Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea into Cup of Nations

Holders Ivory Coast and Equatorial Guinea have become the latest countries to qualify for next year's Africa Cup of Nations finals but did not have to kick a ball to do so, as the penultimate round of qualifiers began.

The Ivorians, winners at the last finals which they hosted at the start of the year, are certain of finishing in the top two places in Group G after Sierra Leone were held to a 1-1 draw by Chad in Abidjan.

The Ivorians sit on nine points from four matches, with Zambia (seven) second in the group, Sierra Leone (five) third and Chad eliminated.

Chad moved the clash to the Ivory Coast because they are one of 18 countries barred from hosting international matches because of the poor state of their stadia.

A 1-0 win for Liberia over Togo in Monrovia in Group E eliminated both countries and guaranteed Equatorial Guinea progress to the tournament in Morocco, which is to be played from December 21, 2025 to January 18, 2026. The top two sides in each of the 12 qualifying groups advance to the finals.

Equatorial Guinea, who were a surprise package at the last finals, sit on seven points from their four matches, Liberia four from five games and Togo have two.

Even if Liberia finish with same points tally as Equatorial Guinea, who host group leaders Algeria on Thursday, they cannot overhaul them in the standings because of the head-to-head record between the two.

Earlier on Wednesday, Cameroon hung on for a goalless draw away against Namibia in their Group J clash played in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Cameroon had already qualified from Group J while it was the first point of the campaign for the already-eliminated Namibia.

Algeria, Equatorial Guinea, the Ivory Coast and Cameroon are joined by Angola, Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Morocco and Senegal in the finals.

More places should be decided on Thursday when a further nine qualifiers are played around the continent, with the likes of Nigeria, Sudan and Tunisia looking likely to book their tickets.