Black Stars risk missing out on AFCON qualification for first time since 2004 following lackluster performance against ‘minnows’ Madagascar

Ghana stand a concrete chance of failing to qualify for the 2024 AFCON tournament in Ivory Coast following Sunday’s 0-0 drawn game with Madagascar in Group E qualifying game at the Mahamasina Municipal Stadium in Antananarivo.

Ghana has qualified to every single AFCON tournament since missing out on the 2004 edition in Tunisia but are now facing a realistic threat of not making it to the next edition.

The Black Stars won’t be among the 24 nations in the Ivory Coast should they lose to the Central African Republic in September before home fans.

The matchday 5 contest saw the Black Stars manage a lowly number of 2 shots on target in a game the Barea of Madagascar gave the 4-time AFCON winners a good run for their money.

Nordsjaelland’s Ernest Nuamah came off the bench to debut for the West Africans ahead of his move to Egypt to team up with his Black Meteors mates ahead of the 2023 U23 AFCON tournament.

The result in Antananarivo has left the group open for three countries to qualify to the biannual tournament whose 34th edition comes off in the Ivory Coast next January.

Two countries will qualify from Group E but Angola, Madagascar, and Ghana all have equal chances of qualification to the tournament.

Angola’s Palancas Negras grind the result against the Central African Republic after beating them 2-1 at the Stade de la Réunification in Douala. It is worth noting that Ghana failed to overcome the Central African Republic in the first leg fixture after playing a 1-1 drawn game in Luanda last June.

The Central African Republic themselves remain on 7 points and would qualify to the tournament if they beat Ghana in September.

Below is a list of qualified countries to the tournament

Ivory Coast, Algeria, Morocco, South Africa, Senegal, Egypt, Tunisia, Burkina Faso, Zambia, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Mali, Cape Verde, and Guinea-Bissau.

The post Black Stars risk missing out on AFCON qualification for first time since 2004 following lackluster performance against ‘minnows’ Madagascar appeared first on Ghana Sports Online.

Source: Sports

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