Aiming for Abidjan

Six teams book their places at next year’s Africa Cup of Nations finals in Ivory Coast, but some giants stumble

- MARK GLEESON

Morocco did not even need to kick a ball to become the first team to join hosts Ivory Coast in the field for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations finals, followed quickly by neighbours Algeria, then Burkina Faso, South Africa, Tunisia and defending champions Senegal.

Perennial contenders Egypt, Mali, Guinea and Ghana sit on the brink of qualification while 2012 champions Zambia are set to return to the finals after missing out on the past three editions. But there were major scares for giants Cameroon and Nigeria, who will have to wait until the penultimate round of matches in June to secure their places at the 24-team finals.

Nigeria, a side brimming with exciting young attacking talent, were handed a 1-0 defeat at home to tiny Guinea-Bissau in a shock loss that led coach Jose Peseiro to admit he expected to be fired. Mama Balde, who has been in fine goalscoring form for Troyes in France, netted in Abuja for a famous win for the former Portuguese colony, who have punched well above their weight in recent years.

But Nigeria bounced back to win in Bissau four days later, triumphing 1-0 through a Moses Simon penalty that took them back to the top of Group A.