Malawi players and coaching staff celebrate victory and qualification for Afcon after the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations Qualifier between Malawi and Uganda

by
Graeme Jackson

Monday Mar 29, 2021. 23:20

Malawi became the 19th team to secure a ticket to the next Africa Cup of Nations, as the qualification tournament completed its penultimate day with eight matches across the continent on Monday 29 March.

The Flames defeated Uganda 1-0 in Lilongwe in the only afternoon game, with Richard Mbulu’s 15th-minute goal securing a third AFCON qualification for the South-East African side, and a first since 2010.

The result saw Malawi leapfrog the Cranes into second place on the Group B log, with pole position taken by already-qualified Burkina Faso after they defeated South Sudan 1-0 (a goal from Bertrand Traore) in Ouagadougou later the same day.

Group D saw qualifiers Gambia and Gabon lose 1-0 and 2-0 away to DR Congo and Angola respectively. The Leopards ended just one point behind the leading duo thanks to Kazadi Kasengu’s penalty, while the Palancas Negras secured their first and only win in the group courtesy of strikes from Manuel Cafumana (Show) and Loide Augusto.

2022 AFCON QUALIFIERS GROUP STANDINGS

Egypt turned on the style in their final Group G match, thrashing fellow qualifiers Comoros 4-0 in Cairo – featuring a brace of goals from star man Mohamed Salah – while Kenya salvaged some pride with a third-place finish in the pool by defeating Togo 2-1 in Lome.

The late games rounded off Group H, with Zambia defeating already-qualified Zimbabwe 2-0 in Harare thanks to a brace from Patson Daka, while Algeria further emphasised their dominance by crushing Botswana 5-0 in Blida, with goals from Mehdi Zeffane, Sofiane Feghouli, Riyad Mahrez, Baghdad Bounedjah and Farid Boulaya.

The qualifiers will wrap up on Tuesday 30 March with 10 matches across the continent, headlined by Central African Republic v Mauritania, Mozambique v Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau v Congo, Ivory Coast v Ethiopia, Madagascar v Niger and Sierra Leone v Benin, the outcomes of which will decide the final five berths at Cameroon 2022.

AFCON qualifiers results, Monday 29 March

Malawi 1-0 Uganda

Angola 2-0 Gabon

Burkina Faso 1-0 South Sudan

DR Congo 1-0 Gambia

Egypt 4-0 Comoros

Togo 2-1 Kenya

Algeria 5-0 Botswana

Zimbabwe 0-2 Zambia


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