2021 AFCON Qualifiers Wrap Up: Nigeria And Senegal Claim Big Wins

Nigeria and Senegal claimed big wins in Southern Africa as the 2021 Afcon qualifiers continued on Sunday, while tournament hosts Cameroon claimed their first win by edging Rwanda in Kigali.

The headline result from the afternoon games was an emphatic 4-1 win for Senegal away to Eswatini in Group I – with a hat-trick from Famara Diedhiou (who also missed a penalty!) – while South Africa are up and running in Group C following a 1-0 home win over Sudan in which Lebogang Phiri netted the only goal.

South Sudan also suffered a defeat, going down 1-2 at home to Burkina Faso, Benin edged Sierra Leone 1-0, Mali triumphed 2-0 in Chad thanks to goals from Moussa Djenepo and Mohamed Camara and Uganda got the better of Malawi (2-0) in Kira with strikes from Emmanuel Okwi and Fahad Bayo.

The early-evening games featured another come-from-behind victory for Nigeria, who recovered from an early goal conceded to Lesotho's Nkoto Masoabi to win 4-2 in Maseru and take an iron grip on top spot in Group L.

Alex Iwobi, Samuel Chukwueze and Victor Osimhen (two) netted the goals for the Super Eagles.

Afcon 2021 hosts Cameroon claimed their first win in Group F, as they triumphed 1-0 in Kigali over Rwanda, while Guinea and Congo claimed solid home wins over Namibia (2-0 in Group A) and Guinea-Bissau (3-0 in Group I) respectively.

Sunday’s action wrapped up in Franceville, where Gabon went to the top of Group D with a 2-1 home win over Angola.

The Panthers' goals were scored by Denis Bouanga and Aaron Boupendza.

2021 AFCON QUALIFIERS RESULTS, 17 NOVEMBER
Benin 1-0 Sierra Leone – Group L
Chad 0-2 Mali – Group A
Eswatini 1-4 Senegal – Group I
South Africa 1-0 Sudan – Group C
South Sudan 1-2 Burkina Faso – Group B
Uganda 2-0 Malawi – Group B
Congo 3-0 Guinea-Bissau – Group I
Guinea 2-0 Namibia – Group A
Lesotho 2-4 Nigeria – Group L
Rwanda 0-1 Cameroon – Group F
Gabon 2-1 Angola – Group D