Defending champions Ivory Coast and Equatorial Guinea have secured their spots in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations without playing a match, as the penultimate round of qualifying kicked off on Wednesday.
Ivory Coast guaranteed a top-two finish in Group G after Sierra Leone’s 1-1 draw with Chad. The Elephants now have nine points from four games, while Zambia sit second with seven points from four matches. Sierra Leone, with five points and one game remaining, and Chad, who are eliminated, complete the group.
In Group E, Liberia’s 1-0 victory over Togo in Monrovia ended both teams’ hopes of qualification. The result also confirmed Equatorial Guinea’s place in the tournament in Morocco. Equatorial Guinea now have seven points from four matches, while Liberia, with four points from five games, and Togo, with two, are both out of contention. Even if Liberia finish with the same points as Equatorial Guinea, they cannot surpass them due to the head-to-head record between the two sides.
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Along with Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, and Cameroon, the tournament will feature Angola, Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Morocco, and Senegal.
Additional spots are expected to be confirmed on Thursday, with nine more qualifiers scheduled across the continent. Countries such as Nigeria, Sudan, and Tunisia are poised to secure their tickets to Morocco.