CAPE TOWN: 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 years finals.

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

Meanwhile, 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 Congos 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 last set of group matches will conclude on Tuesday, with five places in next years 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.

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.

Published in Dawn, November 18th, 2024