Nigeria head five Afcon 2025 qualifiers as Ghana given hope
Three-time continental champions Nigeria were among five sides to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in the penultimate round of fixtures played on Thursday.
Ten-man Tunisia netted a 93rd-minute winner to triump 3-2 away to Madagascar and book a record-extending 17th successive appearance at the finals.
Gabon, South Africa and Uganda all progressed without kicking a ball after results in their respective groups went their way.
Libya’s 1-0 win in Rwanda earlier in the day meant Nigeria were guaranteed a top-two finish in Group D before their away game against Benin kicked off.
Victor Osimhen was on target as the Super Eagles came from behind to draw 1-1 – a result which means Benin, Rwanda and Libya all go into the final group matches with a chance of reaching the tournament in Morocco.
Meanwhile, Ghana’s hopes of qualification are still alive after Sudan suffered a damaging 4-0 defeat away against Niger, who revived their own campaign.
The Sudanese had needed just a point to progress from Group F.
Four-time Afcon winners Ghana must beat already-qualified Angola in Luanda on Friday (19:00 GMT) to remain in the hunt for a ticket to the 2025 finals.
CAR, Congo and Madagascar eliminated
Equatorial Guinea and Ivory Coast both qualified for next year’s 24-team tournament on Wednesday despite not playing – and that theme continued on Thursday.
Central African Republic had to win away to Lesotho in order to put pressure on Gabon in Group B, but a 1-0 defeat in Bloemfontein means CAR’s wait for their Nations Cup debut will continue for at least another two years.
Congo-Brazzaville also needed three points from their trip to South Sudan in Group K, but finished with 10 men as they lost 3-2 in Juba.
That result handed qualification to group leaders Uganda, who will be back at the finals for the first time since 2019, and South Africa.
Ali Abdi was the hero for Tunisia against Madagascar in Group A, netting just four minutes after Wajdi Kechrida was sent off.
The Malagasy had twice fought back from a goal down, and were eliminated after being denied a point in the closing stages.
Elsewhere, Libya kept their faint chances alive in Group D as Fahd Saad Mohamed struck a late winner against Rwanda in Malawi.
Benin would have joined Nigeria at the finals with victory in Abidjan, and led at the break through Mohamed Tijani.
The Cheetahs – formerly known as the Squirrels – had to settle for a draw and must now avoid defeat against Libya on Monday to secure second place in the group.
There are 10 matches scheduled on Friday, when Botswana, Comoros, Mali, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe all have a chance to qualify.
Afcon 2025 qualified teams
Morocco (hosts), Algeria, Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, DR Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia, Uganda
Thursday’s Afcon 2025 qualifying results
- Madagascar 2-3 Tunisia (Group A)
- Lesotho 1-0 Central African Republic (Group B)
- Rwanda 0-1 Libya (Group D)
- Benin 1-1 Nigeria (Group D)
- Equatorial Guinea 0-0 Algeria (Group E)
- Niger 4-0 Sudan (Group F)
- South Sudan 3-2 Congo-Brazzaville (Group K)
- Burundi 0-0 Malawi (Group L)
- Burkina Faso 0-1 Senegal (Group L)
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