RECORD winners Egypt face the bleak prospect of missing out on yet another African Nations Cup after a 1-0 defeat to Tunisia on Wednesday left them with no points from their first two qualifiers for the 2015 finals.
The defeat in Cairo leaves Egypt six points adrift of Group G pace-setters Tunisia and Senegal, who were 2-0 winners in Botswana on a busy night of qualifiers for the tournament in Morocco in January.
Cameroon continued their rehabilitation after a disappointing World Cup with a crushing 4-1 win over Ivory Coast while Algeria beat Mali to maintain the form that helped them reach the last 16 in Brazil.
There were also wins for Burkina Faso, the Cape Verde Islands, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Malawi and Uganda among the 14 qualifying matches played across the continent on Wednesday.
Plucky Lesotho missed out on a rare success when they conceded a last-gasp goal to draw 1-1 at home to Gabon.
Egypt have won a record seven Nations Cup titles, including three in a row from 2006 to 2010, but did not qualify for the last two tournaments and are already struggling to avoid a third successive failure.
Having lost to Senegal last Friday in their opener, the home defeat to Tunisia is a severe setback for new coach Shawki Gharib.
Cameroon have a 100% record in Group D after Vincent Aboubakar and Clinton Njie scored twice each in a 4-1 demolition of Ivory Coast in Yaounde.
Algeria top Group B after sneaking a 1-0 home win over Mali in Blida with a goal from defender Carl Medjani, while Burkina Faso, surprise runners-up at the last finals, won 3-0 away in Angola to advance to six points in Group C.
Christian Atsu scored a late winner to give Ghana a 3-2 victory at neighbours Togo, after the hosts' Emmanuel Adebayor had levelled the scores at 2-2 going into the final minutes in Lome.
There will be two more rounds of qualifiers next month and two in November. The top two finishers in each of the seven groups, plus the best third-placed side, join hosts Morocco in the finals.
Egypt facing another Nations Cup failure
RECORD winners Egypt face the bleak prospect of missing out on yet another African Nations Cup after a 1-0 defeat to Tunisia on Wednesday left them with no points from their first two qualifiers for the 2015 finals.
The defeat in Cairo leaves Egypt six points adrift of Group G pace-setters Tunisia and Senegal, who were 2-0 winners in Botswana on a busy night of qualifiers for the tournament in Morocco in January.
Cameroon continued their rehabilitation after a disappointing World Cup with a crushing 4-1 win over Ivory Coast while Algeria beat Mali to maintain the form that helped them reach the last 16 in Brazil.
There were also wins for Burkina Faso, the Cape Verde Islands, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Malawi and Uganda among the 14 qualifying matches played across the continent on Wednesday.
Plucky Lesotho missed out on a rare success when they conceded a last-gasp goal to draw 1-1 at home to Gabon.
Egypt have won a record seven Nations Cup titles, including three in a row from 2006 to 2010, but did not qualify for the last two tournaments and are already struggling to avoid a third successive failure.
Having lost to Senegal last Friday in their opener, the home defeat to Tunisia is a severe setback for new coach Shawki Gharib.
Cameroon have a 100% record in Group D after Vincent Aboubakar and Clinton Njie scored twice each in a 4-1 demolition of Ivory Coast in Yaounde.
Algeria top Group B after sneaking a 1-0 home win over Mali in Blida with a goal from defender Carl Medjani, while Burkina Faso, surprise runners-up at the last finals, won 3-0 away in Angola to advance to six points in Group C.
Christian Atsu scored a late winner to give Ghana a 3-2 victory at neighbours Togo, after the hosts' Emmanuel Adebayor had levelled the scores at 2-2 going into the final minutes in Lome.
There will be two more rounds of qualifiers next month and two in November. The top two finishers in each of the seven groups, plus the best third-placed side, join hosts Morocco in the finals.
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