Group C of the 2022 African Nations Championship houses Morocco, Ghana, Sudan and Madagascar.
These four sides feature a mix of dominance, consistency and inexperience in the tournament, all of which could play out for very interesting outcomes.
We continue our group-by-group preview ahead of the opening ceremony of the continental competition on Friday, January 13 in Algeria.
Morocco (Best Result: 2018, 2020 – champions)
The Atlas Lions are back-to-back champions, winning the tournament on home soil in 2018 after trashing Nigeria 4-0 in the final, then they saw off Mali 2-0 in the 2020 final in Cameroon.
Dominance in the last two editions makes the Moroccans outright favourites to lift the CHAN trophy for a third consecutive time which will be a new record. The North African giants will be further buoyed by the senior team’s performance at the 2022 FIFA World Cup where they broke Africa’s quarter-final jinx and ultimately ended fourth in Qatar.
Morocco’s CHAN team did not need to play any qualifiers after Egypt and Tunisia withdrew, leaving them and Libya with an automatic berth alongside hosts Algeria. They begin their title defence with a clash against Sudan at the Mohamed Hamlaoui Stadium in Constantine on January 15.
Sudan (Best Result: 2011, 2018 – third place)
The Secretary Birds have only been to two CHAN tournaments, first in 2011 as hosts and seven years later in Morocco.
On the two occasions, they finished third, beating Algeria and Libya respectively. Their lack of steady participation in CHAN tournaments makes them something of an unknown for this upcoming edition or potential dark horses.
The Sudanese sealed a 7-3 aggregate victory over Djibouti during the qualifiers and their group opener against the defending champions could create a mountain for them to climb if there are any hopes, of at least making it to the final for the first time in CHAN history.
Madagascar (Best Result: tournament qualification)
The Barea have no previous history in CHAN, making it into the tournament proper for the very first time.
They achieved their maiden ticket by dispatching Seychelles 4-0 on aggregate during the qualifiers.
Their lack of experience at CHAN, however, makes them clear underdogs in Group C. They will definitely have it all to do when they take on Ghana in their opening match.
Ghana (Best Result: Runners-up – 2009, 2014)
The home-based Black Stars are among the best performers in CHAN with two runners-up spots in 2009 and 2014, sandwiched between a disappointing group stage exit in 2011.
The downside is that since 2014, the West African giants have not made it to any other CHAN tournament.
Like Sudan, this puts the Ghanaians into the unknown and makes the prospect of qualification to the knockout phase potentially a banana skin.
Ghana secured a comfortable 4-0 aggregate win over Benin during the qualifiers and could be presented with another easy win if they can make light of debutants and minnows Madagascar.
You can watch all the 2022 African Nations Championship matches LIVE on Afrosport TV, starting from January 13.
Streaming is available here – https://mw.vidivu.tv/
Group C Fixtures
Morocco vs Sudan January 15 (5pm)
Madagascar vs Ghana January 15 (8pm)
Morocco vs Madagascar January 19 (5pm)
Ghana vs Sudan January 19 (8pm)
Ghana vs Morocco January 23 (8pm)
Sudan vs Madagascar January 23 (8pm)
