CAPE TOWN - Ghana qualified for next year’s World Cup as Mohammed Kudus tucked away a close-range effort early in the second half on Sunday to earn a 1-0 win over Comoros and send an overflowing Accra stadium into rapturous celebration.
Kudus tapped in a square pass from Thomas Partey in the 47th minute to secure victory in front of an expectant crowd, although Ghana would have qualified even in defeat as closest rivals Madagascar were beaten 4-1 in Mali at the same time.
The Black Stars are the fifth African nation to confirm their participation at the finals in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. They have been to four previous tournaments, reaching the quarter-finals in 2010.
Ghana had a three-point lead going into the final round of Group I fixtures, with Madagascar’s slim hopes resting on beating Mali away and Ghana losing at home, but that unlikely permutation was never on the cards after Mali scored in the 10th minute.
It was the first of two goals for Lassine Sinayoko, with the others coming from Dorgeles Nene and Gaoussou Diarra. Ghana finished with 25 points, with Madagascar second on 19 and Mali third on 18.
In the group’s other game on Sunday, the Central African Republic won 3-2 away to condemn Chad to a winless campaign with a single point from their 10 qualifiers.
Substitute Karl Namnganda scored a stoppage-time winner in Ndjamena as the Central African Republic ended their campaign with eight points.
EGYPT END CAMPAIGN UNBEATEN
Already-qualified Egypt, who had booked their berth on Wednesday, rested captain Mohamed Salah but still finished their Group A campaign unbeaten as they overcame Guinea Bissau 1-0 in Cairo. Mohamed Hamdi headed home the winner in the 10th minute.
Egypt won eight of their 10 group games to finish with 26 points with Burkina Faso finishing second in the standings, after concluding their campaign with a 3-1 victory over Ethiopia in Ouagadougou with a hat-trick from Scotland-based attacker Pierre Kabore.
Burkina Faso will be hoping to finish as one of the four best runners-up, who advance to a playoff competition next month.
Also in Group A, the small Red Sea state Djibouti threatened to record their first win of the qualifying campaign when they took the lead against Sierra Leone but ended up losing 2-1.
Earlier on Sunday, surprise package Niger secured second place in Group E by beating Zambia 1-0 away and look set for next month’s playoffs. Daniel Sosah, scoring for a third successive qualifier, bagged the second-half winner.
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