LAGOS — Nigeria will be without Ademola Lookman for Tuesday’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Tanzania after a scan showed a knee ligament sprain, the Super Eagles media team said.
“Scan has revealed Ademola Lookman suffered a sprain in his knee ligament during yesterday’s match,” Super Eagles press officer Efoghe said, according to The Star. “This rules him out of Nigeria’s next AFCON qualifier against Tanzania in Zanzibar on Tuesday.”
The Atlético Madrid forward set up the opening goal in Friday’s 3-1 win in Uyo but was replaced by Moses Simon in the 44th minute. The return leg is at the Amaan Stadium on Tuesday, 17 November, with kick-off at 2pm Nigerian time, Urgent News reported.
Nigeria’s position in Group L
Alhassan Yusuf scored in the second minute and substitute Tolu Arokodare added two goals after the break as Nigeria came from 1-1 at half-time, BBC Sport reported. The win lifted Nigeria to six points from three games, one behind leaders Guinea-Bissau. Tanzania are already qualified as co-hosts, leaving Nigeria, Guinea-Bissau and Madagascar to fight for the one remaining place, with little margin after September’s 3-0 loss in Guinea-Bissau.
Coach Eric Chelle has told his players the Uyo result “counts for little” unless they repeat it, The Podium reported.
Salah makes history
Mohamed Salah scored twice late on as Egypt beat Malawi 5-0, becoming his country’s all-time leading scorer with 70 goals, Arya News reported. It was Ali Maher’s first match in charge. Egypt lead Group B on seven points, level with Angola, who scored twice in stoppage time to beat 10-man South Sudan 2-0.
Around the continent
- Morocco 5-1 Niger: Achraf Hakimi scored twice and Yassine Bounou saved a penalty as Morocco stayed unbeaten.
- Tunisia 0-2 Libya: a shock home defeat leaves Tunisia bottom of their group, at risk of missing the finals for the first time since 1992.
- South Africa 2-2 Kenya: Kenya, coached by Benni McCarthy, equalised in the final minute to end Bafana Bafana’s perfect start.
- Algeria 1-0 Togo: Ramy Bensebaini headed the 76th-minute winner.
- Uganda 1-1 Botswana: the co-hosts stay top of Group H on five points, CAF reported.
What it means for African readers
AFCON 2027 will be co-hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, the first time East Africa has staged the tournament. For fans and businesses, that means new travel, broadcasting and betting markets across the region, and pressure on traditional powers such as Nigeria and Tunisia to qualify. Mobile-money and fintech firms in East Africa are likely to court travelling supporters with ticketing and payment offers.
Tuesday’s return fixtures, including Kenya against South Africa in Nairobi and Togo against Algeria in Lomé, could reshape several groups.
What to watch
- Who Chelle picks to replace Lookman on the left side of attack in Zanzibar; Moses Simon came on in Uyo.
- Guinea-Bissau’s result in their own return fixture against Madagascar, which will decide whether a Nigeria win takes them top of Group L.
- Tunisia’s response, with all three of their remaining qualifiers away from home after a venue switch.
