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Burkina Faso and Guinea qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon on Wednesday next January, while Ethiopia beat Madagascar 4-0 at the start of Matchday 5.
The Burkinabè secured a place for the sixth time in their last seven attempts, forcing a 0-0 Group B draw in Uganda near Kampala.
Uganda must avoid defeat in Malawi on Monday to join Burkina Faso in the 24-team tournament, which has been delayed for a year by the coronavirus pandemic.
Malawi kept hope for a first Nations Cup appearance since 2010 by beating South Sudan 1-0 thanks to a Richard Mbulu goal in Sudan as the Juba National Stadium undergoes renovations.
Guinea reserved a place in Group A by beating already qualified Mali 1-0 in Conakry via a goal from substitute Seydouba Soumah 15 minutes from time.
Burkina Faso and Guinea join defending champions Algeria, Mali, Senegal, Tunisia and the automatic qualifiers as hosts of Cameroon to earn places, leaving 17 places up for grabs.
Ethiopia moved from third to first place in Group K with a surprisingly convincing triumph over Madagascar, which was the surprise side of the 2019 Nations Cup in Egypt, reaching the quarter-finals as debutants.
The Ethiopians are ranked 42nd in Africa – 21 places under the Malagasy – but it was hard to believe that fact as they dominated the first half at Bahir Dar to return with a three-goal advantage.
Amanuel Gebremichael was the first to score for a country that has only competed in the Nations Cup once since 1976, followed by Getaneh Kebede and Abubeker Nassir.
Egypt-based Shimelis Bekele, the only starter to play his club’s football outside Ethiopia, finished the rout with four minutes left.
Sudan stays on the hunt
Ethiopia has nine points, Côte d’Ivoire and Madagascar seven each and Niger three with the two West African sides meeting in Niamey on Friday.
On Tuesday, the Ivorians welcome the Ethiopians and the Malagasy have a home advantage over the Nigeriens and, depending on Niamey’s result, the four countries could be in contention for two places.
Sudan remained in the race for a top-two spot in Group C thanks to a 2-0 away win over Sao Tome and Principe, the lowest-ranked team in the group stage as they are 51st in Africa and 187th in the world.
Mohamed Abdel Rahman broke the deadlock in the 27th minute in the island nation off the Gabonese coast and Seifeldin Malik scored early in the second half.
Ghana, South Africa and Sudan are all former champions, each with a nine-point lead in a clash between Bafana Bafana (The Boys) and the Black Stars in Soweto on Thursday.
Rwanda won and scored for the first time in Group F, beating Mozambique 1-0 in Kigali with a goal from Lague Byiringiro to climb from last to second.
There is only one qualifying spot at stake in this section, as the fleeing leaders Cameroon were guaranteed a spot as hosts, but wanted to win competitive practices rather than rely on friendly matches.
Rwanda have five points and Cape Verde, which hosts Cameroon on Friday, and Mozambique four each in an intriguing contest to claim a spot.
There are nine meetings scheduled for Thursday with Comoros and Gambia hoping to win their first appearances.
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