Saturday

Malawi                vs      Zimbabwe           2:30pm

Uganda               vs      Botswana            3pm

Zambia                vs      Guinea Bissau                             

South Africa      vs      Gambia               

Angola                vs      CAR                                               4:30pm

Nigeria                vs      Chad                                            

Cape Verde         vs      Sao Tome            5pm

Burkina Faso      vs      Comoros              8pm

Mali                     vs      South Sudan      9pm

Senegal               vs      Burundi              

Algeria                vs      Seychelles            9:30pm

Sunday                        

Ethiopia              vs      Lesotho                                        3pm

Togo                   vs      Liberia                                          3:30pm

Cameroon          vs      Mauritania          4pm

DR Congo           vs      Madagascar        4:30pm

Congo                 vs      Kenya                  

Eq. Guinea          vs      Benin                                            5pm

Niger                   vs      Namibia              

Ghana                 vs      Mauritius             5:30pm

Egypt                  vs      Tanzania              7pm

Gabon                 vs      Ivory Coast         

Sudan                 vs      Sierra Leone                               

CAPE TOWN –Fallen giants Egypt and Nigeria begin their bids to return to the African Nations Cup finals with potentially easy assignments on the opening weekend of qualifying for the 2017 tournament.

Record winners Egypt, with seven previous triumphs including three in a row from 2006 to 2010, have missed out on the last three finals, but hope the appointment of Hector Cuper as coach will help provide a change of fortune.

The former Valencia and Inter Milan boss has selected a strong squad for Sunday’s Group G match against Tanzania in Alexandria, which will be played behind closed doors due to a ban on football crowds in the country.

Egypt share the same group as Nigeria, who were 2013 Nations Cup winners, but did not qualify for the 2015 finals.

Stephen Keshi has returned as Nigeria coach and begins his new tenure at home to Chad on Saturday in Kaduna.

His decision to leave out Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel, after telling local reporters he wanted to give an opportunity to other players, maintains his reputation for making controversial decisions.

MOROCCO REPRIEVE

Morocco were supposed to host the last Nations Cup but pulled out because of fears over the Ebola virus and were handed a ban from the next two editions.

That was overturned, however, by the Court of Arbitration for Sport and Morocco host Libya in Agadir on Friday in Group F. 

In nearby Casablanca, Guinea, who are banned from competing at home because of the threat of Ebola in their country, play against Swaziland on Friday in Group L.

Former France international Luis Fernandez has taken over as Guinea coach and is among 23 managerial appointments at African national teams in recent months.

All but two countries, Eritrea and Somalia, have entered the preliminaries of the competition in a record turnout for the Nations Cup, with 26 qualifiers taking place this weekend. The winner of each of the 13 groups will qualify for the finals plus the two best runners-up and 2017 hosts Gabon.

Holders Ivory Coast play in Libreville on Sunday against Gabon, who are part of the qualifying process, but matches involving them in Group I will not count towards the final standings.

Five months after winning the 2015 finals in Equatorial Guinea, the Ivorians are without a permanent coach after Herve Renard quit to join French Ligue 1 club Lille, while midfielder Yaya Toure will also be absent.

Ghana, runners-up to the Ivorians in February, are expected to notch up a sizeable scoreline against Mauritius in Accra on Sunday in coach Avram Grant’s first competitive home match in charge.

Group A

Djibouti, Liberia, Togo, Tunisia

Group B

Angola, CAR, DR Congo, Madagascar

Group C

Benin, Eq. Guinea, Mali, South Sudan

Group D

Botswana, Burkina Faso, Comoros, Uganda

Group E

Congo, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Zambia

Group F

Cape Verde, Libya, Morocco, Sao Tome

Group G

Chad, Egypt, Nigeria, Tanzania

Group H

Ghana, Mauritius, Mozambique, Rwanda

Group I

Gabon, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Sudan

Group J

Algeria, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Seychelles

Group K

Burundi, Namibia, Niger, Senegal

Group L

Guinea, Malawi, Swaziland, Zimbabwe

Group M

Cameroon, Gambia, Mauritania, South Africa