Hosts of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), Egypt, confirmed their place in the knockout stages after a 2-0 win over the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Nigeria became the first side to book their round of 16 spot following victory over Guinea. Much like in their opening match against Burundi, the Super Eagles had to toil for a result against Guinea.
The win took the Super Eagles to six points from two games.
It’s a comfortable lead in Group B ahead of their final group game against Madagascar on Sunday also in Alexandria.
Chelsea defender Kenneth Omeruo expressed his excitement after seeing his country progress to the next round. He netted the vital winning goal in the 73rd minute of the match.
“The coaches have provided us with enough material; we have been watching them and we knew that they are the toughest opponents we would meet in the group and I’m so happy that we qualified after this game.”
Egypt’s second match against the DRC saw the Pharaohs score two first half goals for victory. 25 minutes into the game, Ahmed Elmohamady broke the deadlock.
Having created the opener, star player Mohamed Salah added the second two minutes before the break, with a sublime finish.
Goal of the day? Look no further than @MoSalah‘s goal tonight in #EGYCOD!
Presented to you by @1xbet_Eng pic.twitter.com/jdURbyRi0a
— CAF (@CAF_Online) June 26, 2019
DR Congo, meanwhile, are not yet out, but will have to win their final game against Zimbabwe.
Uganda and Zimbabwe played out an entertaining draw at the Cairo International Stadium.
The East Africans took an early lead through Emmanuel Okwi’s close-range finish after Zimbabwe goalkeeper George Chigova failed to handle a Lumala Abdu’s shot.
Zimbabwe equalised through Khama Billiat after some decent work down the left wing from Ovidy Karuru.
Knowledge Musona should have given his side Zimbabwe an advantage in the second half, but an incredible miss denied his side to take the lead.
Zimbabwe coach, Sunday Chizamba, says they will try to win in their next game.”
“We failed to score many goals in the match. Hopefully, we are going to try in the next game to try and score goals, but you know in football anything can happen and we just hope for the best in our next match.”
The result put Uganda, who are on four pints, in a good position to go through to the next round, while Zimbabwe require a win against the DRC to have any chance of advancing further.
