By the top of this week, we’ll know which Premier League players collaborating within the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and the Asian Cup will likely be in line for a Gameweek 22 return.
That’s as a result of Matchday 3 of each tournaments begins on Monday, with the competing nations contesting their remaining group stage video games.
So, by Thursday night, we’ll know which international locations have been eradicated 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 information 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 each tournaments, 16 of the 24 competing groups qualify from the group stage.
The prime two in every group advance robotically, whereas 4 of the six third positioned groups will even progress.
ASIAN CUP
| Country | Premier League players | Current place | Will end… |
| Indonesia | Justin Hubner (Wolves) | third | 2nd with a win over Japan (who’re at the moment 2nd) third with a draw or loss |
| Iran | Saman Ghoddos (Brentford) | 1st (certified) | 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 (third) third with a loss |
| South Korea | Son Heung-min (Spurs), Hwang Hee-chan (Wolves) | 2nd | 1st, 2nd or third, partly relying on how Jordan (1st) fare towards Bahrain (third)
A win or draw over Malaysia (4th) ensures 2nd on the very least |
It’s unlikely that Japan or South Korea will exit on the group stage, as they’re each large odds-on favourites to win their Matchday 3 fixtures.
The two nations could be on a collision course within the spherical of 16, nevertheless: if South Korea win their group, they’ll play the runners-up in Japan’s group.
That match would happen on January 30, so there’s a very first rate likelihood that Son Heung-min (£9.7m) and Hwang Hee-chan (£5.6m) could be again in Gameweek 23 (February 3/4) if they’re eradicated then.
AFCON
| Country | Premier League players | Current place | Will end… |
| Algeria | Yasser Larouci (Sheffield United), Rayan Ait-Nouri (Wolves) | third | 1st, 2nd or third, partly relying on how Burkina Faso (who’re at the moment 2nd) fare towards Angola (1st)
A win or draw towards Mauritania (4th) ensures third on the very least |
| Burkina Faso | Bertrand Traore (Aston Villa), Dango Ouattara (Bournemouth), Issa Kabore (Luton) | 2nd | 1st, 2nd or third, and could rely on how Algeria (third) fare towards Mauritania (4th)
A win over Angola (1st) ensures 1st |
| Cameroon | Andre Onana (Man Utd) | third | 2nd, third or 4th, partly relying on how Guinea (2nd) fare towards Senegal (1st)
A win or draw towards Gambia (4th) ensures third on the very least |
| DR Congo | Yoane Wissa (Brentford) | 2nd | 1st, 2nd, third or 4th, partly relying on how Zambia (third) fare towards Morocco (1st)
A win over Tanzania (4th) ensures 2nd on the very least |
| Egypt | Mohamed Elneny (Arsenal), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) | 2nd | 2nd, third or 4th, partly relying on how Ghana (third) fare towards Mozambique (4th)
A win over Cape Verde (1st) ensures 2nd |
| Ghana | Antoine Semenyo (Bournemouth), Jordan Ayew (Crystal Palace), Mohammed Kudus (West Ham) | third | 2nd, third or 4th, partly relying on how Egypt (2nd) fare towards Cape Verde (1st)
A win or draw towards Mozambique (4th) ensures third on the very least |
| Ivory Coast | Simon Adingra (Brighton), Serge Aurier (Nottm Forest), Willy Boly (Nottm Forest), Ibrahim Sangare (Nottm Forest) | third | 1st, 2nd or third, partly relying on how Nigeria (2nd) fare towards Guinea-Bissau (4th)
A win over Equatorial Guinea (1st) ensures 2nd on the very least |
| Mali | Yves Bissouma (Spurs), Boubacar Traore (Wolves) | 1st | 1st, 2nd or third, and could rely on how South Africa (2nd) fare towards Tunisia (4th)
A win over Namibia (third) ensures 1st |
| Morocco | Sofyan Amrabat (Man Utd), Nayef Aguerd (West Ham) | 1st | 1st, 2nd or third, and could rely on how DR Congo (2nd) fare towards Tanzania (4th)
A win over Zambia (third) ensures 1st |
| Nigeria | Frank Onyeka (Brentford), Calvin Bassey (Fulham), Alex Iwobi (Fulham), Ola Aina (Nottm Forest) | 2nd | 1st, 2nd or third, partly relying on how Equatorial Guinea (1st) fare towards Ivory Coast (third)
A win or draw over Guinea-Bissau (4th) ensures 2nd on 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 (certified) | 1st with a draw or win over Guinea (2nd) 2nd with a loss |
| Tunisia | Anis Ben Slimane (Sheff Utd) | 4th | A win towards South Africa (2nd) ensures third on the very least 4th with a draw or loss |
Mohamed Salah (£13.1m) might not kick one other ball at AFCON due to harm, though he could return for the ultimate if Egypt get that far.
They first must get out of the group stage, nevertheless. A win over already certified Cape Verde ensures 2nd spot of their group, whereas a draw could be sufficient to complete third.
The bookies make them roughly 86.5% to qualify for the spherical of 16, so it seems to be possible.
Finishing as runners-up would doubtless see them play Zambia or DR Congo within the spherical of 16, two nations that function well outside the top 10 favourites for the entire competition.
Of the African nations listed above, it’s Tunisia who’re the likeliest to bow out early (circa 40% likelihood of qualification): solely a win will do for them towards South Africa.
