia |
3 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
7 |
| Namibia |
3 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
7 |
| Uganda |
3 |
0 |
1 |
-3 |
1 |
| Ivory Coast |
3 |
0 |
1 |
-3 |
1 |
Group C.
Group C is the most competitive group in the first round of the 2018 African Nations Championship. Three teams still have a chance of qualifying, and the last matches will determine who goes through.
Top seed Nigeria is tied with Rwanda in first place with four points but the two are closely followed by North African giants Libya who also have three points. Nigeria will face bottom-placed Equatorial Guinea while Libya and Rwanda face off in a must-win fixture to see who proceeds to the next round.
| |
Played |
Wins |
Draws |
GD |
Pts |
| Nigeria |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
| Rwanda |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
| Libya |
2 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
| Equatorial Guinea |
2 |
0 |
0 |
-4 |
0 |
Group D.
With two games played, Congo is assured of a place in the next round while Angola will need to get a point in its final game against top-placed Congo to qualify.
Cameroon, quarter-finalists in the last edition to the surprise of many, crashed out after the second round without a single point or goal while Burkina Faso who upset Ghana to qualify for the Championship is also on the verge of elimination.
Congo and Angola face off to see who tops Group D while Burkina Faso can also still statistically qualify if the side scores more than two and Angola loses to Congo.
Table.
| |
Played |
Wins |
Draws |
GD |
Pts |
| Congo |
2 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
6 |
| Angola |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
| Burkina Faso |
2 |
0 |
1 |
-2 |
1 |
| Cameroon |
2 |
0 |
0 |
-2 |
0 |
