The qualified teams in the group D are : Benin, Botswana, Senegal, and the DR Congo.

Benin

Goalkeepers:

Saturnin Allagbe (Chauray/FRA), Marcel Dandjinou (Kruger Utd/RSA), Serge Obassa (Remo Stars/NGR)

Defenders:

Charlemagne Azongnitode (Oulo/FIN), Rodrigue Fassinou (Coton Sport), David Kiki (FCSB/ROM), Abdoul Rachid Moumini (Sumgayit/AZE), Tamimou Ouorou (Sobemap), Yohan Roche (Petrolul Ploiesti/ROM), Attidjikou Samadou (Smouha/EGY), Mohamed Tijani (Yverson/SUI), Olivier Verdon (Ludogorets Razgrad/BUL)

Midfielders:

Matteo Ahlinvi (Arsenal Tula/RUS), Mariano Ahouangbo (Olimpija/SLO), Gislain Ahoudo (Gabes/TUN), Sessi D’Almeida (Neftchi/AZE), Dodo Dokou (Leixoes/POR), Hassane Imourane (Grasshoppers/SUI), Rodrigue Kossi (Hassania Agadir/MAR)

Forwards:

Rodolfo Aloko, Razack Rachidou (both Kustosija/CRO), Adam Akimey (Helsingborgs/SWE), Romaric Amoussou (ASEC Mimosas/CIV), Jodel Dossou (Pays du Valois/FRA), Steve Mounie (Alanyaspor/TUR), Junior Olaitan (Goztepe/TUR), Olatoundji Tessilimi (SJK Seinajoki/FIN), Aiyegun Tosin (Lorient/FRA).

Botswana

Goalkeepers:

Kabelo Dambe (Township Rollers), Keeagile Kgosipula (Mochudi Centre Chiefs), Goitseone Phoko (Jwaneng Galaxy)

Defenders:

Tebogo Kopelang, Thabo Leinanyane, Chicco Molefe (all Jwaneng), Mothusi Johnson, Alford Velaphi (both Gaborone Utd), Thatayaone Ditlhokwe (Al Ittihad/LBA), Mosha Gaolaolwe (Rollers), Shanganani Ngada (Mochudi)

Midfielders:Gilbert Baruti, Monty Enosa (both Mochudi), Lebogang Ditsele, Thabo Maponda (both Gaborone), Mothusi Cooper (Rollers), Godiraone Modingwane (BDF), Gape Mohutsiwa (Mouloudia Oran/ALG), Olebogeng Ramotse (Jwaneng).

Forwards:

Omaatla Kebatho, Thabang Sesinyi (both Jwaneng), Segolame Boy (Sua Flamingoes), Thatayaone Kgamanyane (Gaborone Utd), Tumisang Orebonye (Wydad Casablanca/MAR), Losika Ratshukudu (Ubuntu/RSA), Kabelo Seakanyeng (MAS Fes/MAR).

DR Congo

Goalkeepers:

Matthieu Epolo (Standard Liege/BEL), Timothy Fayulu (Noah/ARM), Lionel Mpasi (Le Havre/FRA)

Defenders:Aaron Wan-Bissaka (West Ham Utd/ENG), Rocky Bushiri (Hibernian/SCO), Gedeon Kalulu (Aris Limassol/CYP), Steve Kapuadi (Legia Warsaw/POL), Joris Kayembe (Genk/BEL), Arthur Masuaku (Sunderland/ENG), Chancel Mbemba (Lille/FRA), Axel Tuanzebe (Burnley/ENG)

Midfielders:

Michel-Ange Balikwisha (Celtic/SCO), Theo Bongonda (Spartak Moscow/RUS), Brian Cipenga (Castellon/ESP), Edo Kayembe (Watford/ENG), Nathanael Mbuku (Montpellier/FRA),Samuel Moutoussamy (Atromitos/GRE), Ngal’ayel Mukau (Lille/FRA), Charles Pickel (Espanyol/ESP), Noah Sadiki (Sunderland/ENG), Mario Stroeykens (Anderlecht/BEL)

Forwards:

Cedric Bakambu (Real Betis/ESP), Simon Banza (Al Jazira/UAE), Meschak Elia (Alanyaspor/TUR), Samuel Essende (Augsburg/GER), Fiston Mayele (Pyramids/EGY).

Senegal

Goalkeepers:

Mory Diaw (Le Havre/FRA), Yehvann Diouf (Nice/FRA), Edouard Mendy (Al Ahli/KSA).

Defenders:

Ilay Camara (Anderlecht/BEL), Krepin Diatta (Monaco/FRA), El Hadji Diouf (West Ham/ENG), Ismail Jakobs (Galatasaray/TUR), Kalidou Koulibaly (Al Hilal/KSA), Antoine Mendy (Nice/FRA), Moussa Niakhate (Lyon/FRA), Mamadou Sarr (Strasbourg/FRA), Abdoulaye Seck (Maccabi Haifa/ISR)

Midfielders:Lamine Camara (Monaco/FRA), Pathe Ciss (Rayo Vallecano/ESP), Habib Diarra (Sunderland/ENG), Idrissa Gueye (Everton/ENG), Pape Gueye (Villarreal/ESP), Pape Matar Sarr (Tottenham/ENG)

Forwards:

Boulaye Dia (Lazio/ITA), Habib Diallo (Metz/FRA), Assane Diao (Como/ITA), Nicolas Jackson (Bayern Munich/GER on loan from Chelsea/ENG), Sadio Mane (Al Nassr/RSA), Ibrahim Mbaye (Paris Saint-Germain/FRA), Cherif Ndiaye (Samsunspor/TUR), Iliman Ndiaye (Everton/ENG), Cheikh Sabaly (Metz/FRA), Ismaïla Sarr (Crystal Palace/ENG).

(AFP)

2022 afcon gold winners/ al Jazeera

The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) is the flagship international men’s football tournament in Africa.

Organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), it determines the continent’s national champion and is one of the most watched football competitions in the world.

So far, the most successful teams in the history of the competition are Egypt, the most successful nation, with seven titles. Cameroon follows with five, Ghana have won four, while Nigeria have claimed three.

With the 35th Africa Cup of Nations scheduled to hold in Morocco from 21 December 2025 to 18 January 2026, BBC Sport Africa looks at five iconic players who never managed to get their hands on the coveted trophy.

1. 1. Mohamed Salah (Egypt)
2. At 33, time may be running out for Egypt’s captain. Salah has already experienced Afcon heartbreak twice, finishing runner-up in 2017 and again in 2021…
3. Injured at Afcon 2023, he watched from the sidelines as Egypt were eliminated in the last 16. Afcon 2025 may represent his final opportunity to complete his international legacy.
4. 2. Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast)
5. Few players relished big occasions like Didier Drogba. A master of finals at Chelsea, he was decisive time and again in England and Europe.
6. But at Afcon, the script was cruelly different.Drogba captained Ivory Coast in two finals – in 2006 and 2012 – and penalties proved his undoing on both occasions.
7. Against Egypt in 2006, he missed in the shootout as the hosts triumphed. Six years later, facing Zambia, he blazed a late penalty over the bar in normal time before the Ivorians again lost on spot kicks. Despite multiple semi-final and quarter-final appearances, Afcon glory always slipped away. In a bitter twist, Ivory Coast finally won the tournament in 2015 – just months after Drogba had retired from international football.
8. 3. George Weah (Liberia)
9. George Weah stands alone as Africa’s only Ballon d’Or winner, claiming football’s most prestigious individual award in 1995.
10. At the club level, he dazzled for Paris St-Germain and AC Milan, but international success was limited by Liberia’s modest footballing stature.
11. Liberia qualified for Afcon only twice during Weah’s career, in 1996 and 2002. On both occasions, they failed to progress beyond the group stage.
12. Weah scored just once at the tournament, in a 2002 draw with Mali.While Afcon success never came, Weah would later lead his country in another way – serving as Liberia’s president between 2018 and 2024.
13. 4. Nwankwo Kanu (Nigeria)
14. Elegant and intelligent, Nwankwo Kanu enjoyed a glittering club career, winning the Champions League with Ajax and domestic honours with Arsenal. Internationally, he tasted success with Nigeria at youth level and famously won Olympic gold in 1996.
15. Afcon, however, proved less kind. His closest brush with the trophy came in 2000, when Nigeria reached the final on home soil. Against Cameroon, the match went to penalties, and Kanu’s miss proved costly as the Super Eagles were beaten.
16. Nigeria would reach four semi-finals during Kanu’s career but never return to the final.
17. Nwankwo Kanu retired with silver and bronze medals, but no Afcon winner’s medal.
18. 5. Michael Essien (Ghana)
19. Michael Essien was the heartbeat of a gifted Ghana generation that followed the country’s last Afcon triumph in 1982.
20. Powerful, disciplined and technically superb, he mirrored his club success with Chelsea by becoming a leader for the Black Stars…
21. Persistent fitness problems curtailed his international career, leaving Essien as another African great whose brilliance was never rewarded with Afcon gold.
22. Source: The PUNCH

Macclesfield FC forward Ethan McLeod, has died in a road accident while returning from an away fixture.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Macclesfield FC announced that McLeod 21-year-old, was involved in a car accident on the M1 on Tuesday night while travelling back from Bedford Town.

“With the heaviest of hearts and an overwhelming sense of surrealism that Macclesfield FC can confirm the passing of 21-year-old forward Ethan McLeod.

Travelling back from Bedford Town last night, Ethan was involved in a car accident on the M1 which tragically took his life,” the club said.

The club described McLeod as a key member of its first-team squad and paid tribute to both his ability and character.

“Ethan was an incredibly talented and well-respected member of our First Team Squad, who had his whole life ahead of him.

“But more than that, Ethan’s infectious personality endeared him to everyone that he came into contact with,” it further read.