CAN 2022: Gabon, Egypt, Ghana and Gambia go through, DRC goes down

After Guinea and Burkina Faso, Wednesday evening, other selections have just validated their tickets for the final phase of the next Africa Cup of Nations Cameroon 2022. These are Egypt, Gabon, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, the neophytes Comoros and Gambia. On the other hand, the Leopards of the Democratic Republic of Congo are eliminated at the end of this 5th and penultimate day.

Pierre Emerick Aubameyang and his Gabonese teammates are back in the top flight of African football after their victory over their Democratic Republic of Congo counterparts (3-0) on Thursday in Franceville. The three goals of the Panthers were scored respectively by Aaron Boupendza (1-0, 44′), Denis Bouanga (2-0, 72′) and Pierre Emerick Aubameyang (86′). With this success, we can say that the French coach Patrice Neveu has completed his mission, allowing Gabon to return to the CAN after four years of absence.

A historic qualification. In the same group, Gambia won their first CAN final phase qualification ticket by beating Angola (1-0) in Banjul. FC Zurich striker Assan Ceesay scored the only goal of the victory of the Scorpions in the 61st minute of play against the Palancas Negras.

Like Gambia, Comoros will play for the first time in their history, the final phase of the African Cup of Nations. This is a great achievement for this country of 850,000 inhabitants, which has only been a member of FIFA since 2005. In front of the 1,000 people allowed to attend the match, the Coelacanths had to settle for a draw (0-0) against the already eliminated Hawks of Togo. But it was enough for the Comoros to secure their ticket.

A few hours after the Comoros, Egypt, eight-time winners of the continent’s most prestigious competition, secured the second ticket in Group G of the qualifiers on the pitch of Kenya. Midfielder Afsha opened the scoring in the second minute. The Harambee Stars came back to score shortly after half-time through Abdallah Hassan (1-1), but the draw was not enough.

This Friday other matches are scheduled, including Burundi / Central African Republic, Mauritania / Morocco, Cape Verde / Cameroon, and Eswatini / Guinea-Bissau, Congo / Senegal and Niger / Ivory Coast. It should be recalled that 13 countries are already qualified for the next CAN. They are Cameroon (host country), Mali, Senegal, Tunisia, Algeria, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Gabon, Comoros, Gambia, Ghana and Equatorial Guinea.
Programme Day 5

Group A

Wednesday 24 March 2021

Guinea / Mali 1-0
Chad / Namibia 0-3

Group B

Wednesday 24 March 2021

Uganda / Burkina Faso 0-0
South Sudan / Malawi 0-1

Group C

Wednesday 24 March 2021

Sao Tome and Principe / Sudan 0-2

Thursday 25 March 2021

South Africa / Ghana 1-1

Group D

Thursday 25 March 2021

Gabon / DR Congo 3-0
Gambia / Angola 1-0

Group E

Friday 26 March 2021

13:00 Burundi / Central African Republic
19:00 Mauritania / Morocco

Group F

Wednesday 24 March 2021

Rwanda / Mozambique 1-0

Friday 26 March 2021

16:00 Cape Verde / Cameroon

Group G

Thursday 25 March 2021

Comoros / Togo 0-0
Kenya / Egypt 1-1

Group H

Thursday 25 March 2021

Botswana / Zimbabwe 0-1
Zambia / Algeria 3-3

Group I

Friday 26 March 2021

13:00 Eswatini / Guinea-Bissau
16:00 Congo / Senegal

Group J

Thursday 25 March 2021

Libya / Tunisia 2-5

Equatorial Guinea / Tanzania 1-0

Group K

Wednesday 25 March 2021

Ethiopia / Madagascar 4-0

Friday 26 March 2021

16:00 Niger / Ivory Coast

Group L

Saturday 27 March 2021

13:00 Lesotho / Sierra Leone
16:00 Benin / Nigeria

Top scorer

4 goals: P. Tau (South Africa+1), V. Osimhen (Nigeria)

3 goals: P. Daka (Zambia+1), V. Aboubakar (Cameroon), B. Bounedjah (Algeria), F. Diedhiou (Senegal), A. Iwobi (Nigeria), S. Khaoui (Tunisia), W. Khazri (Tunisia), S. Ntibazonkiza (Burundi)

2 goals: Islam Slimani (Algeria+2), M. Ellafi (Libya+2), Sanad Al Warfali (Libya), A. Ayew (Ghana), A. Bancé (Burkina Faso), Y. Belaïli (Algeria), K. Billiat (Zimbabwe), N. Keïta (Guinea), Y. En-Nesyri (Morocco), R. Mahrez (Algeria), S. Mané (Senegal)…