Algeria qualify for AFCON 2017 News

Navigation: Home / News / News / Algeria qualify for AFCON 2017

Algeria qualify for AFCON 2017

By Daily Sports on June 3, 2016

Africa's top-ranked nation Algeria clinched their place at the 2107 Africa Cup of Nations finals on Thursday with a 2-0 win in Seychelles.

Yassine Benzia and El Arabi Soudani scored in each half to ensure Algeria will win Group J.

Cameroon can join then at the finals in Gabon with a a win in Mauritania on Friday.

Tunisia will lose the chance of winning Group A if Djibouti beat them on Friday and Liberia beat Togo on Sunday.

The other game on Friday is Libya playing Morocco, who have already qualified for Gabon.

Twenty more matches over the weekend complete the penultimate round of qualifiers.

The group winners and the best two runners-up will qualify for the finals.

Lille's Benzia scored his first goal for Algeria since swapping national allegiances from France earlier this year.

He scored five minutes before half-time as the Seychelles defence failed to deal with a cross and the ball fell at his feet with his back to the goal before swivelling to score.

Soudani doubled the score on hour mark when as he got on the end of a free-kick from Ryad Boudebouz.

That goal means that Soudani, who plays in Croatia for Dinamo Zagreb, is now the joint top-scorer in the 2017 qualifiers along with Burundi's Fiston Abdul Razak.

Boudebouz then swung in a corner that Hicham Belkaroui headed goawars only for the ball to be cleared off the line by Seychelles.

Algeria now have 13 points from their five matches and cannot be caught by secon-placed Ethiopia, who have five.

The Algerians with interim coaches Yazid Mansouri and Nabil Neghiz at the helm won despite playing with out several key players.

Sporting Lisbon's Islam Slimani was suspended while English Premier League champion Riyad Mahrez and Porto's Yacine Brahimi were both injured.

The loss for Seychelles means they are unable to win the group and leave them hoping several other results go their way this weekend to have any chance of a best second-placed spot.

Before the upcoming qualifiers, Benin are the best second-placed side with eight points, while Tunisia, Mauritania, Uganda, Central African Republic all have seven.

However Benin are currently serving a global ban from football imposed by Fifa and if that sanction is not lifted before their match against Equatorial Guinea they will be eliminated from the qualifiers.

"No decision made [on whether Benin's game has been cancelled]," the Confederation of African Football told BBC Sport.

"In Mexico the Fifa congress gave the power to its Council to readmit Benin once the conditions are fulfilled - if by the date of their game they are still banned they will be logically eliminated."

On Friday, Cameroon could also join Morocco and hosts Gabon at the 2017 Nations Cup if they can win in Mauritania.

The Indomitable Lions are currently one point ahead of their opponents after the first four matches of the campaign.

Cameroon coach Hugo Broos left captain Stephane Mbia out of his squad for the qualifier and Tuesday's friendly 3-2 loss to France.

Forward Benjamin Moukandjo and Nicolas Nkoulou both missed the France game with injuries too.

Tunisia also play on Friday knowing they could lose the chance of winning Group A if they lose in Djibouti and then Liberia secure a win over Togo on Sunday.

In that scenario Liberia would earn themselves a placey at the Nations Cup finals for the first time since 2002.

Djibouti have already been eliminated and have yet to win a single point from their opening four matches, scoring just once and conceding 16 goals.

Friday's other match sees Morocco take on Libya in Tunisia after the game was moved due to the ongoing problems in Libya.

Morocco have already secured their place in the finals after a 1-0 win away and a 2-0 victory at home over Cape Verde in March maintained their 100 per cent winning record in the qualifiers.

•Text gotten from BBC. Photo shows the Algerian players celebrating their qualification

Source Daily Sports

Posted June 3, 2016