Botswana and Mozambique have secured the final qualification spots for the 24-team tournament in Morocco.
Stanley Ratifo scored early in the second half to give Mozambique a 2-1 victory in Guinea-Bissau, eliminating the host team’s hopes of finishing second behind Group I champion Mali, who defeated last-place Eswatini 6-0.
Botswana’s 12-year wait for its second Africa Cup appearance came to an end with a 1-1 draw against Egypt, which had already qualified.
Botswana finished second in Group C, one point ahead of Mauritania, which defeated Cape Verde 1-0 in the other group game. Omaatla Kebatho scored the opening goal in Cairo.
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Seven-time champion Egypt finished with 14 points from six games, followed by Botswana on eight, Mauritania on seven and Cape Verde with four.
Guinea needed just a point its final Group H game in Tanzania, but the visitors appeared to play for the draw and were caught out in the 61st minute when Simon Msuva scored with a diving header to set off unbridled celebrations among the home fans.
It lifted Tanzania into second place — one point ahead of Guinea — to qualify as runner-up behind group winner Congo. It’s just the fourth time the Taifa Stars have qualified for the tournament.
Four-time champion Ghana failed to qualify for the first time since 2004. The Black Stars’ campaign ended Monday with a 2-1 loss at home to Niger. It left the team bottom with no wins in Group F.
Sudan qualified Monday with a 0-0 draw against group winner Angola, which had secured qualification long before.
Benin also secured qualification Monday with a 0-0 draw in Libya to finish runner-up behind group winner Nigeria, which was already qualified before losing its final group game 2-1 at home to Rwanda.
Comoros, Zambia, Mali, and Zimbabwe secured their qualification Friday, while Nigeria, Tunisia, South Africa, Uganda, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon clinched their spots on Thursday.
Host nation Morocco, defending champion Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Algeria, Congo, Cameroon, Senegal and Angola were already qualified before the penultimate round of qualifiers.
Morocco will host the Africa Cup from Dec. 21, 2025 to Jan. 18, 2026.
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