Ghana has secured their 24th and Angola their 9th AFCON appearances after both countries got the needed results on Thursday against Central Africa Republic and Madagascar, respectively.
The Black Stars of Ghana needed a draw to be assured of qualification against a CAR side who would have qualified automatically if they secured a win at the Baba Yara Stadium, potentially at the expense of Ghana should Angola win at home to Madagascar.
The visitors were ready for an upset and duly went into the lead through Louis Mafouta. The 29-year-old Amiens SC forward opened the scoring in the 25th minute. However, the lead didn’t last till the break as Muhammad Kudus stirred in a free kick in the 43rd minute, two minutes before the break.
A draw would have earned Ghana their 10th consecutive AFCON participation, but the Black Stars went one further through Lyon’s teenage forward Ernest Nuamah, who got his first international goal with two minutes of regular time remaining.
The win saw Ghana top Group E with 12 points, and Angola’s 0-0 draw was enough to see them finish in second place with nine points.
Other results from Thursday night saw Nigeria lose to Uganda at home while Tunisia beat Botswana.
More games will come up on Friday as Egypt host Ethiopia, Burkina Faso will face Eswatini, and Mali will entertain South Sudan.
The Africa Cup of Nations will happen in Ivory Coast between January and February 2024 after it was postponed from the summer of 2023 due to weather conditions in Ivory Coast.
Saturday 9 September fixtures.
MALAWI v GUINEA
MOZAMBIQUE v BENIN
CÔTE D’IVOIRE v LESOTHO
MAURITANIA v GABON
DR CONGO v SUDAN
COMOROS v ZAMBIA
MOROCCO v LIBERIA
SENEGAL v RWANDA
Sunday 10 September fixtures
NIGERIA v SÃO TOMÉ AND PRINCIPE
TOGO v CAPE VERDE
THE GAMBIA v CONGO.
Daniel Ademiju Idowu
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