Ghana Wins with Injury-Time Goal to Stay at the Top of African Cup Qualifying Group

Antoine Semenyo scores the winning goal

Antoine Semenyo scored the winning goal in the sixth minute of injury time to see Ghana edge Angola 1-0 in African Cup of Nations qualifying on Thursday and stay atop its group.

Ghana remains unbeaten in the final qualifying stage

Ghana remained unbeaten in the final qualifying stage with two wins and a draw and on course to qualify for next year’s African Cup in Ivory Coast.

Chris Hughton gets a winning start as coach

The result at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi also gave Chris Hughton a winning start as coach. Hughton, the former Newcastle and Brighton manager, was a technical advisor with the Ghana team before succeeding Otto Addo as head coach last month.

Semenyo strikes right at the end

Semenyo struck right at the end against Angola when he smashed a loose ball high into the net from close range after a Ghana free kick wasn’t cleared.

Halfway through the qualifiers, Ghana leads Central African Republic by three points

Halfway through the qualifiers, Ghana leads Central African Republic by three points at the top of Group E.

South Sudan finds a late winner in a chaotic finish

South Sudan also found a late winner in a chaotic finish against Republic of Congo. South Sudan was leading 1-0 when it had Peter Maker sent off, conceded an equalizer through a penalty by Thievy Bifouma in the 90th minute, and then won 2-1 after Tito Okello scored, also in the sixth minute of injury time.

Zambia comes back from 1-0 down

Zambia came back from 1-0 down to beat Lesotho 3-1 and avoid an upset and Gabon stayed in contention in Group I after beating Sudan 1-0.

Latest round of qualifying games

The latest round of qualifying games began Wednesday with a pair of draws. Sierra Leone and Sao Tome and Principe finished 2-2 and forward Steve Mounie scored a late equalizer for Benin in a 1-1 draw with Rwanda, which had Hakim Sahabo sent off with 30 minutes to go.

Senegal continues its qualifying campaign against Mozambique

Senegal continues its qualifying campaign against Mozambique on Friday, when Sadio Mané is expected to make his return for his country after missing the World Cup in Qatar with injury.

Morocco’s games against Zimbabwe get canceled

World Cup semi-finalist Morocco, the new star of African soccer, doesn’t play again in the qualifiers until June after its two games against Zimbabwe were canceled while Zimbabwe is banned from internationals by FIFA because of troubles with its national federation.

Credit: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/soccer/2023/03/23/african-cup-of-nations-ghana/cd582f72-c9c5-11ed-9cc5-a58a4f6d84cd_story.html

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