Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was in action from start to finish but ended up on the losing side as Gabon were defeated 2-1 by Mauritania in their final Group I 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Saturday.
Both sides were tied on seven points going into this game and the Panthers needing to take all three points to have the edge on head-to-head after the reverse fixture in Franceville ended goalless.
None of that however happened in Nouakchott as Hemeya Tanjy and Aboubakar Kamara gave Mauritania a comfortable 2-0 first half lead. Didier Ndong pulled one back for Gabon in injury time but it was too little too late.
QUALIFIED ✅
Mauritania maintain their hot run as they qualify to #TotalEnergiesAFCON for the 3rd edition in a row! ????#TotalEnergiesAFCONQ2023 pic.twitter.com/VnkIS4cTxf
— CAF (@CAF_Online) September 9, 2023
Mauritania have now progressed to their third consecutive AFCON finals while Gabon failed to make it back-to-back outings for the time since 2012 when they were co-hosts with Equatorial Guinea.
The other Group I game saw group winners DR Congo earn a 2-0 win over Sudan in Kinshasa, Theo Bongonda and Fiston Mayele the goalscorers.
In other Saturday fixtures, reigning AFCON champions Senegal played out a 1-1 draw with bottom-placed Rwanda in Group L while Mozambique saw off Benin 3-2. The Teranga Lions and the Cheetahs were already through you the finals before this fixture, the former taking pole position and the latter second place.
In Group D, Malawi and Guinea played out a 2-2 draw in Lilongwe but it had no consequence as the Syl Nationale were guaranteed of second pace behind Egypt who defeated Ethiopia 1-0 in Cairo on Friday.
In Group H, new Nottingham Forest deadline day signing Ibrahim Sangare was the difference as Ivory Coast defeated Lesotho 1-0 in San Pedro while Leicester City’s Paston Daka equalised for Zambia in their 1-1 draw away to Comoros. Both the Zambians and the Ivorian finished level with 13 points but the Chipolopolo had the edge on head-to-head.
????️ 7 games
⚽️ 19 goals
????️ 3 new #TotalEnergiesAFCON ticketsYour #TotalEnergiesAFCONQ2023 results of the day are here???? pic.twitter.com/GwWx6Ct6U2
— CAF (@CAF_Online) September 9, 2023
The Group K clash between Morocco and Liberia was postponed due to the earthquake that rocked the city of Marrakesh on Friday night and has left more than 2,000 people dead and as many injured while more than a thousand people are in critical condition.
