_{Sudan has booked a place in the last stage of the U-23 TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2023 qualifiers.}

_{The Sudan team battled from three goals down to find a goal in the last ten minutes in the return leg played this evening GMK De Cotonou Stadium in Benin.}

_{After Sudan won the first leg 2-0 the result in Benin meant that the two teams finished 3-3 on aggregate, but Sudan qualified for the next round on an away goal’s rule.}

_{It was Mohamed Abdou who gave Benin the lead after 38 minutes, and Gael Dassi made it 2-0 after four minutes later. After the interval Soumaila Hounkpe increased Benin’s lead after 72 minutes. But with minutes ticking away Sudan kept attacking before Pamphile Winsavi netted an own goal after a corner kick.}

_{Sudan will now face Niger in the third round to determine if they qualify for the U-23 AFCON to take place in Morocco next year.}

_{The other teams from the CECAFA region Tanzania and Rwanda bowed out yesterday. The Tanzania team suffered a 2-0 defeat away to Nigeria in a match played in Ibadan to bow out on a 3-1 goal aggregate.}

_{Rwanda also suffered a 1-0 defeat away to Mali in a match played in Bamako. The Rwanda team sailed through on a 2-1 goal aggregate.}

_{The other teams that have qualified for the final round of the qualifiers include; Nigeria, Guinea, South Africa, Congo Brazzaville, DR Congo, Ghana, Senegal, Mali, Gabon, Cameroon, Zambia and Egypt. The U-23 AFCON will also serve as a qualification event for the 2024 Olympic Games to take place in Paris, France..}

Sudan defeated DR Congo 2-1 in an Group I TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2023 qualifier tie played in Khartoum on Wednesday evening.

After Waled Bakhet Hamid gave the home side the lead after 16 minutes at the Al Hilal Stadium.

DR Congo dominated most of the first half, but failed to convert their chances. In the second half Sudan tried to press and scored the second goal after 86 minutes through Mohamed Abdeirahman Yousif Yagoub.

Jonathan Bolingi netted a consolation goal for DR Congo in added time. Sudan opened their campaign last week with a 3-0 defeat away to Mauritania, while DR Congo also lost 1-0 at home to Gabon.

In the other two Group F matches involving teams from the CECAFA region, Uganda was held to a 1-1 draw by visiting Niger team, while Algeria  stopped Tanzania 2-0 in Dar es Salaam.

Milton Karisa put Uganda Cranes ahead after 43 minutes, but Mahamadou Amadou Sabo levelled matters for Niger after 71 minutes in a match played at the St. Marys Stadium, Kitende.

In Dar es Salaam Algeria netted in half through Rami Bensebaini and Mohamed Amoura. Algeria lead Group F with 6 points, while Niger are second with two points, while Tanzania and Uganda are tied with one point each and same number of goals scored and conceded.

Action returns today with South Sudan hosting Mali in a Group G match at the St. Marys Stadium, Kitende in Uganda, while Burundi host Cameroon in a Group C match at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es salaam. Ethiopia will also host Egypt in a Group D match to be played in Malawi.

Results

Uganda 1 Niger 1

Tanzania 0 Algeria 2

Sudan 2 DR Congo 1

The Swallows of Burundi and Tanzania have earned away draws in their opening Group matches in the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2023 qualifiers.

A 10-man Swallows team scored late to hold Namibia to a 1-1 draw in a Group C match played at the Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg on Saturday.

Peter Shalulile gave Namibia the lead after 10 minutes, but Bonfils Caleb Bimenyimana who is based in Kazakhstan leveled matters for the Swallows late in the game. Bimenyimana was later sent off when he received a second yellow card.

Another team from the CECAFA region Tanzania also picked a point in an away draw against Niger.

George Mpole gave Taifa Stars a 1^st minute lead in Contonou, Benin in a Group F match. But the Niger team defended in numbers to stop Tanzania from scoring more goals.

But after 26 minutes Daniel Sossa leveled matters for Niger after a cross from Youssef Oumarrou.

In the other matches played by teams from the CECAFA region South Sudan suffered a 1-0 defeat away to Gambia, while Uganda Cranes also lost 2-0 to former African champions Algeria.

Ablie Jallow netted the lone goal for Gambia late in the first half to sink South Sudan in a Group G match played at the Stade Lat Dior in Senegal.

In Algiers Aissa Mandi netted the first goal for Algeria after 28 minutes, while Farouk Miya also had his penalty kick stopped in the first half. Uganda Cranes goalkeeper Charles Lukwago stopped several attempts at goal by Algeria’s attacking line. But the Algerian team did not stop pushing forward before Youcef Belaili made it 2-0 after 80 minutes.

Sudan also lost 3-0 away to Mauritania in a Group I AFCON 2023 qualification match played on Saturday night.

The Ethiopia Football Federation (EFF) has announced that they will play their home matches in the qualifiers for the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2023 in Malawi.

“We have made arrangements and our home matches will now be played at the Bingu National Stadium in Malawi,” the EFF General Secretary, Bahiru Tilahun Limenih told Cecafaonline.com.

Ethiopia’s Bahir Dar Stadium was not approved by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to host matches in the AFCON 2023 qualifiers.

Limenih explained that after Bahir Dar Stadium was not approved they had two alternatives either to host matches in Johannesburg or Malawi. “We have opted for Malawi and all our home matches will be played there,” he added.

Ethiopia is placed in Group D alongside Malawi, Guinea and Egypt.

Burundi and South Sudan are the other teams in the CECAFA region that will play their home matches of the AFCON 2023 qualifiers in other countries.

Burundi will host all their home matches at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, while the Bright Star of South Sudan will play at the St. Marys Stadium in Uganda.