Madagascar clinch Africa Cup of Nations spot
Madagascar have qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations finals for the first time after securing a 1-0 win Equatorial Guinea. Senegal and former champions Tunisia and Egypt sealed places at the finals with two matchdays to spare.
Njiva Rakotoharimalala scored four minutes before half-time to earn Madagascar a Group A victory in Vontovorona.
In the same group, Senegal left it late in Sudan to win 1-0 with Sidy Sarr heading the lone goal four minutes from time in Khartoum.
Senegal and Madagascar have 10 points each from four matches, seven more than nearest rivals Equatorial Guinea with two rounds left, and the top two finishers in each section qualify.
Tunisia and record seven-time title-holders Egypt secured places in Cameroon next June with away victories in Group J over Niger and eSwatini, respectively.
A Firas Chaout double earned 2004 champions Tunisia a 2-1 win in Niamey, while Ahmed Hegazy and Marwan Mohsen netted as Egypt cruised to a 2-0 victory in Manzini.
It was the second 1-0 victory for the Malagasy over the Equatoguineans within four days, after captain Faneva Andriatsima scored the winner last Saturday,
They qualified despite having to play a preliminary tie, won 4-2 on aggregate against Sao Tome e Principe, and being seeded last behind Senegal, Equatorial Guinea and Sudan.
Qualification for the Malagasy came after 18 failed attempts, with French manager Nicolas Dupuis’ most common starting XI comprising four players based in France, one each in Algeria, Belgium, Egypt, Reunion, Saudi Arabia and Thailand, and one local.
After Chaout netted twice within four minutes, Youssef Oumarou pulled a goal back before half time for Niger, who could not prevent leaders Tunisia maintaining their perfect record.
Second-place Egypt were too classy for eSwatini despite lacking injured star Mohamed Salah. Defender Hegazy headed the Pharaohs in front on 19 minutes and Mohsen doubled the lead soon after half-time.
On a happy day for Indian Ocean island states, the Seychelles held South Africa 0-0 in Victoria and the Comoros snatched a late 2-2 draw with Morocco in Mitsamiouli.
Although neither sides are contenders for places at the 24-nation finals, they will be encouraged by the results against much higher ranked rivals.
The Seychelles are 189th in the world, 116 places below South Africa, while the 149thranked Comoros are 104 places lower than Morocco. Cameroon, automatic qualifiers but playing in Group B to gain competitive match practice, drew 0-0 with Malawi in Blantyre to remain leaders with eight points.
Nigeria completed a double over Libya with a 3-2 away triumph in Group E.
Unbeaten Zimbabwe are now one win away from qualification from Group G after their 1-1 draw with Democratic Republic of Congo.