Africa Cup of Nations

Guinea hand DR Congo first loss in Afcon Qualifiers as Tanzania beat Ethiopia

by
Collins Okinyo
November 17, 2024

Striker Serhou Guirassy scored in stoppage time to hand Guinea a boost in their Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign as they beat the Democratic Republic of Congo 1-0 in Abidjan to put them one point away from a place in next year’s finals.

The victory keeps Guinea in second place in Group H and two points above Tanzania, who had won earlier away against Ethiopia.

Experienced striker Simon Msuva and midfielder Feisul Salum netted in the first half away in Kinshasa for a 2-0 victory that moved Tanzania temporarily into second place in Group H behind already-qualified Democratic Republic of Congo.

However, Guinea restored their two-point advantage later on in the day against DR Congo, giving them nine points.

But they left it until two minutes into stoppage time to snatch the vital victory, with the Borussia Dortmund forward’s goal ending DR Congo’s 100% record in the group stage.

It means Guinea now need only draw their last group game away to Tanzania in Dar-es-Salaam on Tuesday to book a place in the Cup of Nations finals.

The loss for Ethiopia on Saturday saw them eliminated from qualifying.

Ethiopia and Guinea were hosting their matches at neutral venues because their stadiums have been declared unsuitable for use in international matches.

The two Group H clashes were the only Cup of Nations matches played on Saturday.

The last set of group matches will be played Sunday through to Tuesday, with five places in next year’s 24-team tournament still to be decided.

The top two teams in each of the 12 qualifying groups will compete in Morocco from Dec. 21, 2025 to Jan. 18, 2026.

SNATCH SECOND PLACE

In Group D, Libya can come from last in the standings and snatch second place, behind Nigeria, if they beat Benin at home on Monday. Rwanda also have a chance but must win away against Nigeria, who are already through to the finals.

Also on Monday, second place in Group F will be decided with Sudan needing a point from their last match against already-qualified Angola. If they lose, Niger can move into second place but must win away against Ghana, whose shock elimination was confirmed on Friday when they drew 1-1 in Angola.

On Tuesday it will be a straight shootout between the Lusophone rivals Guinea Bissau and Mozambique to decide who joins Mali as the two qualifiers from Group I.

In Group C, second placed Botswana have a two-point advantage over the Cape Verde Islands and Mauritania but complete their fixture away against top of the standings Egypt.

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Collins Okinyo

Ex- CAF Media Expert. An expert on African football with over 15 years experience ,always with an ear to the ground with indepth knowledge of the game. I have worked for top publications including 7 years at www.supersport.com until i founded www.soka25east.com to quench the thirst of football lovers across the continent. I have trained young upcoming journalists who are now a voice in African football.I have covered World Cup,AFCON,CHAN,Champions League,Confederations Cup,Cecafa,Cosafa,Wafu and many other football tournaments across the World. Founder Football Africa Arena(FAA),Founder www.afrisportdigital.com

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