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Johannesburg – Defending Champions Cameroon, Burundi, Guinea Bissau and Namibia secured 2019 Africa Cup of Nations Saturday, bringing to 19 the number of qualifiers for the tournament.
The remaining five places will be occupied Sunday by South Africa among 11 countries hoping to get to the centerpiece from June 21 to July 19 in Egypt.
Cameroon needed a draw in a Group B clash with the Comoros in Yaounde, but defeated the Indian Ocean islanders 3-0 with captain Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting among the goals.
Burundi was another goal that needed a point and it sealed its first participation in the Nations Cup by imposing 1-1 at home in Group C against Gabon, whose hopes of survival rested on victory.
Namibia had a big party despite Group K's 4-1 shootout in Zambia, which beat Mozambique by breaking records for a place in the 24-nation extended tournament.
Mozambique was on the verge of qualifying when it led 2-1 in Guinea-Bissau, but was defeated by a sloppy defense that allowed their team to draw a 2-2 draw.
Egypt, Algeria, Côte d 'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Tunisia and Tunisia. Uganda qualified before the last day of the weekend.
Angola joined them on Friday, when they beat Botswana 1-0 to beat Burkina Faso bronze medalist 2017 for a spot in Group I.
After Paris Saint-Germain striker Choupo-Moting gave half-time lead to Cameroon, five-time champion Christian Bbadogog and Clinton Njie scored in the second half.
Cameroon was the original host country in 2019, which would have guaranteed them a place, but they have fallen behind with preparations and Egypt has taken over.
Cedric Amissi gave the advantage to Burundi on a 75 minute lead, but Omar Ngandu gave a goal after a short time, creating a tense finish as Gabon were looking for a second goal and qualification.
But visitors under the command of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang failed to unblock the Burundian defense in Bujumbura and lost two years after hosting the Nations Cup.
Mozambique returned to Bissau to tie in through Stanley Ratifo and Nelson Divrbadone thought his goal with a minute remaining would be the winner of the match.
But a Mozambican defender clumsily led a free kick from Guinea-Bissau against his post and Frédéric Mendy reacted as quickly as possible to mark the rebound.
This has made Namibia probably one of the happiest losers of the 4-1 mark in the history of African football.
Ivory Coast, Ghana, Mali and Senegal won non-qualifying matches and Niger beat to tie 1-1 with Egypt, seven times champion of Africa.
Sunday, the former champions of South Africa must avoid defeat to qualify at the expense of Libya, whose home match has been transferred to neighboring Tunisia for security reasons.
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