The Egyptian national team, led by its star Mohamed Salah, put forward the 2023 African Cup of Nations in football, scheduled for Ivory Coast early next year, by defeating host Malawi 4-0 on Tuesday, while defending champions Senegal and Tunisia won the qualification ticket.
And to the host Ivory Coast, six teams have so far secured their qualification: Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, South Africa, Burkina Faso and Senegal.
Egypt, the record holder for the number of titles (7, the last of which was in 2010), raised its tally to nine points from four matches at the top of Group D, with a goal difference from Guinea, while Malawi and Ethiopia were equal with three points.
The "Pharaohs" now need one point from one of their matches against hosts Guinea in June or at home to Ethiopia in September, to ensure official qualification.
And it took turns to score the goals of Egypt, absent from the last World Cup in Qatar, each of the midfielder Tariq Hamed (34 years) with a powerful shot from outside the area, scoring his first international goal (4), Omar Marmoush after a turmoil inside the area after a corner kick carried out by the English star Liverpool Mohamed Salah (16), Salah with a powerful shot from inside the area after exchanging the ball with striker Mustafa Mohamed (20) and Ahmed Sayed “Zizou” after a cross from Mohamed Hani (49).
This is the first time that Egypt has scored four away goals since 2015 against Chad (5-1).
His Portuguese coach, Roy Vittoria, said, "The Egyptian national team was the best back and forth against Malawi, and deserves to get six points in the two matches.. I am happy with Mohamed Salah's brilliance and his scoring of two goals in the two Malawi matches, and my greatest happiness came after the collective performance of the players."
Tunisia, holders of the 2004 title, reached the finals for the 21st time in its history and the 16th in a row (a record), by defeating its host Libya 1-0 in Benghazi in Group X, with Haitham Jouini's goal from a header after a corner kick (16).
The "Carthage Eagles" raised their tally to 10 points from four matches, a point ahead of Equatorial Guinea, which went a long way towards qualification, with its third successive victory at the expense of Botswana 3-2, noting that the champion and runner-up of each group guaranteed their qualification to the finals.
Tunisia coach Jalal Al-Qadri bemoaned the missed opportunities.
And the Tunisian national team, which achieved its fourth successive victory, is the only one that has not conceded a net so far in the qualifiers.
Senegal secured its place in the continental finals for Group Twelve, after beating its host Mozambique with a clean goal scored by Boulaye Dia in the 18th minute, after a pass from star Sadio Mane.
With this victory, the defending champion raised its tally to 12 points at the top of the group, to secure official qualification, while Mozambique remained second with 4 points, against Rwanda (two points) and Benin (one point).
In the same context, the South African national team also qualified for the finals after defeating its Liberian host 2-1, to return after its absence from the previous edition.
Zakeli Libasa (19) and Mihalali Mayampila (54) scored for Bafana Bafana, while William Jebor scored Liberia (35).
And the South African national team raised its score to 4 points, to ensure qualification with Morocco from the eleventh group, after the exclusion of Zimbabwe.
On the other hand, the rise of the Mali national team was postponed after losing to Gambia Saqr-1 from Group G, with a goal scored by Omar Colby (79).
The Gambian team raised its tally to 6 points behind the Congo, while the Mali team leads the group with 9 points, while the South Sudan team lies at the bottom of the standings with three points.
Burkina Faso qualified by drawing 1-1 with its host, Togo, in Group Two, which witnessed Cape Verde's victory over its host, Eswatini, 1-0. Burkina Faso raised its score to ten points, compared to 7 for Cape Verde, which is close to qualifying.
In Group C, Cameroon, the defending champion five times, most recently in 2017, suffered its first loss against Namibia 1-2 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Scored for the winner Peter Shaluleli (55) and Absalom Eibondi (79), and for Cameroon Vincent Aboubakar (72).
Namibia took the lead with five points from three matches, one point ahead of Cameroon, in a group that eliminated Kenya due to its international ban.
Namibia coach Colin Benjamin valued his country's victory, saying, "We achieved a very impressive victory over the strong Cameroon team. I congratulate our players for their hard work, in order to score all the points in the Cameroon match."
In turn, Cameroon coach Rigobert Song expressed his disappointment after the defeat of the "Untamed Lions": "We failed to take advantage of the opportunities that were available to us in the match, which made the Namibia national team punish us."
The conflict intensified in the ninth group, with Mauritania tied with its guest, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1-1, as Gabon leads (7 points), by a point from Sudan, two from Mauritania and three from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.