After making the final round of the 2013 AFCON qualifiers with a convincing 4-0 victory over Congo Brazzaville that earned The Cranes a place in the July draw with a 5-3 aggregate win, the wait for the next opponent is on now with a possibility of facing African giants Cameroun, Nigeria, Zambia, Egypt (in case they make it to the round) on the cards.
Many thought that teams that made
it to the 2012 edition in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea would automatically play those that made the final round through qualifiers but CAF had has other ideas.
Below is the procedure for final round draws.
All teams in the final draw are ranked according to performance from the past three nations cup tournaments (2008, 2010 and 2012) with current champions Zambia leading the ranking s on 26 points while nations like Uganda that has been absent from the tournament since 1978 are on zero points. The top 15 ranked teams make the first pot (seeded) while the rest make pot 2. Teams from pot 1 will get opponents for the next round from pot 2.
Pot 1: Team standings after the past three Nations Cup tournaments (2008, 2012 & 2013)
Zambia 26 points, Ghana 22, Ivory Coast 22, Egypt 21, Mali 12, Tunisia 10, Cameroon 9, Angola 9, Nigeria 8, Gabon 8, Sudan 7, Algeria 6, Equatorial Guinea 6, Guinea 7, Burkina Faso 5.
In this case, Uganda can face any of the nations above and Senegal may make it to pot 1 in case Egypt fails to overturn a 2-3 defeat suffered at home to Central African Republic. The lions of Teranga are ranked 16th by CAF.
In addition, Uganda can’t face teams like Ethiopia, Niger, Mozambique, and Togo in the final round since they are all in the same pot.
The draws for the final round are set for next month and the games will be played September and October. The winner over two legs makes it to South Africa 2013.
Who would you want the Cranes draw in the next round?