South Africa and Cameroon qualify for African Cup of Nations

South Africa's Bafana Bafana beat Sudan 2-1 in a game played in goalkeeper Meyiwa's hometown of Durban as a tribute, and then displayed Meyiwa themed memorial t-shirts as they celebrated qualification after fulltime.

Cameroon, Zambia, Senegal, Burkina Faso and Gabon also secured their places at the Cup of Nations on Saturday alongside new tournament host Equatorial Guinea. Ghana lost 1-0 in Uganda and Mali fell 2-0 in Malawi to keep them waiting until the final round of qualifying games next week following those surprise away defeats.

Four-time champion Cameroon made sure of a place at the 2015 African Cup finals with a 1-0 win over Congo after Vincent Aboubakar's 71st-minute winner. That ensured the Cameroonians will finish top of Group D, with Ivory Coast and Congo left to battle it out for the second automatic spot from the group.



Zambia, the 2012 African Cup winner, qualified alongside Cape Verde from Group F after a 1-0 win in Mozambique. Senegal won 1-0 in Egypt through Mame Diouf's early goal to make certain of its progress and leave the record seven-time champion Egyptians hoping to qualify as the one best third-place team.

Defending champion Nigeria revived its chances under coach Stephen Keshi, who has been re-appointed after being fired last month. Nigeria won 2-0 in Republic of Congo to move second in Group A behind South Africa. Spain-based striker Ikechukwu Uche repaid Keshi for his first call-up in nearly two years with the opener from the penalty spot in the 59th minute, and Aaron Olanare swept in the second in the 90th. Ghana was upset in Uganda and Mali suffered a bigger shock when it lost in Malawi.

A rebound looped into the corner of Mali's net for the opening goal in the 65th for Malawi's Robert Ng'ambi. Essau Kanyenda then powered a header home with four minutes to go to give the Malawians a chance of qualifying with one of their most memorable recent victories, sending thousands of red-shirted fans jumping up and down as one in the concrete stands at Kamuzu Stadium.

Algeria, Cape Verde and Tunisia had already qualified before Saturday's games, while Equatorial Guinea was named the new tournament host on Friday in place of Morocco, which was dumped for requesting a delay over Ebola fears. Fifteen teams will ultimately qualify for the Cup of Nations finals alongside the new host.