2017 AFCON Group C: Ivory Coast, DR Congo, Morocco, Togo squads & fixtures

Topics: TV Schedules, TV Listings, Ivory Coast, Togo, Morocco, DR Congo, AFCON 2017

Ahead of the 2017 AFCON tournament, LiveSoccerTV.com provides you with all the info about Group C. Who are the favorites? Who are the minnows? And where can you watch them all in action?

Is there a "Group of Death" at AFCON 2017? That's subject for debate. But arguably, Group C could be a pretty tricky one. So far, we have looked at Group A and Group B. Now, let's move on to Group C, which contains Ivory Coast, DR Congo, Morocco, and Togo.

Ivory Coast: Looking to successfully defend their title

In 2015, the Ivory Coast defeated Ghana to clinch their second AFCON title. The game had gone down to the wire and ultimately were decided on spot-kicks.

But now a lot has changed. For starters, they have a new coach. Herve Renard has made way for Michel Dussuyer. And a look at the team's squad will reveal an absence of several notable players due to retirment and other issues.

There's no Didier Drogba, who is also his nation's all-time top goalscorer. Or Yaya Toure, or Gervinho. Still, with that in mind, they are ranked 34th in the world. That puts them second behind Senegal. And this will be their 22nd appearance. Only Egypt has featured more times. More important, of course, is the wealthy of talent the Elephants have at their disposal. The vast majority of the players ply their trades in Europe, and some play for some pretty big teams.

For instance, in defense, they have PSG's Serge Aurier as well as Manchester United's Eric Bailly (although the latter has been struggling with injuries as of late). Whislt he may not be a household name, Serie A fans are definitely already well aware of Atalanta's young midfielder Franck Kessie, who has been making waves in the Italian top flight for La Dea this season. And in attack, they have options like Wilfried Zaha, Seydou Doumbia, and Salamon Kalou.

Here's their squad for AFCON 2017:

Goalkeepers: Sylvain Gbohuo (TP Mazembe, DR Congo), Badra Sangare (AS Tanda, Ivory Coast), Mande Sayouba (Stabaek, Norway)

Defenders: Serge Aurier (PSG, France), Mamadou Bagayoko (St Trond VV, Belgium), Eric Bailly (Manchester United, England), Simon Deli (Slavia Prague, Czech Rep), Wilfried Kanon (ADO, Netherlands), Lamine Kone (Sunderland, England), Adama Traore (Basel, Switzerland)

Midfielders: Victorien Angban (Grenada, Spain), Cheik Doukoure (Metz, France), Franck Kessie (Atalanta, Italy), Yao Serge N'guessan (AS Nancy, France), Geoffroy Serey Die (Basel, Switzerland), Jean Michael Seri (Nice, France)

Forwards: Wilfried Bony (Stoke City, England), Max Gradel (Bournemouth, England), Salomon Kalou (Hertha Berlin, Germany), Jonathan Kodjia (Aston Villa, England), Giovanni Sio (Stade Rennes, France), Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace, England), Nicolas Pepe (Angers, France)

DR Congo: Can they repeat their impressive showings from 2015?

At the last edition, DR Congo surprised most by finishing in third. This will be their 18th appearance, and they have already won the AFCON tournament twice (in 1968 and 1974). Currently led by Florent Ibengé, who once plied his trade as a defender, the Leopards are presently ranked 48th in the world as per FIFA.

Here's one interesting fact about DR Congo: they were formerly known as the Zaire natonal football team, and made history as the first Sub-Saharan squad to qualify for a World Cup when they made it to the 1974 edition in Germany. Unfortunately, they crashed out at the group stage, and have not returned to a World Cup ever since.

Their third placed finish in 2015 was their best ever showing since again securing a third-placed spot in 1998. Although his team are battling to avoid relegation, Hull City's Dieumerci Mbokani will be key for the team if they want to get out of their quartet and impress yet again at AFCON 2017.

Here's their squad for AFCON 2017:

Goalkeepers: Nicaise Mulopo Kudimbana (Royal Antwerp, Belgium), Ley Matampi (TP Mazembe), Joel Kiassumbua (FC Wohlen, Switzerland)

Defenders: Chancel Mbemba (Newcastle, England), Gabriel Zakuani (Northampton Town, England), Issama Mpeko (Kabuscorp, Angola), Joyce Lomalisa (Vita Club), Vital N'Simba (Bourg-Péronnas, France), Fabrice N'Sakala (Alanyaspor, Turkey), Chris Luyindama and Merveille Bope (TP Mazembe), Jordan Ikoko (Guingamp, France), Marcel Tisserand (Ingolstadt, Germany)

Midfielders: Youssouf Mulumbu (Norwich, England), Neeskens Kebano (Fulham, England), Rémy Mulumba (Ajaccio, France), Hervé Kage (Kortrijk, Belgium), Jacques Maghoma (Birmingham City, England), Paul-José M'Poku (Panathinaikos, Greece), Jonathan Bijimine (Cordoba, Spain), Wilson Kamavuaka (Panetolikos, Greece)

Forwards: Cédric Bakambu (Villarreal, Spain), Dieumerci Mbokani (Hull City, England), Firmin Mubele Ndombe (Vita Club), Junior Kabananga (Astana, Kazakhstan), Jordan Botaka (Charlton Athletic, England), Meschack Elia and Jonathan Bolingi (TP Mazembe), Ricky Tulengi (DCMP), Jeremy Bokila (Al-Kharitiyath, Qatar)

Morocco: Can Herve Renard work his magic yet once again?

French tactician Herve Renard seems to have a bit of a "golden touch" when it comes to managing African sides. To date, he's the only coach to have successfully won the AFCON tournament twice with two different nations. In 2012, he won it with Zambia, and in 2015, clinched it yet again with Ivory Coast.

He now, of course will be looking to do a "three-peat", but this time, as coach of Morocco. The Atlas Lions are making their 16th appearance, but this is their first since 2013. Their sole AFCON triumph was back in 1976, and since then, their best ever result was a runners-up spot at the 2004 edition.

The team, who are ranked 57th as per FIFA, are currently skippered by Mehdi Benatia, who is on loan at Juventus from Bayern Munich. Both Younes Belhanda and Oussama Tannane suffered injuries recently, which thus gave 29-year-old striker Aziz Bouhaddouz (who plies his trade at second-division German side St. Pauli) a late-call up.

Unfortunately, recent reports indicate Southampton's Sofiane Boufal is also set to miss out on AFCON 2017 after suffering a knee injury. The 23-year-old was one player many had hoped to see in action due to his solid showings for the Saints in the Premier League this term.

Here's their squad for AFCON 2017:

Goalkeepers: Yassine Bounou (Girona), Yassine El Kharroubi (Lokomotiv Plovdiv), Munir Mohamedi (Numancia)

Defenders: Amine Attouchi (Wydad Casablanca), Mehdi Benatia (Juventus), Fouad Chafik (Dijon), Manuel da Costa (Olympiakos), Nabil Dirar (Monaco), Hamza Mendyl (Lille), Romain Saiss (Wolverhampton Wanderers)

Midfielders: Youssef Ait Bennasser (Nancy), Nordin Amrabat (Watford), *Sofiane Boufal (Southampton), Mbark Boussoufa (Al Jazeera), Mehdi Carcela (Grenada), Karim El Ahmadi (Feyenoord Rotterdam), Faycal Fajr (Deportivo Coruna), Mourir Obbadi (Lille)

*recently withdrew due to injury

Forwards: Rachid Alioui (Nimes), Aziz Bouhaddouz (St Pauli), Khalid Boutaib (Racing Strasbourg), Youssef El Arabi (Al Lekhwiya), Youssef Ennesyri (Malaga).

Togo: Led by a skipper...who's without a club, but will that matter?

Togo will be making their eighth AFCON appearance, and their first overall since 2013. To date, their best ever finish was making it to the quarter-finals in 2013. The Sparrow Hawks will be led by Claude Le Roy, a French tactician who once managed both the Ghanaian and Senegalese national squads. Under Le Roy, the Black Stars reached 14th in the FIFA world rankings, which is still their highest ever ranking to date (February 2008).

The team's skipper, Emmanel Adebayor, arguably is the most notable player here, but interestingly enough, he doesn't currently have a club to play for. The 32-year-old is Togo's all-time top goalscorer and is naturally very well known to Premier League fans for spells with Crystal Palace, Arsenal, Manchester City, and Tottenham.

Adebayor played a vital role in the team making it to the quarter-finals four years ago, and was part of the squad that featured at their only World Cup tournamnet appearance back in 2006. The Sparrow Hawks finished as runners-up in their quartet to book their spot here and are ranked 91st as per FIFA.

Here's their squad for AFCON 2017:

Goalkeepers: Kossi Agassa (Unattached), Baba Tchagouni (FC Marmande, France), Cédric Mensah (Le Mans, France)

Defenders: Serge Akakpo (Trabzonspor, Turkey), Sadate Ouro-Akoriko (Al Khaleej, Saudi Arabia), Djene Dakonam (Sint-Truidense, Belgium), Gafar Mamah (Dacia, Moldova), Maklibè Kouloun (Dyto), Hakim Ouro-Sama (AS Togo-Port), Vincent Bossou (Young Africans, Tanzania)

Midfielders: Alaixys Romao (Olympiacos, Greece), Matthieu Dossevi (Standard Liège, Belgium), Floyd Ayité (Fulham, England), Henritsè Eninful (Doxa Katokopias, Cyprus), Lalawele Atakora (Helsingborgs, Sweden), Prince Segbefia (Goztepe, Turkey), Ihlas Bebou (Fortuna Dusseldorf, Germany), Franco Atchou (Dyto), Serge Gakpe (Genoa, Italy)

Forwards: Emmanuel Adebayor (unattached), Fo Doh Laba (Berkane, Morocco), Komlan Agbeniadan (WAFA, Ghana), Razak Boukari (Chateauroux, France)