Equatorial Guinea revived their chances of qualifying for the 2023 TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations when beating Libya 2-0 in Malabo on Monday night.
An own goal by Libyan defender Mohammed Alhadddaj and a penalty converted by Frederico Bikoro in the second half sealed the victory for the home side in Malabo.
The victory put the Nzalang Nacional back in contention for a place at the tournament to be staged in Cote d’Ivoire next year after losing their opening Group J match.
Following their emphatic 4-0 defeat at the hands of Tunisia in their opening group match over the weekend, the Equatoguineans were eyeing a win to revive their campaign.
The Nzalang Nacional were keen on making amends but found Mediterranean Knights difficult to crack in the first-half as they dominated the exchanges. After the break, the Libyan defence finally lost concentration when left-back Basilio Ndong laid a nice pass to Juan José whose attempt at goal was inadvertently turned in by Libyan defender Mohammed Alhadddaj in the 51st minute.
Despite the pressure of the Libyans, the Nzalang Nacional managed to extend their lead with six minutes remaining when Bikoro converted a penalty after Sand Masaud handled the ball in his own penalty area.
Tunisia and Libya, who had won in the first match of the group stage against Equatorial Guinea (4-0) and Botswana (1-0) respectively, have now been stopped.
Libya lost 2-0 on Monday while Tunisia only drew 0-0 on Sunday against Botswana.
This means all the teams in the group remain in the race for qualification for AFCON TotalEnergies 2023 which will take place in Côte d’Ivoire.
At the end of the six matches, the first two teams will get their ticket for Cote d’Ivoire 2023.
Source: CAF
Frederick Marfo is a sportswriter and social worker well known for his advocacy for equal chances and rights for all athletes, especially those with disabilities.
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