AFCON 2023: Preview and prediction of Group E

We are just a few days away from the 34th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), which is expected to be held in Ivory Coast on January 13.

Many teams will look to overthrow current holders Senegal by clinching Africa’s biggest prize, yet a huge task lies in front of them.

Group E of this edition comprises of Tunisia, Mali, South Africa and Namibia.

Let’s dive into the details of this group.

Tunisia

The Carthage Eagles reached this edition of the AFCON after topping group J, which included Equatorial Guinea, Libya and Botswana in the qualifiers.

Out of six matches, Tunisia won four, drew and lost one game apiece in the process.

The 2004 winners will be making their 22nd appearance in this competition and will look to make a stronger finish after being eliminated in the quarter-finals in the previous edition.

Tunisia will take on Namibia in the group opener on January 16, Mali on January 20 and South Africa on January 24.

Mali

The Eagles secured a place at this year’s AFCON after finishing at the summit of their qualifying group which had Gambia, Congo and South Sudan.

Mali picked up five wins and suffered only one defeat in six matches in the qualifying process.

The 1972 finalists will be making their thirteenth appearance in this tournament and will hope they achieve further heights than they did in Cameroon in 2021, as they were eliminated in the last 16.

Moussa Diarra, Yves Bissouma, Aliou Dieng, Moussa Doumbia, Lassana Coulibaly and Mamadou Fofina have all been selected to represent the Eagles in making a strong case in this competition.

South Africa

Bafana Bafana booked qualification to this edition of the AFCON after finishing second in Group K which included Morocco, Liberia and Zimbabwe.

South Africa won two and drew one of four qualifying matches, losing one game in the period.

The 1996 champions will be making their eleventh appearance at this edition after failing to qualify for the previous tournament.

Bafana Bafana face a tough test in their group opener against Mali on January 16, before the games against Namibia and Tunisia on 21st and 24th January respectively.

Namibia

The Brave Warriors finished second in Group C to book a place in this edition of the Africa Cup of Nations.

Joined in a group with Cameroon, Burundi and Kenya, Namibia picked up a win, two draws and suffered one defeat in the qualifying process.

The Southern African side will be making their fourth appearance at this edition and will look to make a better finish, as they have failed to qualify from the group stages since their debut.

The Brave Warriors will take on Tunisia in their opening match on January 16, then face South Africa and Mali in their final group games on 21st and 24th January respectively.

Tunisia and Mail look the favourites to qualify for the next round, yet South Africa could also stage a surprise in this group in this set of expected mouth-watering matches.