Togo have secured an unlikely qualification for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations after their 5-0 whipping of minnows Djibouti on Sunday night pushed them into position as one of the two best runners-up.

The Sparrow Hawks’ hopes of qualifying appeared pretty thin at the start of the final round of qualifiers, but a combination of their strong performance and results elsewhere going in their favour – most notably Mali whipping Benin – has seem them snatch one of two berths reserved for the best runners-up.

Togo defeated Djibouti 5-0 in Lome thanks to goals from Vincent Bossou, Mathieu Dossevi, Fo-Doh Laba and a late brace from Komlan Agbegniadan.

This saw them move into second place in Group A (up from third after Tunisia beat Liberia 4-1 to claim top spot and push the Lone Stars out of the top two) and their haul of 11 points and a goal difference of plus seven saw them oust Benin and join Uganda as the two best runners-up.

This is Togo’s first qualification to the AFCON since 2013 when they reached the quarterfinals.

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