Accra, April 20, GNA – The Black Stars of Ghana will be seeking their 24th appearance at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) after being paired in Group E with Madagascar, Angola and Central African Republic in the qualifiers for the next year’s tournament in Ivory Coast.
Qualification to the AFCON has not been a problem for the Black Stars of Ghana but breaking its 41-year trophy drought remains the major setback.
The Black Stars would also be looking to make amends after their dreadful outing in Cameroon. which saw them exit the group stages of the competition.
Profile of Ghana’s opponents:
Madagascar
The “Barea” as they are nicknamed made their debut appearance at the AFCON IN 2019, where they impressively made it to the quarterfinals.
Madagascar in their debut tournament in Egypt secured wins against Burundi, Nigeria and Democratic Republic of Congo before losing to Tunisia at the quarterfinals.
Despite their success at the 2019 AFCON, the Barea failed to make the 2021 tournament in Cameroon after placing third in the qualifiers.
Ivory Coast and Ethiopia secured the two spots in Group K while Madagascar came third with Niger rock bottom.
Angola.
The “Giants Antelopes” as they are nicknamed would be seeking their ninth appearance at the AFCON.
Angola have twice reached the quarter-final stage of the competition (2008, 2010) which remains their best results at the tournament.
The Giants Antelopes who once represented Africa at the 2006 failed to make it to the last tournament after placing bottom in Group D of the 2021 AFCON qualifiers.
Central African Republic
The « Wild Beasts » as they are nicknamed will be seeking to book a spot at the AFCON for the first time in the country’s history.
They Wild Beasts would be making another attempt to grab a spot in Ivory Coast after failing in seven previous attempts
Central African Republic in their last attempt to qualify for the continental showpiece in Cameroon failed, after placing bottom of Group E which had the likes of Morocco, Mauritania and Burundi.
Simon Asare, GNA
