CAPE TOWN: Four-time Africa Cup of Nations winners Ghana could see their streak of 10 successive appearances at the tournament, which resumes on Wednesday, come to an end as victories in their remaining two qualifiers may not be enough to seal a place at the finals in Morocco.

Midfielder Thomas Partey was also left out of the Ghanian squad and embattled coach Otto Addo refused to disclose why he omitted the 31-year-old, who has scored 13 goals in 49 international appearances.

“My reasons are confidential. I hope he will rejoin us for the next international window in March (World Cup qualifying),” he told reporters.

In another decision involving Premier League stars, Leicester City forward Jordan Ayew has replaced West Ham United midfielder Mohamed Kudus as captain.

Only Egypt (26) and Ivory Coast (25) have been to more Cup of Nations finals than the Black Stars (24) but Ghana are likely to be out of contention by Thursday after a woeful qualifying campaign.

The top two finishers in each of the 12 groups advance to next year’s finals. Ghana are third in Group ‘F’ with two points from four matches, with Angola already qualified and Sudan needing just a draw from two games to join them.

Angola have a 100% record with four straight wins while Sudan are on seven points and face bottom-placed Niger in neutral Togo on Thursday. Sudan also have the upper hand on Ghana on a head-to-head basis.

Ghana must beat Angola in Luanda and Niger at home and hope Sudan lose both their matches if they are to qualify. The future of coach Addo could be on the line if Ghana miss out.

Angola, Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, hosts Morocco and Senegal have already booked their spots at the 24-team tournament, which runs from Dec 21, 2025 until Jan 18, 2026.

Holders Ivory Coast start their final pair of Group ‘G’ fixtures at Zambia on Friday needing a point to qualify.

Nigeria, who were awarded the points from last months aborted tie in Libya where they refused to play after being stuck in a remote airport for half a day before the match, can secure their place with a win over Benin in neutral Abidjan.

Tunisia fired coach Faouzi Benzarti after a shock home loss to the tiny Comoros Islands last month but are still top of Group ‘A’ as they attempt to secure a record-extending 17th successive appearance at the finals.

Caretaker coach Kais Yaacoubi will lead the team to face Madagascar in neutral South Africa on Thursday where a win would all but ensure they go to the finals once again.

Madagascar are among 18 countries unable to host home qualifiers after the Confederation of African Football ruled their facilities inadequate for internationals.

Published in Dawn, November 13th, 2024