Morocco and South Africa were paired in a heavyweight group for the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, which get under way in June but they might have one less country to contend with one the road to the finals in the Ivory Coast.
Morocco are top seeds in Group K and Bafana Bafana second but they were also paired with Liberia and Zimbabwe, who are suspended by Fifa and unlikely to be able to compete.
Both Kenya and Zimbabwe were included in the draw by the Confederation of African Football in case their suspension are lifted before the qualifiers kick off in June. But it seems unlikely, particularly for Zimbabwe whose Sports Minister, Kirsty Coventry said; ‘last week they had no plans to restore the powers of the disbanded Zimbabwe Football Association.”
Zimbabwe’s suspension
Fifa will only lift Zimbabwe’s suspension if the government backs off from its interference but an impasse is likely to see Zimbabwe miss out and South Africa’s group reduced to three countries, with the top two advancing to the finals.
Kenya were paired in Group C with Burundi, Cameroon and Namibia and are also expected to be forced to miss out, leaving three countries to battle it out for two places.
Hosts Senegal looked to get an comfortable draw in Group L while Egypt, who were runners-up at the finals in Cameroon in February, will also be fancied to get past Ethiopia, Guinea and Malawi.
THE DRAW FOR THE 2023 AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS QUALIFYING GROUPS
Group A: Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau, Sao Tome e Principe or Mauritius
Group B: Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Togo, Eswatini
Group C: Cameroon, Kenya, Namibia, Burundi
Group D: Egypt, Guinea, Malawi, Ethiopia
Group E: Ghana, Madagascar, Angola, Central African Republic
Group F: Algeria, Uganda, Niger, Tanzania
Group G: Mali, Congo Brazzaville, Gambia, South Sudan
Group H: Ivory Coast (hosts), Zambia, Comoros, Lesotho
Group I: Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Mauritania, Sudan
Group J: Tunisia, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Botswana
Group K: Morocco, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Liberia
Group L: Senegal (holders), Benin, Mozambique, Rwanda
VON