EXTRA TIME: Mane, Koulibaly and other African stars shift focus to national duty

Several African stars will be playing in their national colours this weekend as the continent draws the curtain on the Afcon qualifying round

Liverpool star Sadio Mane and a host of African stars are expected to play for their respective countries in the final phase of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers this weekend.

Egypt’s Mohamed Salah is a notable absentee who has been snubbed by Javier Aguirre while some players including Ajax’s Hakim Ziyech, Schalke 04’s Amine Harit, Torino’s Ola Aina have withdrawn to continue recovery from injury.

Senegal, Madagascar, Morocco, Mali, Algeria, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire, Mauritania, Tunisia, Uganda and host country Egypt have qualified for the biennial showpiece scheduled to commence in June while other nations including Cameroon, Libya, South Africa, DR Congo and Tanzania have all to play for this weekend.

Article continues below

Editors' Picks