Ghana defeats Central African Republic to qualify for AFCON

By Xinhua

ACCRA, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) — Ghana beat the Central African Republic 2-1 on Thursday to qualify for next year’s African Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament. The Black Stars, who had topped qualifying Group E with nine points ahead of the final round of matches, were looking to secure all three points to secure one of two qualification slots. With a galaxy of stars assembled by former Brighton & Hove Albion manager Chris Hughton, the Black Stars made their intentions clear in the opening 10 minutes, but the Wild Beasts matched them boot for boot afterwards. The efforts of the Central African Republic paid off when their top marksman, Louis Mafouta, opened the scoring in the 22nd minute. The Black Stars put up a spirited response, and in the 41st minute, West Ham midfielder Mohammed Kudus expertly converted a freekick on the edge of the penalty area to equalize for the home team. The second half saw both sides cancel each other out, but during the dying moments of the game, Antoine Semenyo laid on an assist for Ernest Nuamah to score Ghana’s winner in the 88th minute. With the win, Ghana thus qualified alongside Angola for the 2023 AFCON tournament to be held in Cote d’Ivoire in January next year. The Black Stars have so far made 23 appearances at the AFCON tournament, winning the competition in 1963, 1965, 1978 and 1982. Enditem