Africa's World Cup candidates now have Cup of Nations on their minds
All but one of the 10 countries that have advanced to
the last stage of Africa's World Cup qualifiers will have another matter on
their immediate agenda before determining who plays at the 2022 finals in
Qatar.
Algeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Mali, Morocco,
Nigeria, Senegal and Tunisia are all on course to qualify for Qatar but compete
at the Africa Cup of Nations finals in January before switching focus back to
World Cup qualification in March.
Only the Democratic Republic of Congo are through to
the last round of Africa's World Cup preliminaries despite having flopped in
the Cup of Nations qualifiers this year.
The Congolese hired veteran coach Hector Cuper to
stage a recovery and won their World Cup group to reach the playoffs.
In March, the 10 teams will be drawn into five
two-legged ties, with the aggregate winners representing Africa in Qatar. The
two-legged ties will be played between March 24-29.
No draw date has been set but a Confederation of
African Football spokesman told Reuters it would likely be conducted in January
- during the Cup of Nations finals.
World Cup qualifying has proven intense and welcome
preparation for the Cup of Nations, no more so than for hosts Cameroon.
They have been largely unimpressive over the last two
years but got a boost by beating and eliminating a strong Ivory Coast team 1-0
in Yaounde on Tuesday amid ecstatic support that they will seek to draw strength
from at the Cup of Nations.
But others, like defending champions Algeria, will go
to the tournament concerned about stuttering performances in the World Cup
qualifiers hosted in an intense three-month spell.
"Qualifying to the next phase of the World Cup is
satisfying but there were no easy matches. The players found it tough, but it
was good for their concentration and determination," said Algeria coach
Djamel Belmadi.
"The Cup of Nations is going to be just as
hard."
Others among the 10 World Cup qualifying group winners
were more convincing and secured progress early, meaning they could use some
games to prepare for the Jan. 9-Feb. 6 Cup of Nations.
"We gained much as we were able to test different
strategies and formations and try new players. It was a chance to give them
playing time so they would gain experience and confidence," said Egypt
coach Carlos Queiroz after Tuesday's 2-1 win over Gabon.
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