Senegal, Tunisia and Uganda registered victories in 2020 Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) qualifiers first leg, final round matches played on Saturday across various cities in Africa.
Defending champions Morocco opened their title defence on a stuttering note as Houcine Ammouta’s men were held to a 0-0 draw by Algeria away at the Mustapha Tchaker Stadium in Blida.
Despite creating numerous chances, the Atlas Lions could not open up the resilient defence of the Desert Foxes.
The Moroccans had a good start to the game dominating possession but it was the Algeria who nearly opened the scoring.
Coach Ammouata made several changes in the second half after fielding a solid line-up in the first half.
However, the changes did not yield the needed results as the Atlas Lions failed to record a vital away win.
In Nouakchott, Mauritania were held to a disappointing barren draw by a determined Mali. Both teams created chances in either side of the half but valiant defending by Mali kept Mauritania’s attackers at bay.
Assuming Mali do not slip up at home next weekend, they will be one of the 16-teams that will book a place at the 2020 tournament in Cameroon.
In Thies, Senegal got a narrow win 1-0 over Guinea, courtesy of Assane Mbodji’s wonderful strike that came in the dying minutes of the game.
Elsewhere in Tunis, Tunisia caged Libya 1-0 with the only goal coming in the 54th minute when Anice Bandri capitalized a defensive error in a tight game that was won by the better side.
While Libya looked tired, perhaps from their travel, Tunisia were fresher, brighter and created more goal-scoring opportunities
The visitors did their most in the closing stages of the game as they tried to take shots from long range in an attempt to score a consolation goal, but they couldn’t breach Tunisia’s defence.
In the other match, Uganda eased past hosts Burundi, thanks to goals from Vianney Ssekajjugo, Muzamir Mutyaba and Mustafa Kizza.
Both teams will now meet for the second leg which will be played at the Nelson Mandela Stadium on October 18.
The winner of the two-legged qualifier will book a ticket for the tournament that will be hosted in Cameroon next year.
Sunday Fixtures:
Central Zone
Central Africa vs DR Congo
Equatorial Guinea vs Congo
Central-East Zone
Ethiopia vs Rwanda
Tanzania vs Sudan
South Zone
Eswatini vs Zambia
Madagascar vs Namibia
Zimbabwe vs Lesotho
West B Zone
Togo vs Nigeria
Niger vs Cote d’Ivoire
Ghana vs Burkina Faso
