Ghana held by Sudan as Algeria continues their winning streak in AFCON qualifiers

Ghana's performance in the Africa Cup of Nations qualification campaign took a disappointing turn as they were held to a 0-0 draw at home against Sudan on Thursday.

This result places them in a precarious situation midway through the qualification process, while several other teams have moved closer to securing their spots in the finals scheduled to take place in Morocco next year.

Algeria maintained their perfect record in the qualifiers with a commanding 5-1 victory over Togo, while Burkina Faso triumphed over Burundi with a score of 4-1. In contrast, Ghana remains without a win after three matches, struggling to find the back of the net.

Defender Alexander Djiku came close to scoring with a header that hit the crossbar in the first half, and stand-in captain Mohammed Kudus was thwarted on two occasions by Sudan's goalkeeper, Mohamed Mustafa. Ghana notably missed the presence of midfielder Thomas Partey, who was unavailable due to injury.

Sudan's coach, Kwesi Appiah, a Ghanaian, recently stepped down from his position on the Ghana Football Association (GFA) executive council to avoid any potential conflicts of interest, following a directive from the Confederation of African Football.

In the match between Algeria and Togo, Algeria had to recover from an early setback when Thibault Klidje scored for Togo, marking his first international goal. However, Said Benrahma netted two goals, including a penalty, to turn the tide in favor of Algeria, with additional goals from Houssem Aouar, Amine Gouiri, and Mohamed Amoura sealing the victory.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is also on the verge of qualification after securing a 1-0 win against Tanzania in Kinshasa, achieving a total of nine points in the process. The only goal of the match came from an own goal by Tanzania's Clement Mzize early in the second half.

In a match held in neutral Abidjan, Burundi initially took the lead against Burkina Faso through Bienvenue Kanakimana, but Burkina Faso responded with two goals from Dango Ouattara, along with additional strikes from Sacha Banse, who scored his first goal for the national team, and Issoufou Dayo, resulting in a comfortable victory for Burkina Faso.

BOTSWANA'S UNEXPECTED VICTORY
Tumisang Orebonye's goal in the second minute secured an unexpected 1-0 victory for Botswana against Cape Verde, marking their first win of the campaign after suffering two consecutive losses.

Egypt currently leads the group with six points from two matches, while Cape Verde, Botswana, and Mauritania each have three points, with Mauritania holding a game in hand.

In another match, Khama Billiat scored his first international goal in nearly five years, helping Zimbabwe secure a narrow 1-0 win over Namibia in Johannesburg. Billiat converted a penalty in the first half after recently ending a three-year international retirement.

Zimbabwe now tops the group with five points from three matches, followed closely by Kenya and Cameroon, each with four points from two games. Namibia's chances of qualifying for a second consecutive finals are dwindling, as they remain without any points.

The teams will compete in two matches during this international window before the qualification campaign concludes in November, determining the participants for the 24-team tournament scheduled to take place in Morocco late next year.