By the end of this week, we’ll know which Premier League players taking part in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and the Asian Cup will be in line for a Gameweek 22 return.
That’s because Matchday 3 of both tournaments starts on Monday, with the competing nations contesting their final group stage games.
So, by Thursday evening, we’ll know which countries have been eliminated and which have progressed to the knockout rounds.
Before we summarise what’s at stake, a reminder of how the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) calendar corresponds to the tournaments in Ivory Coast and Qatar:
AFCON + THE ASIAN CUP: CLUB-BY-CLUB GUIDE TO WHO IS AWAY
Here is a club-by-club guide of which Premier League players are representing their nations:
| AFCON | ASIAN CUP | |
| ARSENAL | Mohamed Elneny (Egypt) | Takehiro Tomiyasu (Japan) |
| ASTON VILLA | Bertrand Traore (Burkina Faso) | |
| B’MOUTH | Dango Ouattara (Burkina Faso), Antoine Semenyo (Ghana) | |
| BRENTFORD | Frank Onyeka (Nigeria), Yoane Wissa (DR Congo) | Saman Ghoddos (Iran) |
| BRIGHTON | Simon Adingra (Ivory Coast) | Kaoru Mitoma (Japan) |
| BURNLEY | ||
| CHELSEA | Nicolas Jackson (Senegal) | |
| C PALACE | Jordan Ayew (Ghana) | |
| EVERTON | Idrissa Gueye (Senegal) | |
| FULHAM | Alex Iwobi (Nigeria), Calvin Bassey (Nigeria), Fode Ballo-Toure (Senegal) | |
| LIVERPOOL | Mohamed Salah (Egypt) | Wataru Endo (Japan) |
| LUTON | Issa Kaboré (Burkina Faso) | |
| MAN CITY | ||
| MAN UTD | Sofyan Amrabat (Morocco), Andre Onana (Cameroon) | |
| NEWCASTLE | ||
| N FOREST | Serge Aurier (Ivory Coast), Willy Boly (Ivory Coast), Ibrahim Sangare (Ivory Coast), Moussa Niakhate (Senegal), Cheikhou Kouyate (Senegal), Ola Aina (Nigeria) | |
| SHEFF UTD | Yaser Larouci (Algeria), Anis Ben Slimane (Tunisia) | |
| TOTTENHAM | Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal), Yves Bissouma (Mali) | Son Heung-min (South Korea) |
| WEST HAM | Nayef Aguerd (Morocco), Mohammed Kudus (Ghana) | |
| WOLVES | Rayan Ait-Nouri (Algeria), Boubacar Traore (Mali) | Hwang Hee-chan (South Korea), Justin Hubner (Indonesia) |
QUALIFICATION: WHAT’S AT STAKE IN MATCHDAY 3
A reminder that, in both tournaments, 16 of the 24 competing teams qualify from the group stage.
The top two in each group advance automatically, while four of the six third placed teams will also progress.
ASIAN CUP
| Country | Premier League players | Current position | Will finish… |
| Indonesia | Justin Hubner (Wolves) | 3rd | 2nd with a win over Japan (who are currently 2nd) 3rd with a draw or loss |
| Iran | Saman Ghoddos (Brentford) | 1st (qualified) | 1st with a draw or win over UAE (2nd) 2nd with a loss |
| Japan | Takehiro Tomiyasu (Arsenal), Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton), Wataru Endo (Liverpool) | 2nd | 2nd with a draw or win over Indonesia (3rd) 3rd with a loss |
| South Korea | Son Heung-min (Spurs), Hwang Hee-chan (Wolves) | 2nd | 1st, 2nd or 3rd, partly depending on how Jordan (1st) fare against Bahrain (3rd)
A win or draw over Malaysia (4th) guarantees 2nd at the very least |
It’s unlikely that Japan or South Korea will exit at the group stage, as they’re both massive odds-on favourites to win their Matchday 3 fixtures.
The two nations could be on a collision course in the round of 16, however: if South Korea win their group, they’ll play the runners-up in Japan’s group.
That match would take place on January 30, so there is a very decent chance that Son Heung-min (£9.7m) and Hwang Hee-chan (£5.6m) could be back in Gameweek 23 (February 3/4) if they are eliminated then.
AFCON
| Country | Premier League players | Current position | Will finish… |
| Algeria | Yasser Larouci (Sheffield United), Rayan Ait-Nouri (Wolves) | 3rd | 1st, 2nd or 3rd, partly depending on how Burkina Faso (who are currently 2nd) fare against Angola (1st)
A win or draw against Mauritania (4th) guarantees 3rd at the very least |
| Burkina Faso | Bertrand Traore (Aston Villa), Dango Ouattara (Bournemouth), Issa Kabore (Luton) | 2nd | 1st, 2nd or 3rd, and could depend on how Algeria (3rd) fare against Mauritania (4th)
A win over Angola (1st) guarantees 1st |
| Cameroon | Andre Onana (Man Utd) | 3rd | 2nd, 3rd or 4th, partly depending on how Guinea (2nd) fare against Senegal (1st)
A win or draw against Gambia (4th) guarantees 3rd at the very least |
| DR Congo | Yoane Wissa (Brentford) | 2nd | 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th, partly depending on how Zambia (3rd) fare against Morocco (1st)
A win over Tanzania (4th) guarantees 2nd at the very least |
| Egypt | Mohamed Elneny (Arsenal), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) | 2nd | 2nd, 3rd or 4th, partly depending on how Ghana (3rd) fare against Mozambique (4th)
A win over Cape Verde (1st) guarantees 2nd |
| Ghana | Antoine Semenyo (Bournemouth), Jordan Ayew (Crystal Palace), Mohammed Kudus (West Ham) | 3rd | 2nd, 3rd or 4th, partly depending on how Egypt (2nd) fare against Cape Verde (1st)
A win or draw against Mozambique (4th) guarantees 3rd at the very least |
| Ivory Coast | Simon Adingra (Brighton), Serge Aurier (Nottm Forest), Willy Boly (Nottm Forest), Ibrahim Sangare (Nottm Forest) | 3rd | 1st, 2nd or 3rd, partly depending on how Nigeria (2nd) fare against Guinea-Bissau (4th)
A win over Equatorial Guinea (1st) guarantees 2nd at the very least |
| Mali | Yves Bissouma (Spurs), Boubacar Traore (Wolves) | 1st | 1st, 2nd or 3rd, and could depend on how South Africa (2nd) fare against Tunisia (4th)
A win over Namibia (3rd) guarantees 1st |
| Morocco | Sofyan Amrabat (Man Utd), Nayef Aguerd (West Ham) | 1st | 1st, 2nd or 3rd, and could depend on how DR Congo (2nd) fare against Tanzania (4th)
A win over Zambia (3rd) guarantees 1st |
| Nigeria | Frank Onyeka (Brentford), Calvin Bassey (Fulham), Alex Iwobi (Fulham), Ola Aina (Nottm Forest) | 2nd | 1st, 2nd or 3rd, partly depending on how Equatorial Guinea (1st) fare against Ivory Coast (3rd)
A win or draw over Guinea-Bissau (4th) guarantees 2nd at the very least |
| Senegal | Nicolas Jackson (Chelsea), Idrissa Gueye (Everton), Fode Ballo-Toure (Fulham), Moussa Niakhate (Nottm Forest), Chekihou Kouyate (Nottm Forest), Pape Matar Sarr (Spurs) | 1st (qualified) | 1st with a draw or win over Guinea (2nd) 2nd with a loss |
| Tunisia | Anis Ben Slimane (Sheff Utd) | 4th | A win against South Africa (2nd) guarantees 3rd at the very least 4th with a draw or loss |
Mohamed Salah (£13.1m) may not kick another ball at AFCON because of injury, although he could return for the final if Egypt get that far.
They first have to get out of the group stage, however. A win over already qualified Cape Verde guarantees 2nd spot in their group, while a draw would be enough to finish 3rd.
The bookies make them roughly 86.5% to qualify for the round of 16, so it looks probable.
Finishing as runners-up would likely see them play Zambia or DR Congo in the round of 16, two nations that feature well outside the top 10 favourites for the entire competition.
Of the African nations listed above, it’s Tunisia who are the likeliest to bow out early (circa 40% chance of qualification): only a win will do for them against South Africa.
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
