Friday fixtures – All Times EAT
- Angola vs Zimbabwe 3.30pm
- Egypt vs South Africa 6pm
- Zambia vs Comoros 8pm
- Morocco vs Mali 11pm
Yves Bissouma and Achraf Hakimi missed their nation’s opening matches in the Afcon 2025 but could both play part when Mali and Morocco face off in the second game.
The clash of titans at the Prince Moulay Abdellah stadium, Rabat is one either side needs victory.
Morocco beat Comoros 2-0 in their first match of the tournament and a win against the Eagles will confirm their place in the knock out stages with a game to go.
For Mali, they can’t afford against the Atlas Lions after drawing 1-1 with Zambia in their first game, a game they dominated but conceded a late equaliser.
Bissouma fueled speculation about his presence on Friday when he appeared in the press conference on Friday alongside his coach Tom Santfiet.
“The reason Yves is here today is not because he will necessarily play tomorrow,” Saintfiet explained. “There is no link between who sits next to me and who starts the match. Maybe he plays, maybe he doesn’t.”
The Tottenham Hotspur midfielder is more concerned about Mali than himself.
“What matters to me today is Mali,” said Bissouma. “I am here and fully focused on tomorrow’s match. The rest doesn’t concern me.”
Meanwhile, Morocco coach Walid Regragui gave an update on his team ruling out Romain Saïss who was came off injured in the first game but confirmed Nayef Aguerd is fit to play.
On Hakimi and Hamza Igamane, he said they are recovering although the former was involved in the team’s last training.