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Johannesburg (AFP)
Burkina Faso and Guinea qualified for the African Cup of Nations in Cameroon next January on Wednesday, while Ethiopia defeated Madagascar 4-0 at the start of matchday five.
Burkina Faso clinched a spot for the sixth time in their last seven attempts by forcing a 0-0 draw in Group B against Uganda near Kampala.
Uganda must avoid defeat in Malawi on Monday to join Burkina Faso in the 24-team tournament, which has been delayed a year by the coronavirus pandemic.
Malawi kept alive hopes of a first Nations Cup appearance since 2010 by beating South Sudan 1-0 with a Richard Mbulu goal in Sudan while the Juba national stadium is undergoing renovations.
Guinea booked a place in Group A by defeating Mali, already qualified in Conakry, 1-0 with 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 of Cameroon to secure spots, leaving 17 spots up for grabs.
Ethiopia rose from third to first place in Group K with an unexpectedly convincing win over Madagascar, which was the surprise side of the 2019 Nations Cup in Egypt, reaching the quarter-finals as a rookie.
The Ethiopians rank 42nd in Africa, 21 spots behind the Malagasy, but that fact was hard to believe as they dominated the first half in Bahir Dar to turn around with a three-goal lead.
Amanuel Gebremichael was the first to score for a country that has participated in the Nations Cup only once since 1976, followed by Getaneh Kebede and Abubeker Nassir.
Egypt-based Shimelis Bekele, the only starter to play his club’s football outside of Ethiopia, completed the win four minutes from time.
– Sudan remains on the hunt –
Ethiopia has nine points, Ivory Coast and Madagascar seven each and Niger three, and the two West African teams meet in Niamey on Friday.
On Tuesday, the Ivorians host the Ethiopians and the Malagasy enjoy the home advantage over the Nigerians and, depending on the outcome of Niamey, the four countries could compete for two places.
Sudan remained in search of a top two result in Group C thanks to a 2-0 away win over Sao Tome and Principe, the lowest-ranked team in the group stage, as they are ranked 51 in Africa and 187 in the world.
Mohamed Abdel Rahman broke the deadlock in the 27th minute in the island nation off the coast of Gabon and Seifeldin Malik scored 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 Black Stars in Soweto on Thursday.
Rwanda won and scored for the first time in Group F, defeating Mozambique 1-0 in Kigali with a goal from Lague Byiringiro to climb from last to second.
There is only one qualifying spot up for grabs in this section as runaway leader Cameroon is guaranteed a spot as host but wanted to win competitive match practice rather than rely on friendlies.
Rwanda has five points and Cape Verde, which hosts Cameroon on Friday, and Mozambique four apiece in an intriguing contest to claim a spot.
There are nine games scheduled for Thursday with Comoros and Gambia hoping to make their first appearances.
© 2021 AFP
