Afghanistan Qualification Scenarios: How may Afghanistan go to the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy in 2025?

In Match 8 of the Champions Trophy 2025, Afghanistan managed to set and defend a total of 325 runs against England, all because to an outstanding effort by Ibrahim Zadran, who scored 177 off just 146 balls. Afghanistan triumphed by eight runs in a game that was crucial to their prospects of making it to the semi-final on Wednesday, February 26 at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

Afghanistan is now in third place with a few points in a fiercely contested Group B in the league stage, while South Africa and Australia are in first and second place with three points each. In order to secure their place in the next stages of the prestigious tournament, South Africa will need to defeat England, who have been ousted from the competition.

Afghanistan’s last league stage match is on Friday, February 28, against Australia, captained by Steven Smith.

The path to qualification for Afghanistan

Hashmatullah Shahidi and company need to defeat the Australians in their next match in order to qualify; if they lose, they will be eliminated because they will not be able to surpass any of the team’s points total. With four points, they would finish at least in second place, thus a victory would seal the deal for them.

However, Australia can still qualify even if they lose to Afghanistan since they would overtake the Rainbow Nation based on a higher net run-rate (NRR) if South Africa were to lose to England by a significant amount.

What happens if the AFG vs. AUS match is canceled?

Afghanistan will lose the qualification race if the match between Afghanistan and Australia is a draw because both teams will receive a point each, guaranteeing Australia a spot in the competition’s main stage. Afghanistan can only succeed with a victory, so the supporters back home will be pleading with the rain gods to be more forgiving.