IFFHS CONTINENTAL NEWS - AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS
Picture : Eliesse Ben Segir (right), scoring two goals, and Achraf Hakimi (left) efficient with Morocco !
Many qualify after Dramatic AFCON days 3 & 4 qualifiers
The beauty of African football was once more demonstrated when days 3 & 4 of the qualifiers for next year’s finals took place this past week. While Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Algeria, in that order were the first to qualify, Ghana embraced elimination when Sudan hit them 2-0 to reveal the intrinsic values of the victims, once the gold of African football. Sudan confirmed that their 1-0 over Nigeria on day 1 was no fluke when they captured and crushed Ghana on day4, 2-0 definitely shutting the doors to qualification to their opponents. What about Sierra Leone’s 1-0 victory against defending champions, Ivory Coast? Nothing to do with the predictable perfect run for hosts of next year’s tournament Morocco, devastating Central Africa Republic 5-0 on day 4. Cameroon did qualify but made sure they were also remembered for things only Cameroonian when they stripped coach Marc Brys of his deputy when the list from the officials table was presented to the Belgian who later promised to resign should there ever be any such repeat in future. Safe for the Libya versus Nigeria game that did not take place amid protest by the visitors whose complaint to CAF said they had been abandoned at the airport for more than half-a-day without water, food and internet in what was seen as an exaggeration of what Libya reportedly endured in Nigeria on day 3.
Ahead of days 5 & 6 scheduled for November 11-19, the highlighted teams have qualified for the finals after the following results of Days 3 & 4:
Group A: Madagascar 1 1 Gambia; Tunisia 0 1 Comoros; Gambia 1 0 Madagascar; Comoros 1 1 Tunisia . Group B: Central Africa Republic 3 1 Lesotho; Gabon 0 0 Lesotho; Morocco 5 0 Central Africa Republic; Lesotho 0 2 Gabon.. Group C: Egypt 2 0 Mauritania; Cabo Verde 0 1 Botswana; Mauritania 0 1 Egypt; Botswana 1 0 Cabo Verde Group D: Nigeria 1 0 Libya; Benin 3 0 Rwanda; Rwanda 2 1 Benin; *Libya/Nigeria. Group E:Algeria 5 1 Togo; Equatorial Guinea 1 0 Liberia; Togo 0 1 Algeria; Liberia 1 2 Equatorial Guinea. Group F: Ghana 0 0 Sudan; Angola 2 0 Niger; Sudan 2 0 Ghana; Niger 0 1 Angola Group G: Zambia 0 0 Chad; Ivory Coast 4 1 Sierra Leone; Chad 0 1 Zambia; Sierra Leone 1 0 Ivory Coast Group H: DR Congo 1 0 Tanzania; DR Congo 1 0 Guinea; Guinea 4 1 Ethiopia; Ethiopia 0 3 Guinea. Group I: Mozambique 1 1 Eswatini; Mali 1 0 Guinea Bissau; Eswatini 0 3 Moçambique; Guinea Bissau 0 0 Mali Group J: Namibia 0 1 Zimbabwe; Cameroon 4 1 Kenya ; Zimbabwe 3 1 Namibia Kenya 0 1 Cameroon; Group K: Uganda 1 0 South Sudan; South Africa 5 0 Congo; South Sudan 1 2 Uganda; Congo 1 1 South Africa Group L: Burkina Faso 4 1 Burundi; Senegal 4 0 Malawi; Burundi 0 2 Burkina Faso; Malawi 0 1 Senegal