AFCON

BURKINA FASO, GUINEA QUALIFY, FOUR-GOAL ETHIOPIA CRUSH MADAGASCAR

Published

4 years ago

March 25, 2021

Burkina Faso and Guinea qualified Wednesday for the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon next January, while Ethiopia trounced Madagascar 4-0 as matchday 5 kicked off.

The Burkinabe secured a place for the sixth time in their last seven attempts by forcing a 0-0 Group B draw away to Uganda near Kampala.

Uganda must avoid defeat in Malawi Monday to join Burkina Faso at the 24-team tournament, which has been delayed one year by the coronavirus pandemic.

Malawi kept hopes of a first Cup of Nations appearance since 2010 alive by edging South Sudan 1-0 through a Richard Mbulu goal in Sudan as the national stadium in Juba is being renovated.

Guinea booked a place from Group A by defeating already-qualified Mali 1-0 in Conakry via a goal from substitute Seydouba Soumah with 15 minutes remaining.

Burkina Faso and Guinea join defending champions Algeria, Mali, Senegal, Tunisia and automatic qualifiers as hosts Cameroon in securing places, leaving 17 places up for grabs.

Ethiopia rose from third to first in Group K with an unexpectedly convincing triumph over Madagascar, who were the surprise side of the 2019 Cup of Nations in Egypt, reaching the quarterfinals as debutants.

The Ethiopians are ranked 42nd in Africa – 21 places below the Malagasys – but it was hard to believe that fact as they dominated the first half in Bahir Dar to turn over with a three-goal advantage.

Amanuel Gebremichael was first to score for a country that has featured at the Cup of Nations only once since 1976, followed by Getaneh Kebede and Abubeker Nassir.

Egypt-based Shimelis Bekele, the only starter who plays his club football outside Ethiopia, completed the rout four minutes from time.

Sudan stay in hunt –

Ethiopia have nine points, Cote d’Ivoire and Madagascar seven each and Niger three with the two west African sides meeting in Niamey Friday.

On Tuesday, the Ivorians host the Ethiopians and the Malagasys enjoy home advantage over the Nigeriens and, depending on the Niamey result, all four countries could be in contention for two places.

Sudan stayed in the hunt for a top-two finish in Group C thanks to a 2-0 away win over Sao Tome e Principe, the lowest ranked team in the group phase as they lie 51st in Africa and 187th in the world.

Mohamed Abdel Rahman broke the deadlock on 27 minutes in the island nation off the Gabonese coast and Seifeldin Malik netted early in the second half.

Ghana, South Africa and Sudan are all former champions and have nine points each ahead of a clash between Bafana Bafana (The Boys) and the Black Stars in Soweto Thursday.

Rwanda won and scored for the first time in Group F, defeating Mozambique 1-0 in Kigali through a Lague Byiringiro goal to climb from last to second. https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1374994462112411649&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cafonline.com%2Ftotal-africa-cup-of-nations%2F2021%2Fnews%2Fburkina-faso-guinea-qualify-four-goal-ethiopia-crush-madagascar&theme=light&widgetsVersion=e1ffbdb%3A1614796141937&width=550px

There is just one qualifying spot up at stake in this section as runaway leaders Cameroon are guaranteed a place as hosts, but wanted to gain competitive match practice rather than rely on friendlies.

Rwanda have five points and Cape Verde, who host Cameroon Friday, and Mozambique four each in an intriguing contest to claim a place.

–AFP

AFCON

NFF condoles with SuperSport and families of slain media men heading for AFCON match

Published

16 hours ago

October 12, 2024

Kunle Solaja

The Nigeria Football Federation has commiserated with families of the three persons who were killed by kidnappers in an ambush on the Ihiala-Orlu Road in Anambra State, on Tuesday, 8^th October 2024.

Information gathered on the incident revealed that the bandits opened fire on the bus in which the SuperSport operatives were travelling, with Staff and security personnel on board, and the attack immediately resulted in the deaths of a cameraman, a police officer and the bus driver.

President of NFF Ibrahim Musa Gusau stated that the past few days have been very sad for the Executive Committee members, as well as the Management and Staff of the NFF. “Yes, we won the match against Libya and took three points, but the fact that three lives were lost created a situation in which we were unable to celebrate properly, and it hurts seriously to even think back at the unfortunate incident.

“Nigeria football has had a long and fruitful relationship with SuperSport. The organization has been a strong ally in helping to fulfil the objective of the NFF in spreading joy to Nigerians through football, and they have been very professional and dedicated in their service. We share in their pain and sorrow at this period. Our prayer is that the Almighty will comfort the SuperSport family and the families of the deceased, and also grant the deceased eternal rest.

“At the same time, we pray for the safe return of the one person still unaccounted for, so that he will happily link up with his family and return to his job in good health. We also thank the security forces immensely for their efforts since this incident started.”

The SuperSport crew was on the way to Uyo to broadcast the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match between Nigeria and Libya, played on Friday at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium.

It was reliably gathered on Saturday that a total of 14 persons were in the vehicle at the time of the ambush. Eight persons were eventually rescued, two escaped on their own, three were killed and one person is still unaccounted for.

AFCON

Bafana Bafana spell Congo with goals

Published

22 hours ago

October 12, 2024

Kunle Solaja

Teboho Mokoena was the star of the show on Friday evening as the South African anchor scored a brace to contribute to a clinical 5-0 win over Congo at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth).

The Group K clash saw Bafana Bafana play host the Congo side that was desperate for a result, but was met by a ruthless host that was clinical in front of goal.

Mokoena opened the scoring with a clean header in the in 12th minute before a thunderbolt strike from the edge of the box to complete his brace

His Mamelodi Sundowns teammate, Bathusi Aubaas made it three just before the break to put the match beyond reach for the visitors.

Coming back from the break, the hosts continued to dominate proceedings and were duly rewarded in the 52nd minute when Lyle Foster found the fourth.

Iqraam Rayners sealed the historic victory for the former champions with an easy tap in following a blunder by the keeper to make it five with no response from Congo.

The result sees the South Africans tied on points with Uganda as the race for a top finish intensifies in Group K.

AFCON

Cote d’Ivoire edge closer to AFCON qualification

Published

22 hours ago

October 12, 2024

Kunle Solaja

Cote d’Ivoire reinforced their dominance in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Morocco 2025 qualifiers, commanding a 4-1 victory over Sierra Leone on Friday.

The Elephants, who entered the match with two wins from two, took an early lead through Nicolas Pépé in the second minute at the Laurent Pokou Stadium.

However, Sierra Leone responded before half-time with a goal from Alhassan Koroma to level the match.

The Ivorians regained control in the second half when Franck Kessié restored their lead with a 51st-minute strike, assisted by Séko Fofana.

Kessié doubled his tally in the 75th minute before Oumar Diakité sealed the win with a late penalty, keeping Côte d’Ivoire on top of Group G with maximum nine points.

The victory brings them one step closer to qualification for the tournament in Morocco.