Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau and Mauritania have qualified for the 2021 CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals alongside African Nations Championship (CHAN) winners Morocco.

They will all be flying to Cameroon next year for Africa’s biggest football competition.

23 of the 24 teams have secured their spots for next year’s AFCON finals with 1 slot up for grabs between Benin and Sierra Leone from Group L.

 

 

Here is how Group A ended up.

  1. Mali – 13 points (Q)
  2. Guinea – 11 points (Q)
  3. Namibia – 9 points
  4. Chad – 4 points (Disqualified)

Here is how Group B finished.

  1. Burkina Faso – 12 points (Q)
  2. Malawi – 10 points (Q) –Β First-time qualifiers
  3. Uganda – 8 points
  4. South Sudan – 3 points

Here is how Group C finished.

  1. Ghana – 13 points (Q)
  2. Sudan – 12 points (Q)
  3. South Africa – 10 points
  4. Sao Tome and Principe – 0 points

Here is how Group D ended.

  1. Gambia – 10 points (Q) – First-time qualifiers
  2. Gabon – 10 points (Q)
  3. DR Congo – 9 points
  4. Angola – 4 points

With Groups A, B, C and D all confirmed in the 2021 AFCON qualifiers, attention turned towards Group E that featured giants Morocco and Mauritania.

Morocco secured their spot in the 5th round of fixtures itself after a 0-0 draw against Mauritania who were in 2nd place. The Atlas Lions did, however, win their last game to end with 14 points and stay unbeaten in the qualifiers.

They secured a 1-0 victory over Burundi in their last game at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat.

Mauritania managed to come out on top of the Central African Republic in a crucial game that saw them finish on 9 points, 2nd in the table behind Morocco.

The result meant that even if Burundi had managed to beat Morocco then the side would have fallen short by 1 point.

This is how Group E finished.

  1. Morocco – 14 points (Q)
  2. Mauritania – 9 points (Q)
  3. Burundi – 5 points
  4. Central African Republic – 4 points

Group F featured Cameroon who had secured automatic qualification as they are hosting next year’s finals. The Cameroonians did not treat the qualifiers as a formality, however, as they finished on top of their group with 11 points.

 

 

Cape Verde surprised all to secure 2nd place in the group with a stunning comeback. After drawing their first 4 games in the qualifiers, the Blue Sharks pulled of an upset by beating The Indomitable Lions 3-1 to move to 7 points. This meant that they needed to win their last game against Mozambique to secure qualification depending on what happened between Rwanda and Cameroon.

With the Blue Sharks kicking off before Rwanda and Cameroon, they secured their own fate with a 1-0 win to see them through to the finals in Cameroon next year. Cape Verde ended up on 10 points in what was truly a spectacular story as they ended up being the only undefeated team in the group.

Here is how Group F finished.

  1. Cameroon – 11 points (Q) –Β Hosts
  2. Cape Verde – 10 points (Q)
  3. Rwanda – 6 points
  4. Mozambique – 4 points

Group G was already decided earlier this week with first-time qualifiers Comoros joining 7-time AFCON winners Egypt in the AFCON finals.

 

 

This is how Group G finished.

  1. Egypt – 12 points (Q)
  2. Comoros – 9 points (Q) – First-time qualifiers
  3. Kenya – 7 points
  4. Togo – 2 points

Group H was also confirmed with defending AFCON champions Algeria topping the group and Zimbabwe joining them in 2nd place.Β The Zimbabweans just pipped neighbours Zambia in the group.

This is how Group H ended up.

  1. Algeria – 14 points (Q) –Β Defending champions
  2. Zimbabwe – 8 points (Q)
  3. Zambia – 7 points
  4. Botswana – 4 points

Group I featured the highest-ranked African side Senegal who proved their mettle as they ended up topping the group going unbeaten. They were joined by Guinea-Bissau who secured their third consecutive qualification for the AFCON finals after a convincing 3-0 victory over Congo Republic.

TheΒ Djurtus came out on top in a must-win game to topple Congo who were 2 points ahead of them. Congo just needed a draw to qualify but Guinea-Bissau made home advantage count as they took the game to the Congolese knowing that their fate was in their own hands.

Piqueti gave the home side the lead right before the first half whistle blew that gave them confidence coming out in the 2nd half.

Alexandre Mendy, however, made it almost certain that it will be Guinea-Bissau going back to the AFCON finals in the 73rd minute and Jorginho finished things off with a third goal for the Djurtus on the 80th minute mark to complete a resounding victory.

This meant that Group I ended up like this after last-day drama.

  1. Senegal – 14 points (Q)
  2. Guinea-Bissau – 9 points (Q)
  3. Congo – 8 points
  4. Eswatini – 2 points

Group J had just 1 spot up for grabs after Tunisia dominated proceedings there, winning 5 of their 6 games and drawing the other. Equatorial Guinea joined the Eagles of Carthage from the group even after losing their last game to the mighty Tunisians at the Stade Olympique de Rades.

 

This is how Group J ended up.

  1. Tunisia – 16 points (Q)
  2. Equatorial Guinea – 9 points (Q)
  3. Tanzania – 7 points
  4. Libya – 3 points

Group K saw Ivory Coast comfortably securing their place in the AFCON finals with a handsome victory over Niger. They ended up on top of the group and were joined by Ethiopia who managed to qualify after Madagascar failed to beat Niger in a must-win clash.

All Madagascar could manage was a 0-0 draw against bottom of the table Niger. This proved crucial as Ethiopia ended up losing against group leaders Ivory Coast, which meant that a win for the Barea would have seen them book their seats for Cameroon but it was not to be.

 

Here is the final Group K table.

  1. Ivory Coast – 13 points (Q)
  2. Ethiopia – 9 points (Q)
  3. Madagascar – 8 points
  4. Niger – 4 points

Finally, in Group L, the Super Eagles of Nigeria secured their place in the AFCON finals after finishing unbeaten in their group. They will be joined by Benin or Sierra Leone after controversy has marred the game from being played. The postponement means we will have to see which team is the last one to qualify for Cameroon in 2022.

 

 

Benin need to simply avoid defeat to go through as Sierra Leone’s victory will see them going through.

For now, this is how Group L stands.

  1. Nigeria – 14 points (Q)
  2. Benin – 7 points
  3. Sierra Leone – 4 points
  4. Lesotho – 3 points