Advertisement

Comfortable passage for champions Cameroon as Burundi make history

Sunday March 24 2019
AFCON Image

Defending champions Cameroon, Burundi, Guinea-Bissau and Namibia secured 2019 Africa Cup of Nations places on Saturday, raising to 19 the number of qualifiers for the tournament.
The remaining five places will be filled Sunday with South Africa among 11 countries hoping to make it to the June 21-July 19 showpiece in Egypt.
Cameroon needed a draw from a Group B clash with the Comoros in Yaounde, but overwhelmed the Indian Ocean islanders 3-0 with captain Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting among the goals.
Burundi were another side needing a point and they sealed a first Cup of Nations appearance by drawing 1-1 at home in Group C against Gabon, whose survival hopes rested on winning.

Namibia celebrated wildly despite a 4-1 Group K hammering in Zambia as they pipped Mozambique on head-to-head records for a place at the expanded 24-nation tournament.
Mozambique were poised to qualify when leading 2-1 in Guinea-Bissau entering stoppage time only to be undone by sloppy defending which allowed the home side to snatch a 2-2 draw.
Egypt, Algeria, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Tunisia and Uganda had qualified ahead of the final matchday this weekend.

Angola joined them Friday when they edged Botswana 1-0 to pip 2017 bronze medallists Burkina Faso for a Group I place.
After Paris Saint-Germain forward Choupo-Moting had given five-time champions Cameroon a half-time lead, Christian Bassogog and Clinton Njie netted in the second half.
Cameroon were the original 2019 hosts, which would have guaranteed them a place, but they fell behind with preparations and Egypt took over.
Cedric Amissi put Burundi ahead on 75 minutes only for Omar Ngandu to concede an own-goal soon after, creating a tense finish as Gabon sought a second goal and qualification.

But the Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang-captained visitors could not unlock the Burundian defence in Bujumbura and bowed out two years after hosting the Cup of Nations.
Mozambique came from behind in Bissau to equalise through Stanley Ratifo and Nelson Divrassone thought his goal with one minute remaining would be the match winner.
But a Mozambican defender clumsily headed a Guinea-Bissau free-kick against his post and Frederic Mendy reacted quickest to tap in the rebound.

That left Namibia as possibly the happiest 4-1 losers in African football history as they finished level on points with Mozambique, who they beat home and away last October.
Ivory Coast, Ghana, Mali and Senegal won matches that had no bearing on qualification and Niger fought back to draw 1-1 with record seven-time African champions Egypt.
On Sunday, former champions South Africa must avoid defeat to qualify at the expense of Libya, whose home fixture has been moved to neighbouring Tunisia for security reasons.

Africa Cup of Nations matchday 6 qualifying results on Saturday:
Group A
At Thies, Senegal
Senegal 2 (Niang 27, 56) Madagascar 0
Played Friday
At Omdurman, Sudan
Sudan 1 (Mokhtar 15) Equatorial Guinea 4 (Nsue 19-pen, 36-pen, Ganet 49, Obiang 85)
Final standings (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points)
Senegal 6 5 1 0 12 2 16 - qualified
Madagascar 6 3 1 2 8 8 10 - qualified
-------------------------
E. Guinea 6 2 0 4 5 7 6
Sudan 6 1 0 5 5 13 3
Group B
At Yaounde
Cameroon 3 (Choupo-Moting 37, Bassogog 53, Njie 89) Comoros 0
Friday
At Lilongwe
Malawi 0 Morocco 0
Final standings
Morocco 6 3 2 1 8 3 11 - qualified
Cameroon 6 3 2 1 6 3 11 - qualified
-----------------------
Malawi 6 1 2 3 2 6 5
Comoros 6 1 2 3 5 9 5
Group C
At Bujumbura
Burundi 1 (Amissi 75) Gabon 1 (Ngandu 81-og)
At Bamako
Mali 3 (Coulibaly 17, Djenepo 28, Traore 90) South Sudan 0
Final standings
Mali 6 4 2 0 10 2 14 - qualified
Burundi 6 2 4 0 11 5 10 - qualified
-----------------------
Gabon 6 2 2 2 7 5 8
S. Sudan 6 0 0 6 2 18 0
Group D
Playing Sunday
At Cotonou
Benin v Togo (1600 GMT)
Friday
At Blida, Algeria
Algeria 1 (Abeid 42) Gambia 1 (Danso 90+2)
Standings
Algeria 6 3 2 1 9 4 11 - qualified
Benin 5 2 1 2 3 5 7
-------------------
Gambia 6 1 3 2 6 6 6
Togo 5 1 2 2 3 6 5
Group E
Sunday
At Sfax, Tunisia
Libya v South Africa (1700 GMT)
Note: fixture moved from Libya for security reasons
Friday
At Asaba, Nigeria
Nigeria 3 (Ighalo 34-pen, Onyekuru 50, Simon 90) Seychelles 1 (Melanie 41)
Standings
Nigeria 6 4 1 1 14 6 13 - qualified
S. Africa 5 2 3 0 9 1 9
-----------------------
Libya 5 2 1 2 15 9 7
Seychelles 6 0 1 5 3 25 1
Group F
At Accra
Ghana 1 (Ekuban 83) Kenya 0
Bye: Ethiopia
Final standings
Ghana 4 3 0 1 8 1 9 - qualified
Kenya 4 2 1 1 4 1 7 - qualified
-------------------
Ethiopia 4 0 1 3 0 10 1
Note: Sierra Leone disqualified
Group G
Sunday
At Kinshasa
Democratic Republic of Congo v Liberia (1300 GMT)
At Harare
Zimbabwe v Congo Brazzaville (1300 GMT)
Standings
Zimbabwe 5 2 2 1 7 4 8
Liberia 5 2 1 2 5 8 7
---------------------
DR Congo 5 1 3 1 7 6 6
Congo 5 1 2 2 7 8 5
Group H
At Abidjan
Ivory Coast 3 (Pepe 6, Bailly 65, Cornet 71) Rwanda 0
Sunday
At Bangui
Central African Republic v Guinea (1400 GMT)
Standings
Guinea 5 3 2 0 8 4 11 - qualified
I. Coast 6 3 2 1 12 5 11 - qualified
------------------------
C.A.R. 5 1 2 2 4 8 5
Rwanda 6 0 2 4 5 12 2
Group I
At Ouagadougou
Burkina Faso 1 (B. Traore 19) Mauritania 0
At Francistown, Botswana
Botswana 0 Angola 1 (Eduardo 21)
Final standings
Angola 6 4 0 2 9 6 12 - qualified
Mauritania 6 4 0 2 7 6 12 - qualified
-------------------------
B. Faso 6 3 1 2 8 5 10
Botswana 6 0 1 5 1 8 1
Group J
At Niamey
Niger 1 (Moutari 80) Egypt 1 (Hassan 48)
Friday
At Rades, Tunisia
Tunisia 4 (S. Ben Youssef 21, Badri 33, Sliti 53, Meriah 61) eSwatini (formerly Swaziland) 0
Final standings
Tunisia 6 5 0 1 12 4 15 - qualified
Egypt 6 4 1 1 16 5 13 - qualified
---------------------
Niger 5 1 2 3 4 11 5
eSwatini 6 0 1 5 2 14 1
Group K
At Bissau
Guinea-Bissau 2 (Piqueti 13, Mendy 90+1) Mozambique 2 (Ratifo 49, Divrassone 89)
At Lusaka
Zambia 4 (Mulenga 12, 81, Malama 55, Kambole 90+2) Namibia 1 (Shalulile 90)
Final standings
G. Bissau 6 2 3 1 8 7 9 - qualified
Namibia 6 2 2 2 5 7 8 - qualified
---------------------
Mozambique 6 2 2 2 7 7 8
Zambia 6 2 1 3 8 7 7
Group L
Sunday
At Praia
Cape Verde v Lesotho (1500 GMT)
At Dar es Salaam
Tanzania v Uganda (1500 GMT)
Standings
Uganda 5 4 1 0 7 0 13 - qualified
Lesotho 5 1 2 2 3 7 5
---------------------
Tanzania 5 1 2 2 3 5 5
C. Verde 5 1 1 3 4 5 4
Notes
-- Group winners and runners-up qualify for tournament in Egypt from June 21 to July 19
-- Head-to-head records separate teams level on points 

Advertisement
Advertisement