Mauritania qualify for Africa Cup of Nations

nouakchott — Mauritania qualified for their first major soccer tournament on Sunday when they beat Botswana to claim a place at next year’s African Cup of Nations.

It was the second major surprise of qualifying after Madagascar sealed a spot at the African Cup for the first time last month.

Mauritania, a country in northwest Africa covered almost completely by the Sahara desert, came from behind to beat Botswana 2-1 with two goals by forward Ismael Diakite.

It means a nation that waited 17 years after their first international game for their first win will finally play among the continent’s best teams next June and July.

Mauritania are one of 13 countries to have now qualified for an expanded 24-team Cup of Nations hosted by Cameroon. Eight of them qualified this weekend, the penultimate round of games, led by former champions Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Morocco and Algeria.

Nigeria are back at the tournament — for the first time since they won the title in 2013 — after a 1-1 draw with South Africa in Johannesburg on Saturday.

A Nigerian state governor promised the team $25,000 for every goal in the crucial game but one was enough as Nigeria secured the point it needed to guarantee it one of the two qualifying places from the group.

Ivory Coast, the 2015 African champion, made sure of its place despite an underwhelming qualification campaign when it drew 1-1 in Guinea on Sunday.

The result qualified both teams. Morocco’s place was confirmed after Malawi surprisingly lost 2-1 in Comoros. That eliminated the Malawians.

Algeria are through after winning 4-1 in Togo, helped by two goals from Manchester City’s Riyad Mahrez. Other teams to qualify this weekend were Mali and Uganda. —