Togo will be hoping to keep their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification hopes alive when they travel to the Samuel Kanyon Doe Stadium to face Liberia on Wednesday evening.
The visitors are in third place in Group E with two points after the first four rounds, while the hosts are on one point over the same period and have been eliminated from qualification.
Match preview
© Imago
Liberia's wait to return to the main draw of the Africa Cup of Nations was extended last month when they suffered back-to-back defeats against Equatorial Guinea in rounds three and four of qualifying.
The Lone Stars have now failed to qualify for the AFCON in each of their last 10 attempts, dating back to the 2001-02 season, when they last reached the tournament proper but bowed out in the group stage.
However, their early elimination from this competition was somewhat surprising given their recent results elsewhere, such as in the CAF World Cup qualifiers, where they are in third place in their group, just one point behind Namibia in second and three behind group leaders Tunisia.
Additionally, under the guidance of interim coach Thomas Kojo, the Lone Stars overcame Sierra Leone in the first round of the African Nations Championship qualifiers a couple of weeks ago, meaning the three defeats they have conceded in this competition are the only ones they have suffered in their last 11 matches.
On home soil, Liberia's recent record has been fairly poor, though, with only one win earned in their last six matches, while they drew two and lost three of the remaining five games during that period.
Meanwhile, after suffering a thumping 5-1 defeat to Algeria in Annaba in round three, Togo put up a much better performance on their home patch against the Desert Warriors in round four, but lost the match 1-0, with Ramy Bensebaini scoring the only goal in the game from the penalty spot.
As a result, the Sparrowhawks are now on the verge of elimination and will officially be out of contention if they fail to win this match and Equatorial Guinea beat Algeria in the other match in this group.
However, Dare Nibombe's side will be carrying some confidence into this fixture, having booked their spot in the second round of the African Nations Championship qualifiers at the start of this month by beating Benin 3-1 on aggregate.
The reverse fixture between these sides ended in a 1-1 draw, and Togo have only lost three of their last 16 matches across all competitions (W5 D8 L3) dating back to the end of March 2023.
On the road, though, the visitors' record is less impressive, with only two wins earned in their last 12 matches, and those came against Niger and Eswatini, both of whom are ranked below the Sparrowhawks in the FIFA world rankings.
Team News
Thomas Kojo has called up MLS outfit Austin FC's Byrant Farkarlun for the first time in his career following an impressive first season where he scored four goals and nine assists in the MLS NEXT Pro league.
Additionally, the interim head coach has also summoned Terrence Tisdell and Swedish-born midfielder Justin Salmon, both of whom last played for the Lone Stars against South Africa in March of last year.
Nibombe, on the other hand, has faced a few major setbacks in assembling his squad, with reports indicating that of the 25 players called up, only 12 had arrived in Monrovia by Monday morning.
Additionally, Mansour Ouro-Tagba, pulled out of the squad to focus on securing his place at 2. Bundesliga side Regensburg, and has been replaced by Bilali Akoro from ASCK, while Khaled Narey declined the national team's call-up due to personal reasons.
Liberia possible starting lineup:
Koulibaly; Dweh, Balde, Kamara, Swen, Teclar; Teah, Tisdell, Farkarlun, Dorley, Ernest
Togo possible starting lineup:
Barcola; Amevor, Boma, Boateng, Fofana; Aholou, Agbagno, Aziangbe, Karim; Klidje; Denkey
We say: Liberia 1-1 Togo
While these sides have posted a few impressive results in recent times, maintaining consistency has been an issue for both of them. With no clear favourite in this match, we feel that these two will cancel each other out by the final whistle in this one.
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