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Algeria senior national team head coach, Djamel Belmadi has named his 28-man squad to defend their African Cup of Nations crown next month in Cameroon.

The defending champions have retained 15 players from their 2019 title-winning squad and the delegation will arrive Cameroon on January 6.

For the first time ever, not a single player from the Algerian league has been called up to Algeria’s final squad for the Africa Cup of Nations. Although 15 of the 28 players are products of the Algerian league, all of them currently trade their plight abroad.

The holders are in Group E, alongside Sierra Leone, Equatorial Guinea and Ivory Coast, and will begin the defence of their crown against Sierra Leone on January 11 in Douala.

The team have gone 33 matches without defeat. They hold the record for the longest unbeaten streak for a national team in African history and could equal or beat Italy’s world record of 37 unbeaten run, if they avoid defeat and stay unbeaten in the AFCON group stage.

Coach Milovan Rajevac, who named his 30-man provisional squad for the tournament on Tuesday will have a 17-day training camp in Qatar where they will play three international friendly matches, in preparation for the Africa Cup of Nations.

The team has opened camp on Wednesday, 23 December 2021, in Doha, where they will be for a period of three weeks to prepare for the Tournament scheduled for Cameroon from January 9 to February 6, 2022.

Ghana are expected to play a yet-to-be-named club side on Tuesday, December 28, before taking on one of the Africa Cup of Nations qualified teams on Friday, 1st of January, 2022 in another friendly.

The team will wrap up their test matches against African Champions Algeria on Wednesday, January 5, 2022.

The Black Stars will depart Doha for Yaoundé on Friday, January 7, 2022, to take on Morocco, Gabon, and Comoros in Group C.

The four-time holders will aim to end the 40-year wait for the Africa Cup of Nations trophy they last held in Libya in 1982, when they open their campaign with a game against the Atlas Lions of Morocco on January 10 before playing the Panthers of Gabon and the Coelacanths of Comoros on January 14 and 18 respectively.

Africa Cup of Nations debutants and COSAFA hopefuls Comoros Islands head coach Amir Abdou has picked a 26-man squad for next month’s Africa Cup of Nations finals, with all but one of them French-born.

Only one player — Abdallah Ali Mohamed from Swiss second division club Stade Lausanne-Ouchy – was born in the Comoros.

The Coelacanths will be making their debut appearance in the tournament, after securing their qualification from a Group which had giants Egypt, Togo and Kenya.

For the historic participation in Cameroon, Red Star Belgrade star El Fardou Mohamed Ben Nabouhane who is the country’s all-time scorer has been named alongside EA Guingamp skipper Youssouf M’Changama.

The team have departed for Saudi Arabia on Saturday, where they will train for the tournament and play practice games.

The Comorians will train in Jeddah and have friendlies scheduled against the Ivory Coast and Malawi before arriving in Cameroon on January 5, the Comoros Football Federation said.

Comoros will begin their AFCON campaign against Gabon on 10 January 2022 before facing Ghana and Morocco in subsequent matches, after being drawn together in Group C.

Morocco national team head coach Vahid Halilhodzic has announced his final squad for the upcoming 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

The biggest omission from the 25-man squad is Chelsea winger Hakim Ziyech who has been out of the Atlas Lions for sometime now due to injuries and/or misunderstanding with the coach.

Surprise inclusions in Halilhodzic’s squad are FC Barcelona youngster Abde Ezzalzouli and Azzedine Ounahi who plays for French Ligue 1 side Angers SCO.

The Atlas Lions finished top of their qualification group with an unbeaten record having won four and drew two games. They were also the best defensive side in the qualifiers after conceding just once in six games.

The coach have this to say on players who might be thinking of ignoring the national call due to covid-19 and their foreign club’s threat: “If any of player refused to come for the AFCON tournament even if he is threatened by his Club, that player can say goodbye to the National team.”

The 1976 African champions are drawn in Group C with four-time holders Ghana, Gabon and debutants Comoros Islands, and will play their opening match of the tournament on 10 January 2022 against Ghana.

Ethiopia national team head coach Wubetu Abate has named his 28-man final squad to represent the country at the 2021 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) that will be staged in Cameroon from 9th January.

With a team of just two foreign-based players – JS Kabylie striker Mujib Kassim and Shimeles Bekele who plays for Misr Lel-Makkasa in the Egyptian League – the team is set to leave for Cameroon on Sunday 26th December for a two-week training camp before the tournament commences.

The Walias are the only East African nation that will be gracing the biannual tourney in West Africa as they return for the first time since their group stage exit in 2013.

The 1962 champions holds the record for conceding most hat-tricks as they have conceded the most goals from hat-tricks (12) in AFCON history.

Ethiopia have been pooled in group A alongside, Cameroon, Cape Verde and Burkina Faso. Their opening match is against Cape Verde on 9th January.

The head coach of Cape Verde senior national team, Pedro Leitao has named his 26-man squad less than CAF’s limit of 28 players for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) slated for Cameroon in January 2022.

Cape Verde’s squad is only composed of foreign-based players, with reserve goalkeeper Keven Ramos, who plays for Mindelese the only member of the squad who represents a club in Cape Verde. The notable absentees are Zé Luís, Lokomotiv Moscow forward, who is usually a regular in the Cape Verdean team.

The ‘Blue Sharks’ are appearing for the third time after reaching the quarter-finals on their debut in 2013 and playing again two years later. In their last appearance in Equatorial Guinea 2015, they crumbled in the group stage that boasted Tunisia, DR Congo and Zambia.

The Sharks will start preparations on 26 December at home, before flying to Morocco where they will face the Atlas Lions in a friendly on 31 December.

They will compete in Group A beside hosts Cameroon, Burkina Faso and Ethiopia.

French coach Didier Gomes da Rosa, who took over last November from his compatriot Corentin Martins as Mauritania coach, released on Thursday a provisional 30-players squad for the upcoming TotalEnergies AFCON, Cameroon 2021.

The team is expected to be trimmed down to 28 after the completion of their training camp in Abu-Dhabi.

16-year-old AS Douanes young midfielder Beyatt Lekweiry became the youngest player in Gomes selection. The teenager has grown accustomed to skipping stages, having been selected for the Mauritania U-20 national team at the age of 15, when he played in the U-20 Arab Cup in Saudi Arabia in 2020.

Besides Beyatt, Da Rosa gave a debut call to three more players. They are Pape Ibnou Ba, French Le Havre forward, Souleymane Doukara (Giresunspor Kulubu, Turkey), and defender Souleymane Karamako (Nancy, France).

This will be their second AFCON after that of 2019, and they will play in Group F with Mali, Gambia, and Tunisia.

Interim head coach of the Nigeria Super Eagles, Augustine Eguavoen gifted Nigeria football fans a befitting Christmas gift by releasing his 28-man final list for the 33rd Africa Cup of Nations taking place in Cameroon 9th January – 6th February 2022.

The long awaited list featured fans favourite and in form Watford striker Emmanuel Dennis, the return to the group for former U17 World Cup –winning captain Kelechi Nwakali, 2016 Olympics star Sadiq Umar, and Olisa Ndah who won the NPFL with Akwa United.

With seven goals and five assists this season, Watford striker Emmanuel Dennis has been included in Nigeria’s final squad for the African Cup of Nations.

All invited players, bar the UK-based crew, are expected to arrive in camp in the Nigeria’s federal capital, Abuja on 29th December, with the UK-based players expected to start arriving on Monday, 3rd January.

The three –time winners will confront seven-time and record holders Egypt, Sudan and debutants Guinea Bissau in group  

The Eagles will hit the ground at blistering pace when they battle the Pharaohs of Egypt in the group opener on Tuesday, 11th January.

Uganda referee, Dick Okello will miss the opportunity to officiate during the 33rd Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament because his religion does not permit COVID-19 vaccination.

The 31-year-old is a high profile referee who reffed the CAF Champions League final match between Al Ahly and Kaiser Chiefs in 2021.

The ‘born again’ Lira born christian was also named among match officials for 2021 CHAN but missed out after returning positive for COVID-19.

Tanzania’s Frank John Komba has now replaced Okello as an assistant referee for the 2021 AFCON tournament in Cameroon.

According to CAF travels and health guidelines, individuals – especially players, staffs and match officials who access the playing ground – going to the continental showpiece must be fully vaccinated and return negative COVID-19 test results.

The Malawi national team have left the country for Saudi Arabia to begin preparations for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

In a list dominated by home based players, Malawi’s official 30-man provisional squad list was released for a 10-day training camp.

This will their third participation in the tournament since 2010 after first qualifying in 1984.

The Flames are in Group B with Senegal 🇸🇳, Guinea 🇬🇳 and Zimbabwe 🇿🇼, and will play their opening game on January 10 against Guinea.