(Photo by Fared Kotb/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Egypt, Gabon and Gambia all qualified for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon with one game to spare after they avoided defeat in their respective qualifiers on Thursday.
Record seven-time winners Egypt held 10-man Kenya to a 1-1 draw in their Group G encounter in Nairobi. Mohamed ‘Afsha’ Magdy opened the scoring for the Pharaohs in the second minute goal, with Hassan Abdallah netting a 65th minute equalizer after Egypt failed to clear the ball from a corner.
Despite seeing less of the ball, Kenya was unlucky not to get more than a draw from the match as they created more chances than the visitors.
The draw means Egypt tops the group with 10 points together with Comoros, who earlier in the day qualified for the tournament for the first time following a 0-0 draw against Togo.
Kenya remained in third place with four points as their very slim hopes of qualifying for the tournament went up in smoke.
Meanwhile Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang rounded off the scoring after setting up a goal as Gabon swept the Democratic Republic of Congo 3-0 in Libreville. Aaron Boupendza broke the deadlock shortly before halftime while Denis Bouanga doubled the lead in the 72nd minute.
Gabon are joint leaders in Group D on 10 points with Gambia, who edged Angola 1-0 courtesy of Assan Ceesay’s strike just after the hour mark.
DR Congo defeat means, the two-time AFCON winners, narrowly missed out on qualification and remained in third place with six points while Angola prop the table with just one point.
However, it is all to play for in Group C after South Africa and Ghana played out a 1-1 draw in Durban. Two goals in two minutes early in the second half saw Percy Tau level for the hosts who had fallen behind to a Mohammed Kudus goal.
This leaves Ghana and South Africa joint top with 10 points with Sudan, who beat Sao Tome e Principe 2-0 on Wednesday, third with nine points.
The final group game will see South Africa battle it out with Sudan in what may be a straight shootout for qualification, while Ghana has a relatively easier task of facing bottom-placed Sao Tome who are yet to register a single point.
The day’s remaining games will see Equatorial Guinea play Tanzania, Libya play Tunisia and Zambia tackle defending champions Algeria.
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