With their victory over Mozambique, Cape Verde has already advanced to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) round of 16 with two victories from two games. They also leave with a game remaining, having won Group B.
All of the other Group B clubs, nevertheless, still have a chance to advance to the knockout stage. For what reason is that the case? The top six teams have the opportunity to advance to the round of 16. But what needs to occur in order for the Black Stars to show up?
Scenario 1: Egypt loses to Cape Verde but Ghana triumphs over Mozambique. Following that, Ghana would place second in their group and advance to the round of 16. In that case, they would play the Group F runners-up, which are Tanzania, Morocco, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
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Scenario 2: Egypt ties Cape Verde, but Ghana triumphs over Mozambique. Ghana will advance as the runners-up and face the runners-up from Group F, just like in scenario 1.
Scenario 3, Ghana defeats Mozambique and Egypt defeats Cape Verde. With four points, Ghana would place third in the group and have a strong chance of making it to the round of 16.
Scenario 4: Egypt defeats Cape Verde, but Ghana and Mozambique tie. Ghana would need to hope that there are poorer third-place teams in two other groups if they were to finish third in the group with two points.
Scenario 5: Egypt draws with Cape Verde, while Ghana draws with Mozambique. Ghana would receive two points for finishing third in the group, and they would have to pray that the other two groups’ third-place teams weren’t any worse.
Scenario 6: Egypt defeats Cape Verde, and Ghana draws with Mozambique. Here, it is dependent upon how much Egypt has lost. Both sides would be tied on goal differential if it were just by one goal. Whoever has scored the most goals qualifies in that scenario. In the event of equality, the person with the fewest disciplinary points wins. A draw is made in the event of a tie as well.
Ghana loses in scenario 7. Regardless of Egypt’s outcome, the Black Stars will need to depart.
Before the third and final group stage match, Ghana will currently have to wait and see how many points the third-placed teams from the other groups have. But it’s obvious that Ghana would benefit most from defeating Mozambique on Monday—as much as possible.
