(Reuters) – The tiny Comoros Islands face a tense 48-hour wait to search out out whether or not their shock win over Ghana within the Africa Cup of Nations on Tuesday will show sufficient to get them into the subsequent spherical.
The Indian Ocean archipelago is in with an opportunity of grabbing one of the 4 locations reserved within the final 16 for the most effective third-place finishers from the six teams, as soon as the final three teams full their matches.
Their sensational 3-2 win over 10-man Ghana in Garoua eradicated the four-time champions in a single of the event’s all-time upsets, and sealed qualification from Group C for Morocco and Gabon, leaving the Comoros third on three factors.
Cape Verde and Malawi have already completed third in Groups A and B with 4 factors, placing them forward of the Comoros within the qualification stakes.
That means Comoros want outcomes to go their means on Wednesday and Thursday, when the final three teams full their matches, to safe one of the final two third-place qualification spots.
The event in Cameroon has been introduced alive by Tuesday’s upset and the giant-killing feat of Equatorial Guinea, one other of the continent’s minnows, who ending the 35-match unbeaten run of defending champions Algeria.
“What we now have accomplished is already historic, sensible,” Said Ali Athoumane, president of the Comoros Football Federation, instructed reporters.
“We had been just a little extra liberated, extra relaxed. We had nothing to lose, and now we now have to carry onto hope as a result of mathematically, it’s nonetheless attainable.”
Amir Abdou, who has coached the group since 2014, mentioned that they had saved attacking, even after letting a 2-0 lead slip towards a Ghana aspect who had been right down to 10 males from the twenty fifth minute when their captain Dede Ayew was despatched off.
“That’s why I made offensive adjustments, we wished to win,” he mentioned.
The island nation, which declared independence from France in 1975, has a inhabitants of slightly below one million.
But it has appeared to its former colonial energy for gamers to assist create a considerable nationwide aspect, which has now been in competitors for simply over a decade.
(Editing by Kevin Liffey)
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