The draw for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in Côte d'Ivoire took place on Tuesday evening in the studios of the Supersport channel in Johannesburg. Find the first reactions collected by Sport News Africa.
Stefano Cusin and Tom Saintifiet, the coaches of South Sudan and Gambia respectively, had exchanged a few text messages before the draw. The two men, who met last October in Morocco during a friendly match won by the Scorpions (2-1), will therefore meet again during the 2023 AFCON qualifiers.
"I'm not sure I'm going to be able to do that, but I'm sure I'm going to be able to do that. I'm not sure I'll be able to do that, but I'm not sure I'll be able to do that.''
"It's a difficult group. It's a difficult group," he said. "When you're in the fourth hat like us, you have to expect a complicated group. Mali are the favorites, they are a very good team, while Gambia were the revelation of the AFCON. They have a lot of players who play in Italy, I know them well, and Congo are solid. We'll try to do well and take points."
Saintfiet: "It could have been worse''
His Belgian counterpart obviously has other ambitions. "It's not the easiest group, nor the most difficult. It could have been worse... I think Mali, who we played at the AFCON (1-1), are a little bit better. I think Mali, who we played in the AFCON (1-1), are a little bit better, Gambia and Congo are at the same level, and South Sudan are making progress," Saintfiet said.
"We want to start well in June. Four points would be perfect. Switzerland's Raoul Savoy, coach of the Central African Republic, believes the draw could have been worse (Ghana, Madagascar, Angola in Group E). "If we consider Ghana as the favorites, it seems to me that it is quite open. Madagascar seems to be going through a complicated situation, Angola missed the last two AFCONs, but there is quality, as we can see with the good performances of its clubs in the Champions League. As far as we are concerned, we will try to do well. The problem is that we risk playing at least our first home game on neutral ground..."
Neveu and Abdou used to difficult draws
With Congo DR, Mauritania, Gabon and Sudan, Group I promises to be one of the toughest. Patrice Neveu (Gabon) and Amir Abdou (Mauritania) agree on this point. The two men share, as they humorously admit, a certain taste for difficult draws.
"I end up getting used to it. Whether it's in the qualifiers or the finals, I've always been in tough groups," said the Frenchman, who will be reunited with two of his former teams (DRC and Mauritania). With Gabon, we eliminated the DRC in the qualifiers for the 2021 African Cup of Nations. Mauritania are fairly consistent in their performances, having played in the last two AFCONs, and Sudan are difficult to play against, especially at home.
From Nouakchott, the Franco-Comorian Amir Abdou expects a disputed qualifying phase. "The favorites are the DRC, who missed the last Africa Cup of Nations and did not qualify for the World Cup. Gabon have some great individual players, especially in the attacking sector, and Sudan will be a bit of a discovery," said the former Comoros coach. "Mauritania as outsiders? Yes, that's how it looks. I was expecting a difficult group too. I'm used to it, and I was served..."
