First leg of the African Cup of Nations qualifier played

The first leg of the qualification round for the African Cup of Nation was played last weekend. 

Six-times winners and defending champions Senegal had no trouble cruising past Cameroon. Raoul Mendy stole the show with a hat-trick in a 9-1 away win that leaves the tie well in favour of the Senegalese.

Far more even was the match between Ivory Coast and last year’s third-placed Morocco. The Elephants won 7-6 in Abidjan, which leaves the Moroccans with the need to turn the tie around when they host the second leg in two weeks.

Ghana and Egypt had a similarly intense match. In the capital Accra, the Black Sharks couldn’t have asked for a better start as Kinni Ticor scored from the kick-off. But the Sand Pharaos controlled the first period and turned the result around going 2-1 ahead into the second period. Ghana equalised through a Richard Osa overhead kick, but the Egyptians took the lead again with a goal by Hattham Mohammed. The Black Sharks reacted, Michael Sema and Eugene Dekpey scored to send the Black Sharks leading into the final period. Once again the Egyptians equalised, Richard Osa made it 5-4 before the Sand Pharaos put the result level again. In the last minute Victor Osa hit it home, and Ghana will visit Egypt in the second leg leading the tie 6-5.

Malawi, aiming for their first ever qualification, hosted Tanzania at Lake Malawi and the game wouldn’t see any goals until the third period. Sandram Saddi put Malawi ahead with seven minutes to go, and Isaac Kajaam doubled the lead three minutes later. But a brace from Goodluck Gama equalised the match with only one minute until the end. The home team ended up winning the match with a last-minute goal from Isaac Kajaam.

Last year’s semi-finalists Uganda returned from Comoros with half the job done, as they won 5-2 with a brace from Mwere Nicholas.

At the Roche Caïman Beach Soccer Arena in Seychelles, four goals by Jean-François helped Madagascar beat the home team 5-2, a result that puts them closer to qualifying.

Nigeria has meanwhile joined hosts Mozambique in the list of qualified teams as Libya withdrew from the tie.

The second leg of the qualification round will be played on the weekend of the 5th – 7th August, when teams will seal their spot in the African Cup of Nations that will take place from the 21st-30th October 2022 in Mozambique.

Results
Seychelles 2-5 Madagascar
Comoros 2-5 Uganda
Malawi 3-2 Tanzania
Ivory Coast 7-6 Morocco
Cameroon 1-9 Senegal
Ghana 6-5 Egypt