2022 Women’s Afcon: Nigeria complete double over Cote d’Ivoire, qualify for 12th straight time [FULL LIST]
Nigeria secured a 12th consecutive Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualification after completing a double over Cote d’Ivoire while Botswana, Burkina Faso, and Burundi have booked first-time tickets after the second leg games of the second round of qualifying.
- Cote d’Ivoire 0-1 Nigeria (0-3 aggregate)
Esther Okoronkwo scored a late goal for Nigeria to win 1-0 at the Stade Robert Champroux in Abidjan on Wednesday.
The Super Falcons went into the game with a 2-0 advantage over the Lady Elephants from the first leg in Abuja.
Nigeria came close to taking the lead when Francisca Ordega thought she had the ball inside the net but the Nigerien referee Zouwaira Souley ruled it out for offside on the half-hour mark.
Goalkeeper Nnadozie denied Cote d’Ivoire an opener when she stopped Fatou Coulibaly’s effort from the spot in the 34th minute.
After the break, the Nigerians faced more attacking threats from Toure’s ladies but defended solidly until Esther Okoronkwo’s stunner three minutes from time to guarantee an away win.
With a 3-0 win on aggregate, Randy Waldrum’s side completed a double and also secured revenge for their third qualifying round ouster from Tokyo 2020 Olympics against the Ivorians.
- Botswana 0-2 Zimbabwe (3-3 aggregate)
Botswana secured a first-ever ticket to the Women’s Afcon through away goal rule despite a 2-0 second-leg defeat against Zimbabwe on Wednesday at the Francistown Stadium, Botswana.
Botswana shocked Zimbabwe to a 3-1 first-leg win in Harare last Friday.
After a goalless first half, Zimbabwe found a breakthrough in the 66th minute thanks to Emmaculate Msipa’s brilliant strike.
The desperate visitors continued their search for more goals and they notched the second of the match off the foot of Priviledge Mupeti four minutes later but could not add more till the end.
With a 3-3 aggregate score, the Mighty Warriors bowed out of the race on away goal rule as the Zebras go through.
This also means Botswana is the latest team to qualify for the first time in their history for this year’s 12-nation competition to be hosted in Morocco after Burkina Faso and Burundi had earlier confirmed their berths for the continental showpiece.
See full results and 12 teams that have qualified:
- Gabon 1-2 Togo
Togo qualify 4-2 on aggregate
- Equatorial Guinea 3-2 Tunisia
Tunisia qualify 7-3 on aggregate
- Ivory Coast 0-1 Nigeria
Nigeria qualify 3-0 on aggregate
- Gambia 1-2 Cameroon
Cameroon qualify 10-1 on aggregate
- Burkina Faso 1-0 Guinea Bissau
Burkina Faso qualify 7-0 on aggregate
- Algeria 1-1 South Africa
South Africa qualify 3-1 on aggregate
- Botswana 0-2 Zimbabwe
Botswana qualify on away goal rule after 3-3 aggregate results
- Namibia 1-1 Zambia
Zambia qualify on away goal rule after a 1-1 aggregate results
- Djibouti 0-5 Burundi
Burundi qualify 11-1 on aggregate
- Mali 1-0 Senegal
Senegal qualify 3-2 on penalties after a 1-1 aggregate results
- Uganda – Kenya – Called off
Uganda gain automatic qualification after the withdrawal of Kenya
- The 12th country to qualify is host nation Morocco
By Adamu Benin Abdul Karim | www.sportyafrica.com
