SUMMARY 1-Soccer-Mali and Tunisia join the qualifiers list for the African Cup

* Mali and Tunisia join Algeria and Senegal in the finals

* Egypt and Morocco approach the classification

* Ghana loses to Sudan, Nigeria to Sierra Leone

CAPE TOWN, Nov 17 (Reuters) – Mali and Tunisia added their names to the list of countries qualified for the next final phase of the African Cup of Nations on Tuesday, joining champion Algeria and 2019 runner-up Senegal who had booked their places in the last two. days.

Mali made sure to finish in the top two in Group A after a 2-1 win in Namibia, where Sekou Koita and Moussa Doumbia scored in the first half, while Tunisia’s 1-1 draw in Tanzania was enough to ensure that they would finish among the first. two in Group J.

Tunisia will go to the Cameroon finals in 2022 for the 15th time in a row.

Egypt and Morocco also edged closer to qualifying after producing positive performances on the road on Tuesday.

Hakim Ziyech of Morocco was once again a major influence, as they won 2-0 away to the Central African Republic and are now one point away from Group E qualification.

Ziyech’s free kick in the 39th minute entered the net from outside the area and, while his teammate Nayef Aguerd claimed he received a weak touch, it seemed that the effort went straight without any help and Ziyech was attributed the goal .

Chelsea’s new signing became supplier on a last-minute break, topped off by Youssef En Nesyri.

Egypt, seeking a record 25th appearance in a Nations Cup final, are also at the top of the rankings in Group G after a 3-1 away win over Togo.

Ghana could have qualified, but they dissolved against Sudan in Khartoum, where Mohamed Abdelrahman scored in injury time for a 1-0 victory that put the hosts back in contention for the top two places.

Ghana has nine points and shares the top spot in Group C with South Africa, while Sudan is just three points behind.

Nigeria faced Sierra Leone for the second time in five days, this time a tepid 0-0 draw in Freetown in contrast to Sierra Leone’s thrilling comeback in a 4-4 draw last Friday.

Nigeria leads Group L by one point ahead of Benin, which drew 0-0 with Lesotho early Tuesday, while the other two countries have two points each.

Leaders Madagascar and Ivory Coast have seven points in Group K after their 1-1 draw in Antananarivo, but Ethiopia is just one point behind having defeated visiting Niger 3-0.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo beat neighboring Angola 1-0 in Luanda after Neeskens Kebano’s labyrinthine run and precise shot from outside the penalty area in the 63rd minute.

The result revived the Congolese’s qualifying chances as they are now just one point behind Gambia and Gabon in Group D.

The last two rounds of preliminaries will be played in March. The top two from each group advance to the final, except in Group F, where only the highest ranked team in addition to Cameroon, classified as host but playing in the preliminaries, qualify. (Reporting by Mark Gleeson; Editing by Ken Ferris)