After Harambee Stars’ barren draw with Zimbabwe on Friday, the two other Group J opponents Namibia and Cameroon will look to take early command of the pool when they face off at the Roumdé Adjia Stadium in Garoua, Cameroon on Saturday.Cameroon, under new head coach Marc Brys, has not had an ideal buildup to the pool opener, as the strained relationship between the Cameroon football federation and the Sports Ministry remains to get in his way.2025 AFCONq: The Elephants begin with a win, Senegal shocked in the added time!The Indomitable Lions are however unbeaten in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches this year, having secured a 4-1 victory over Cape Verde before settling for a 1-1 draw with Angola in June.Namibia, on the other hand, remain a sneaky opponent having exceeded expectations in this year’s 2023 AFCON tournament, where they qualified from a group that had Tunisia, Mali, and South Africa.In the World Cup qualifiers, the Brave Warriors were held by Liberia (1-1) in Lome, before settling for a barren draw with Tunisia.⚽️🔥 #MATCHDAY Let’s rooar together 🦁💪🏾#CAMEROUN 🇨🇲 🆚 🇳🇦 #NAMIBIE📅 07/09/2024⏰ 17H00🏟️ Stade Roumdé Adjia 📍Garoua#AFCON2025Q| #CMRNAM | #GOLIONS | #ALLEZLESLIONS | #LETSROARTOGETHER | #INDOMPTABLES | pic.twitter.com/jW9NwmLtOw— Fecafoot-Officiel (@FecafootOfficie) September 7, 2024 Among the top players missing from Namibia’s squad will be Erastus Kulula and Romeo Kasume, who had featured in the two matches in June.On head-to-head, the two sides have played each other twice before, drawing once and Namibia winning the other contest in 2023.The game kicks off at 1900 EAT.##NAJAVA_MECA_8321160##Mauritania vs BotswanaAt the Cheikha Ould Boidiya Stadium, Mauritania will look to kickstart their journey towards their fourth AFCON appearance when they play host to Botswana on Saturday evening.The Lions of Chinguetti, who made their tournament debut in 2019, will come in as firm favourites against a Botswana side that has lost in the last two head-to-head games and has only won once in nine official games this year.The game kicks off at 1900 EAT.##NAJAVA_MECA_8320915##Nigeria vs BeninThe last fixture of the day will see last edition’s finalists Nigeria welcome former head coach Gernot Rohr and his Benin side as they clash in a qualifying fixture at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo on Saturday.Super Eagles, after their impressive run in Ivory Coast, have had a rocky period since, losing twice and only winning once in the four games they have been involved in.⌛️ Nigeria 🆚 Benin #Afcon25Q Saturday 7th September in Uyo #soarsupereagles pic.twitter.com/bQ7ulbP5qE— 🇳🇬 Super Eagles (@NGSuperEagles) September 6, 2024 Under interim manager Augustine Eguavoen, Nigeria will look to revenge the early defeat they suffered to Benin in the AFCON group stages.The game kicks off at 1900 EAT.
