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- Mane strikes as Senegal qualifies for AFCON
Mane strikes as Senegal qualifies for AFCON
Liverpool star Sadio Mane scored as Senegal won 1-0 in Guinea-Bissau Monday (AEDT) to become the second qualifiers for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations finals after host Cameroon.
The reigning African Footballer of the Year struck after 82 minutes against opponents reduced to 10 men by the red-carding of Jorge 'Bura' Nogueira midway through the second half in Bissau.
It has been a memorable five days for Mane, who scored the first goal and created the second when Senegal beat Guinea-Bissau 2-0 in Thies near Dakar last Thursday (AEDT).
The two victories lifted Senegal, currently the top ranked national team in Africa, to a maximum 12 points from four matches in Group I, and they qualified with two matches to spare.
Senegal completes its schedule between 22-30 March by travelling to Congo Brazzaville and hosting eSwatini, and Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp will probably request that Mane be rested.
Congo has six points, Guinea-Bissau three and eSwatini none in the struggle to qualify with 2002 and 2019 runner-up Senegal.
A win for the Congolese in eSwatini Monday would put them in pole position to reach the finals after missing out on the 2019 tournament in Egypt.
Another Liverpool star who scored was Guinea midfielder Naby Keita, but Ahmat Abdaraman levelled just before half-time for Chad, who forced a 1-1 Group A draw in N'Djamena for their first point.
Guinea tops the table with eight points from four matches, but Mali can overtake them by winning in Namibia Wednesday (AEST).
Meanwhile, The Comoros, an island nation off the coast of Mozambique with a population of 875,000, moved within one point of reaching the finals for the first time after a 2-1 home win over Kenya.
Serbia-based Ben -- full name El Fardou Mohamed Ben Nabouhane -- put the Comorans ahead and Cliff Nyakeya equalised before half-time.
French Ligue 2 forward Faiz Mattoir put the home side ahead a second time four minutes into the second half with what proved the match-winning goal.
Boasting an unbeaten record in Group G, the Comoros has eight points, record seven-time African champion Egypt five, Kenya three and Togo one.
Guided by famed French coach Claude le Roy, Togo hosts Egypt in Lome Wednesday (AEDT) and must win to have any chance of a top-two finish and qualification for the 24-nation tournament.
Burundi threw Group E wide open through a 3-1 win over Mauritania in Bujumbura with Saido Ntibazonkiza scoring early in each half for the Swallows.
Morocco tops the table and is likely to stay there, but only two points separate Mauritania (five), Burundi (four) and the Central African Republic (three) in an intriguing contest for second place.
The Central African Republic hosts Morocco Wednesday (AEDT), but will not enjoy home advantage as the match has been moved from Bangui to Cameroonian port city Douala for security reasons.
Matchday 4 qualifying continues Tuesday (AEDT) with eight fixtures, one of which has Cup of Nations title-holder Algeria defending a 21-match unbeaten record when they play Zimbabwe in Harare.