AFCON Wrap: South Africa, Mali, Morocco win

 

South Africa needed a Bongani Zungu goal on 90 minutes in Durban to seal a laboured 2-0 win over minnows Sao Tome e Principe.

Playmaker Percy Tau put Bafana Bafana ahead on 55 minutes from the penalty spot after he was fouled and Zungu nodded a corner past substitute goalkeeper Nilson Taty.

Ghana lead Group C with a maximum nine points, South Africa have six, Sudan three and Sao Tome are pointless.

Morocco were the most impressive of the five winning nations Friday, hammering the Central African Republic 4-1 in Rabat with Chelsea midfielder Hakim Ziyech bagging a brace.

The triumph under Bosnia & Herzegovina-born coach Vahid Halilhodzic enabled Morocco to replace Mauritania as Group E frontrunners.

Tunisia and Mali both secured 1-0 home wins over Tanzania and Namibia respectively.

Both needed penalties to succeed with Youssef Msakni scoring after 18 minutes for Tunisia in Rades and El Bilal Toure after 33 minutes for Mali in Bamako.

Tunisia top Group J with nine points, six more than Equatorial Guinea, Libya and Tanzania, and Mali share first place in Group A with Guinea on seven points followed by Namibia with three while Chad have none.

Earlier, Sierra Leone staged one of the greatest Africa Cup of Nations comebacks to draw 4-4 with Nigeria.

The Super Eagles appeared to have three 2021 qualifying points in the bag when they built a four-goal lead after 30 minutes in Benin City against opponents 88 places below them in the world rankings.

But a sensational fightback that began just before halftime as Kwame Quee scored reached a climax five minutes from time when Al-Hadji Kamara equalised.

It was the greatest Cup of Nations comeback since the 2010 finals when Mali drew 4-4 with hosts Angola in the tournament opener after trailing by four goals 12 minutes from time in Luanda.