14 TEAMS ALREADY THROUGH TO CHAN 2016

We now know the identity of all but two of the teams which will compete at the 2016 African Nations Championship, which will take place in Rwanda between 16 January and 7 February 2016.

This weekend’s games saw 12 teams join host nation Rwanda and DR Congo, who progressed following the withdrawal of Central African Republic.

The return legs of the final qualifying round offered very few surprises, with the exception of Ethiopia, who overturned a two-goal deficit to get past Burundi.

Defeated 2-0 in Bujumbura in the first leg of their Central-East Zone tie, the Walya Antelopes sealed a 3-0 victory in Addis Ababa on Sunday to go through 3-2 on aggregate.

In the Northern Zone, Morocco enjoyed a 3-2 win over Tunisia in Radès in a dead rubber showdown, with the two nations already guaranteed a place at the final tournament.

After taking a two-goal lead into the return leg, West Africa representatives Guinea, Niger and Nigeria sealed their qualification on the road. And while the Mena and the Eagles cruised to the finals with comfortable draws in Lomé and Ouagadougou respectively, the Syli only progressed on the away goals rule after a 3-1 loss to Senegal in Dakar.

Fellow Western heavyweights Mali also booked their spot at the tournament, playing out a 1-1 draw with Mauritania in Nouakchott to go through 3-2 on aggregate.

Stunned 0-1 by Chad in Libreville in their Central Zone encounter, Gabon had the last word, courtesy of a 2-0 victory in the first leg in N’Djamena. And Uganda completed their 4-0 thrashing of Sudan on aggregate in the Central-East Zone to book their trip to neighbouring Rwanda next January.

Southern representatives Zambia and Zimbabwe settled for a 1-1 draw in Matola and Maseru respectively, following convincing home wins over Mozambique and Lesotho in the first leg. While South Africa bowed out of the continental competition despite a 2-1 win in Luanda, after falling 0-2 to Angola on home soil in the first leg.

The remaining two spots will be decided this weekend, with Côte d’Ivoire hosting Ghana in Abidjan on Friday and Congo welcoming Cameroon in Brazzaville on Saturday.

The Ghanaians recorded a 2-1 victory in Kumasi in the first leg, with Cameroon and Congo playing out a goalless draw in Yaoundé.



TEAMS ALREADY QUALIFIED FOR CHAN 2016

Rwanda (Host nation)

DR Congo

Morocco

Tunisia

Mali

Guinea

Nigeria

Niger

Gabon

Uganda

Ethiopia

Zimbabwe

Zambia

Angola