Africa Cup of Nations record winners Egypt joined the number of qualified countries for the Africa Cup of Nations scheduled for Ivory Coast in January 2024 after they got their third consecutive victory with a 2:1 win over Guinea on Wednesday.

The Egyptians started the qualifiers slowly losing to Ethiopia in their second qualification game last June, just after beating the Guineans in Egypt in their first qualification game.

However, three consecutive victories in their last qualification games have ensured their place in Ivory Coast with back-to-back wins against Malawi in the last window before a 2:1 win against Guinea on Wednesday evening ensured that a repeat of the loss to Ethiopia from last year in their next and last qualification game would not deny them their ticket.

Stuttgart forward Serhou Guirassy scored the first goal of the game by putting the home side ahead after just 25 minutes, but they failed to secure the lead going into the break as Trazbonspor forward Trezeguet equalized with three minutes left in the first half. 

Mostafa Muhammad secured the win for the pharaohs of Egypt with 11 minutes left to play on the clock as the Pharaohs booked their tickets to the West African host for the next edition of Africa’s biggest football showcase.

Elsewhere, Guinea-Bissau went one step closer to securing their place at the African Cup of Nations next year after pipping Sao Tome and Principe to a 1-0 win on Wednesday. The win put Guinea Bissau at the top of the table with 10 points, one point ahead of Nigeria, who will face third-placed Sierra Leone on Sunday.

A win for Nigeria on Sunday would confirm Guinea-Bissau’s and the Super Eagles qualification for the Africa Cup of Nations, but the group will be thrown wide open for the top three teams who will go into the final match today needing to get a victory over the other to be sure of qualification as Nigeria will host Sao Tome and Principe with Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau facing each other.

Daniel Ademiju Idowu