Ghana qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations for the 10th time in a row after coming from behind to defeat the Central Africans Republic 2-1 in their final Group E 2023 AFCON qualifier in Kumasi on Thursday, and also secured top spot in the process.
The race for qualification was intense heading into the final round of fixtures, with only two points separating the Black Stars and the Wild Beasts while Angola were just a point behind the four-time AFCON champions.
Ghana were however stunned when Louis Mafouta gave the Central Africans the lead in the 25th minute and top spot based on the live table. Chris Hughton’s men however responded back two minutes to the half time break courtesy of West Ham United new signing Mohammed Kudus.
Substitute Ernest Nuamah sent the Baba Yara Stadium crowd into raptures when he popped up with the winner off an assist from fellow substitute and Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo with two minutes left on the clock.
In the other Group E game, Angola played out a goalless draw with Madagascar in Lubango which was enough to hand them second place and the other automatic qualification spot ahead of the Central Africans and Malagasy.
In Group F, the clash between table toppers Algeria and second-placed Tanzania ended goalless in Annaba, leaving those position sealed and unchanged while third-placed Uganda saw off bottom-placed Niger 2-0 in Marrakech via goals from Azizi Kayondo and Joseph Ochaya.
Three more #TotalEnergiesAFCON qualification tickets! ✅
Here are today’s #TotalEnergiesAFCONQ23 results. ???? pic.twitter.com/6N91TgEdNb
— CAF (@CAF_Online) September 7, 2023
In Group J, Tunisia finished on top ahead Equatorial Guinea via head-to-head with a 3-0 win over Botwana. Alford Velaphi (own goal) and Youssef Msakni (brace) were the goalscorers.
