DAKAR (Senegal) - What makes this Group F battle so special?
According to the FIBA World Rankings presented by NIKE, five out of six teams in this group rank among the top 10 on the continent.
The inevitable question is which team will finish first at the end of the first round.
What do the records say about the teams?
- Côte d'Ivoire has good reason to self-proclaim as World Cup regulars. - Angola hasn't missed any of the last six World Cups. - Egypt has had ups and downs recently. - Senegal is playing at home for the third time in a row in the current campaign. - Mali is emerging as a giant-killer. - DR Congo is facing a real battle to prove the doubters wrong.
That's what Group F of the African Qualifiers is all about.
When and where is the first round of Group F happening?
The Dakar Arena, located in Diamniadio, a town around 30 kilometers from Dakar, will host the first nine Group F games from Thursday, August 27, to Sunday, August 30.
Below are the group standings before the first round begins.
POSITION | TEAM | RECORD | POINTS | OPPONENTS |
1. | Senegal | 5-1 | 11 | Angola, Mali, Egypt |
2. | Côte d'Ivoire | 5-1 | 11 | Angola, Mali, Egypt |
3. | Mali | 5-1 | 11 | Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, DR Congo |
4. | Angola | 4-2 | 10 | Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, DR Congo |
5. | Egypt | 3-3 | 9 | Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, DR Congo |
6. | DR Congo | 2-4 | 8 | Angola, Mali, Egypt |
What's at stake?
The goal for Groups F and F is to compete for one of the five spots available to African teams in the 2027 World Cup.
The top two teams in each group will qualify for the 32-nation tournament. The remaining fifth spot will be decided based on the teams' best win-loss record as well as point-differential.
The more wins a team can get, the higher their chances of making it to the World Cup.
In addition to keeping their World Cup dreams alive, the higher a team finishes in the African qualifiers, the greater their chances of still competing for a spot in the FIBA pre-Olympic qualifying tournament.
Except for DR Congo and Mali, all of the other Group F teams have played in the World Cup at some point in their history. Angola, Côte d'Ivoire, and Egypt played in the 2023 World Cup, while Senegal appeared in the competition during the 2019 edition of the tournament held in China.
Key matchups
There are a number of unfinished business in this group, making it difficult to single out just a few.
However, six out of nine of the first round games in Group F are considered unmissable: These include Mali vs. Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt vs. Senegal, Senegal vs. Angola, Côte d'Ivoire vs. Egypt, Angola vs. Côte d'Ivoire, and Mali vs. Senegal.
Where and how to watch window 4 of the African Qualifiers?
All African qualifier games will be streamed live on Courtside and FIBA partner channels.
Players to watch
A host of star players are set to shine in the first round of Group F.
CLICK HEREto learn more.
VOTING POLL - Which team will take the lead in Group F?
FIBA