After the opening round of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, the stage is set for the second round of group games, with Gambia taking on Tunisia in the only match of the day at Stade Ben Ahmed El Abdi in Morocco.Gambia currently sits in second place in Group A with a point, while Tunisia leads after defeating Madagascar at home on matchday one of the competition.Gambia aims to reach the Africa Cup of Nations main draw for the third consecutive time, following a quarter-final appearance in 2021-22 and a group-stage exit in the most recent edition in Ivory Coast earlier this year.The Scorpions began their qualification campaign with a 1-1 draw against the Comoros last week.##NAJAVA_MECA_8322365##Musa Barrow scored the crucial equalizer just before halftime, cancelling out Youssouf M’Changama’s opener eight minutes earlier.However, coach Johnny McKinstry may be somewhat disappointed that his team only secured a point, despite dominating possession (67%) and registering 13 shots on goal.With that result, the Northern Irish manager now has a record of one win, one draw, and one loss in his first three games in charge of the Scorpions.Notably, this was the first time his side failed to score two or more goals in a match.AFCONq: Cameroon top Harambee Stars’ group, Nigeria serve cold vengeance to BeninDespite being ranked 132nd in the world, 34 places behind their upcoming opponents among CAF region representatives, Gambia has won both previous encounters against Tunisia, most recently at the 2022 AFCON.For Tunisia, the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations offers a chance for redemption after their disappointing group-stage exit earlier this year without winning a single game.Since then, the Carthage Eagles have played five matches, drawing goalless in two March friendlies against Croatia and New Zealand, before defeating Equatorial Guinea (1-0) and drawing with Namibia (0-0) in their World Cup qualifiers in June.Under the guidance of Faouzi Benzarti, Tunisia started their AFCON qualification campaign on a positive note, defeating Madagascar 1-0 at Stade Olympique Hammadi-Agrebi on Thursday night.Ugandans already anticipating booming businesses ahead of CHAN, AFCON tourneysDespite dominating the match with 65% possession and 17 shots on goal compared to Madagascar’s seven, Tunisia only secured victory in the eighth minute of stoppage time through Ferjani Sassi.Nevertheless, the result marked Tunisia’s sixth consecutive clean sheet dating back to a 1-1 draw against Mali in January. They are likely to prioritize shutting out Gambia in this upcoming match as well.
