Article by Adelani Ogunrinade
All eyes were recently on the road to Morocco 2025 as the scramble for spots in Africa’s most illustrious soccer spectacle reached fever pitch. A few days later, Mamelodi Sundown’s cup dreams drowned in the judicial capital of South-Africa.
Here are just a few African football moments to remember from the month of November:
The losers & high-flyers of The AFCON Qualifiers
Match days 5 & 6 of the AFCON Qualifiers were just glimpses of the euphoria that the 35th edition of the competition has to offer. Waves of nervous excitement rippled through busy boroughs on the continent as famous faces plying their trade in Europe’s elite leagues boarded private jet flights back home.
Sun rays of hope beamed down on grasslands across the ‘Dark continent’ and shone through the blinds of North-African football. Algeria, Tunisia & Egypt all sparkled as the beautiful kingdom of Morocco slowly rolls out her red carpets for dignitaries and African football royalties. From the blue city of Chefchaouen to the industrious streets of Casablanca, it is every local’s dream to watch The Atlas Lions lift the AFCON trophy on home soil.
Despite automatically qualifying as the host nation, Coach Walid Regragui still aimed to pump fear in the hearts of his rivals. The former Wydad boss unfairly unleashed Brahim Diaz on Gabon and Lesotho. Real Madrid’s number 21 ended up as the top goal scorer of the qualifiers with 7 goals! First he scored a brace in the 5-1 demolition of Gabon and then bagged a first half-hat-trick in the 7-0 assault of Lesotho.
Morocco’s mesmeric momentum could not be emulated by Ghana who failed to qualify for the continental showpiece for the first time since 2004.Nigerian fans playfully trolled their West-African neighbours on social media platforms before crashing back down to earth after the Super eagle’s unexpected defeat to Rwanda.
By the end of the qualifying series, 24 teams that included 7 countries from the COSAFA region had booked their tickets for the football fiasco in Morocco.
Who will dethrone the current cup kings of African football?! Or will Cote d’Ivoire become the fourth country to win back-to-back AFCON trophies? Only time will tell……
Sundowns go down in the David-and-Goliath showdown
Like Botswana in the AFCON Qualifiers, Magesi FC scripted a beautiful underdog story of glory.
Masandawana’s unquestionable pedigree made them clear favourites even before a ball was kicked in Bloemfontein’s Free State stadium. Many professional pundits predicted Magesi’s demise in their first-ever cup final at elite level but coach Clinton Larsen & ‘The Gods of Football’ had other ideas….
Mamelodi Sundown’s first half dominance was sealed with a goal by Iqraam Rayners. A true football fairy-tale began when Tshepo Kakora equalised three minutes into the second half. Imperious Zimbabwean goalkeeper, Elvis Chipezeze pulled off a string of stunning saves before the dramatic moment that sent the Limpopo faithful into ecstasy!
No fortune teller could ever have predicted that an 87-th minute corner kick by Edmore Chirambadare would find Delano Abrahams for a moment that would etch Magesi FC’s name into football folklore forever.
The month of November was a delectable medley of African football splendour! Let’s see if the last month of the year can match the energy!