Fierce battles for last Mali places

Competition is still hot for places in Mali

There are only four places left to be filled at next year's African Nations Cup, but the final round of qualifiers is still sure to produce some thrilling battles.

Group One sees three teams on five points, with Madagascar, Zambia and Namibia all rating their chances of reaching Mali highly.

Madagascar are all but certain to appear at their first Finals if they beat Zambia in Antananarivo on Saturday, and will look back to a 2-1 upset win against the Zambians early on in qualifying to prove they can do it.

  Group One table

1 Nigeria P5 GD 7-1 Pts 11

2 Madagascar P5 GD 5-6 Pts 5

3 Zambia P5 GD 4-5 Pts 5

4 Namibia P5 GD 5-9 Pts 5

Sat Madagascar v Zambia

Sat Namibia v Nigeria

The Malagasy only lost 1-0 in Nigeria last time out, and the fact they did not concede a crucial second goal means even a draw will keep them ahead of Chipolopolo on goals scored.

However, a draw would allow Namibia to sneak second spot and, although they face Nigeria, the strong west Africans have named an inexperienced, largely home-based team.

It would be no surprise therefore if the Brave Warriors won to give themselves a chance of only their second Finals after debuting at Burkina Faso '98.

In Group Three, Kenya are holding second spot but will have to produce a formidable performance to come away with the draw they need in Tunisia to keep the north African giants at bay.

  Group Three table

1 Morocco P5 GD 5-3 Pts 10

2 Kenya P5 GD 4-4 Pts 6

3 Tunisia P5 GD 5-6 Pts 5

4 Gabon P5 GD 7-8 Pts 5

Sat Morocco v Gabon

Sat Tunisia v Kenya

Kenya held Morocco 1-1 at home last time, although they faded badly, and warmed up with another 1-1 scoreline against Egypt last weekend.

Gabon could still sneak in with an unlikely victory in Morocco.

Angola have only a slim chance of taking second spot in Group Four as they will expect to beat Burundi in Cabinda, but must hope Burkina Faso do not pick up the point they need at home to Algeria.

  Group Four table

1 Algeria P5 GD 9-6 Pts 11

2 Burkina Faso P5 GD 3-3 Pts 8

3 Angola P5 GD 6-6 Pts 5

4 Burundi P5 GD 1-4 Pts 2

Sun Angola v Burundi

Sun Burkina Faso v Algeria

The Burkinabe are unlikely to fail against an Algerian side in transition that struggled to beat Angola 3-2 at home in the last round to secure their own spot.

The critical game in Group Six is DR Congo v Zimbabwe, with morale in great contrast in the two camps.

Under new coach Yuri Gavrilov, the Congolese picked up a valuable 0-0 draw in Lesotho and will be hot favourites at home against the Warriors.

  Group Six table

1 Ghana P5 GD 13-7 Pts 10

2 Lesotho P5 GD 6-6 Pts 6

3 Zimbabwe P5 GD 7-10 Pts 6

4 DR Congo P5 GD 5-8 Pts 5

Sun DR Congo v Zimbabwe

Sun Ghana v Lesotho

Zimbabwe were desolate to concede a last-minute winner to Ghana in Harare when victory would have taken them to their first Nations Cup finals.

If that game ends as a draw, then Lesotho could become Finals debutants if they can pick up a point in Ghana.

The other matches are in groups which are settled, and many teams will field inexperienced sides as the trend continues towards including more home-based players.

Already qualified: Cameroon, Mali, Nigeria, South Africa, Liberia, Morocco, Algeria, Togo, Senegal, Ghana, Egypt, Ivory Coast