Central African Republic have jumped to the top of Group B in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers thanks to a 2-1 win over Madagascar in Bangui on Monday.
The Wild Beasts could yet be displaced by Angola or DR Congo, who meet in Luanda on Tuesday, but will enjoy being in the guaranteed qualification berth for Gabon 2017, even if it is only temporarily.
Madagascar claimed the lead in Bangui thanks to Faneva Andriatsima’s 35th minute goal and the visitors held their advantage up to half time.
However, CAR fought back just eight minutes into the second stanza to level the game at 1-1 through Salif Keita.
And on 65 minutes they claimed the lead for the first time, with Limane Moussa netting to make it 2-1.
That proved to be enough for the Wild Beasts, who move to seven points from four matches in Group B. DR Congo (six points) and Angola (four points) will complete for top spot tomorrow.
CAR will be in 2017 qualifying action again in June when they host Angola, while bottom-of-the-log Madagascar host DRC.