DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania
MALI and Tunisia qualified for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations finals on Tuesday to follow in the footsteps of title holders Algeria, Senegal and hosts Cameroon.
Another 19 places will be up for
grabs during the final two match days between March 22 and 30 with record
seven-time champions Egypt among those close to securing places.
Sekou Koita and Moussa Doumbia
scored in Mali's 2-1 win over Namibia in Windhoek, which clinched an eighth
consecutive appearance at the African football showcase.
Tunisia will be going to the finals
for a record-extending 15th consecutive time after drawing 1-1 with Tanzania in
Dar es Salaam, where Saifeddine Khaoui gave them an early lead.
Neither Group A frontrunners Mali
nor Group J pacesetters Tunisia are assured of winning their four-nation
groups, but both are certain of top-two finishes and qualification.
Senegal clinched a place Sunday,
Algeria did likewise Monday and Cameroon fill the slot automatically reserved
for the host nation.
Aston Villa forward Mahmoud
Trezeguet scored the final goal as Egypt romped to a 3-0 Group G win over Togo
in Lome, with Mohamed 'Afsha' Magdy and Mohamed Sherif also on the scoresheet.
Chelsea's Hakim Ziyech scored the
first goal and created the second as Group E leaders Morocco won 2-0 against
the Central African Republic, who had to stage the match in Cameroon because of
security concerns.
After the dramatic four-goal
comeback by Sierra Leone to force a 4-4 Group L draw in Nigeria last week, the
reverse fixture provided little drama and ended 0-0 in Freetown.
A stoppage-time goal from Mohamed
Abdelrahman gave Sudan a surprise 1-0 victory over Group C leaders Ghana, who
were captained for the first time by Jordan Ayew, the Crystal Palace forward.
Injuries ruled out midfielders
Andre Ayew and Thomas Partey, the first and second-choice skippers, and the
next in line, goalkeeper Richard Ofori, was suspended.
Madagascar and the Ivory Coast
remain joint Group K leaders after drawing 1-1 in Toamasina with a brilliant
goal from Ibrahima Amada cancelling out a Franck Kessie penalty.
Ethiopia are just one point behind
thanks to a 3-0 hammering of Niger in Addis Ababa with Amanuel Gebremichael,
Mesud Mohammed and Getaneh Kebede the scorers.
The Democratic Republic of Congo
narrowed the gap behind Group D front-runners Gambia and Gabon to a single
point by defeating Angola 1-0 in Luanda.
Neeskens Kabano netted midway
through the second half for the Congolese, who were crowned African champions
in 1968 and 1974, but have not finished higher than third since.
Rwanda drew 0-0 with Cape Verde in
Kigali to hold the unwanted record of being the only one of the 48 nations
involved in qualifying not to have scored after four matchdays.
But there was some satisfaction at
collecting a second point in Group F as they had to play 61 minutes with 10 men
after Ally Niyonzima was sent off.
Benin remained one point behind
Nigeria, and on course for a second straight Cup of Nations appearance, by
drawing 0-0 with Lesotho in Maseru. - AFP
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