South Sudan earned themselves a place in the group phase of the qualifiers for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers after winning their preliminary round second leg on Sunday.
The Bright Stars progressed to the group stages after edging out Djibouti by a solitary goal at the St. Mary’s Stadium in Kampala.
Peter Chol struck the lone goal 10 minutes after the break to hand the Bright Stars a ticket to the group phase with a 5-2 aggregate result, having won the first leg 4-2 at the Borg El Arab Stadium in Alexandria, Egypt, last week.
Meanwhile, eSwatini progressed after beating Somalia 2-1 in the return leg, going through 5-1 on aggregate after winning the first leg in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 3-0.
Lesotho also went through with a 3-1 score-line against Seychelles, ensuring they saw the tie to the end at home, having drawn 0-0 in the first leg. Katleho Makateng struck a brace with Sera Motebang adding a third. Seychelles’ consolation was from the penalty spot.
Sao Tome managed to squeeze through thanks to their 1-0 victory at home last weekend, after a high scoring draw in the return tie.
Mauritius needed a win of more than two goals to progress to the next round, but Sao Tome, who are eying a first ever qualification to the Cup of Nations, managed to see off the result.
Ashley Nazira grabbed a late draw for the islanders, but it did little to affect the end result, with Sao Tome progressing.
Kevin Bru’s 21st minute penalty had given the home side a crucial lead, but they found themselves trailing 2-1 at halftime. Ricardo Cardoso and veteran forward Luis Leal scored within seven minutes to put Sao Tome firmly back into it.
The teams qualified from this round reach the group stage composed of 48 teams, that 23 teams will advance to the finals to join hosts Ivory Coast.
