Expect high tension and crushing heartbreak this international break as Africa's World Cup qualifying program reaches a climax with the final two matchdays of the group-stage campaign.
There's still so much up for grabs across the nine groups, with only two teams -- Morocco and Tunisia -- guaranteed to take their place among the elite in North America next year.
Here are the big storylines set to unravel during what should be a pulsating week of football across the continent.
Cape Verde chasing a Cinderella ending
Surely, the biggest story of the week will come if and when Cape Verde Islands secure their maiden qualification for a World Cup, which the minnows appear destined to complete across the next two matchdays.
Leading Group D on 19 points, four ahead of second-placed Cameroon, the islanders simply need one victory from their remaining fixtures to guarantee their place on the grandest stage.
This will be a remarkable feat, even in this era of the expanded 48-team tournament, given that Cape Verde, population of just over 500,000 people, will be the second-smallest World Cup qualifiers in history -- behind Iceland.
Cape Verde's rise to prominence has been outstanding; No. 70 in the FIFA World Rankings, the Sharks reached the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time only in 2013, and they have grown in prominence after tapping into the country's extensive diaspora.
With Libya away and tiny Eswatini at home during the October internationals, expect Cape Verde to prompt carnivalesque celebrations when the dust settles on their qualifying campaign.
... but what does this mean for Cameroon?
Cameroon are Africa's most successful side in terms of World Cup qualification, having reached the tournament eight times, and given their wealth of talent they would have fancied their chances of progressing again when Group D was drawn.
But their prospects have been undermined by the chaotic managerial tenure of Belgian Marc Brys against a backdrop of the at-times bewildering presidency of Cameroon's football association chief Samuel Eto'o.
They were held away in Libya, Angola and Eswatini, before being defeated by Cape Verde in Praia in September, and they will be aware that the group leaders are unlikely to slip up at this late stage.
The Central Africans can still finish second in the group, and then could keep alive their hopes of advancing to the playoffs as one of the four best-placed runners-up, but even that would leave them up struggling to salvage their campaign.
"[We want to be] as high as possible [in the group]," Brys told state television CRTV. "So we'd like to be the best second-placed team to qualify, and we'll see afterwards... but to finish first [in the group] is not possible."
It is rare to see such a defeatist attitude coming from the Cameroon camp, but it's hard to argue with his pessimism.
South Africa's setback leaves Nigeria hoping...
FIFA docked South Africa three points for fielding the suspended (and therefore ineligible) Teboho Mokoena in their 2-0 victory over Lesotho in March, taking Bafana Bafana from top of the group -- three points ahead of Benin -- to level with their nearest rivals on points but behind on goal difference.
The penalty hasn't destroyed South Africa's hopes, particularly considering Benin have to travel away to Nigeria for their final fixture, while Bafana face Zimbabwe in Durban and Rwanda in Mbombela. However, there must be an inquisition at South African Football Association as to how the bungle took place, jeopardising the team's prospects of reaching the World Cup.
Benin may yet prove to be the big winners as they seek a maiden qualification, but Nigeria appear to have left it too late to salvage their campaign.
A draw away in South Africa in September may have been a decent result, but it nevertheless left Éric Sékou Chelle's side three points off the group leaders and requiring a dramatic improvement having won only two of eight qualifiers.
Nigeria will be delighted to welcome back Galatasaray superstar Victor Osimhen, who suffered injury against Rwanda in matchday seven, thereby missing the 1-1 draw with Bafana.
Nigeria have failed to qualify only twice since 1990, and they have never missed consecutive editions since they were first present at the global showpiece.
Can perfect Morocco go coast to coast?
Morocco have breezed through qualification, winning all seven of their matches, scoring 21 goals and conceding just two, in becoming the first African team to book a place at the competition.
Set to be the favourites for the Africa Cup of Nations on home soil later this year, and having become the first African side to reach the World Cup quarterfinals, at the tournament in Qatar, the Atlas Lions are surely the continent's best hope of another strong performance in North America next year.
Before that, they conclude their qualification campaign when hosting Congo in Rabat on Oct. 14, looking to maintain their 100% record.
No African team has ever reached the World Cup with a perfect record during qualification, but it must be acknowledged that Morocco have had to play fewer games this campaign due to the withdrawal of Eritrea.
Zidane takes his first steps with Algeria
Algeria's supporters watched during the 1990s and 2000s, as Zinedine Zidane, raised in Marseille by Algerian-born parents, amassed more than 100 appearances for France, winning the 1998 World Cup and the 2000 European Championship in the process.
Zinedine, one of football's greatest players, now will surely be watching Algeria as his son Luca is in line to debut for Algeria.
A France player up to under-20 level, Zidane jr. featured under his father at Real Madrid, and is now on the books of LaLiga 2 club Granada; the goalkeeper has kept one clean sheet in seven league outings this season.
The 27-year-old now has the opportunity to establish himself as the first choice with the Fennecs, for whom the likes of Alexis Guendouz, Oussama Benbot, Anthony Mandrea and Alexandre Oukidja have struggled to take command of the No. 1 shirt.
"To discuss who will be the No. 1 now would be premature," head coach Vladimir Petkovic said this month, seemingly opening the door to a Zidane debut against either Somalia or Uganda this week.
Victory in either game would be enough to guarantee the North Africans' place at the tournament.
The best of the rest
Elsewhere, Egypt will qualify with two more points, which should be secured when they face Djibouti in Casablanca on Wednesday, while Senegal are in pole position to advance from Group B ahead of Congo DR.
Senegal won the showdown between the two group leaders 3-2 in Kinshasa last month, with Pape Matar Sarr scoring an 87th-minute winner, and they will be optimistic of easing into the tournament as they round out their campaign against South Sudan and Mauritania.
Gabon failed to beat Ivory Coast at home in September, meaning the reigning African champions occupy top spot in Group F with two games to play.
There's only one point between the two sides, but the Elephants -- facing Seychelles away and Kenya at home -- will be confident of taking maximum points to qualify ahead of the Gabonese, for whom Denis Bouanga is the top scorer among all teams in the qualifying campaign.
In Group I, Ghana should end a miserable year on a high with progression -- they are three points ahead of Madagascar -- although both the Barea and third-placed Comoros, one point behind, will fancy their chances of at least sneaking through to the playoffs.