On the final day of AFCON qualification, West Ham United's Nayef Aguerd and Mohammed Kudus experienced dramatically different evenings.
Aguerd’s Morocco concluded their AFCON qualification in style, completing a flawless run with a dominant 7-0 victory over Lesotho. The Atlas Lions topped Group B with a perfect record, six wins from six, scoring 26 goals and conceding just two. Their latest three-point haul, another resounding victory spearheaded by Real Madrid’s Brahim Díaz, who stole the show with a hat-trick.
In stark contrast, Kudus and his Ghana side suffered yet another defeat, this time at the hands of Niger at home in Accra, concluding a disastrous AFCON qualification campaign which saw them fail to register a single win.
Niger entered the match knowing only a win could secure qualification to what would be their third-ever AFCON appearance. The visitors got off to a promising start in Accra, taking the lead in the 22nd minute as Ousseini Badamassi rose highest to nod in a pinpoint cross from Rahim Alhassan.
Despite Niger's dominance, Ghana eventually equalised through rising star Jeremia Afriyie. As the clocked ticked into the final minutes, a frantic finale unfolded. Niger retook the lead in stoppage time when Oumar Sako headed in Alhassane’s cross to restore their advantage at 2-1. But it was Ghana who had the opportunity to have the final say as captain Kudus earned a penalty in the sixth minute of stoppage time after being fouled by Ousseini Badamassi in the box. With the last kick of the game, Kudus saw his spot kick well saved as Mahamadou Djibo extended a strong right arm to deny the Ghanaian captain. Despite Djibo's last-minute heroics, Niger missed out on qualification as Sudan snatched second place with a goalless draw against Angola.
Although qualification was already mathematically impossible for the Black Stars, the match against Niger offered Ghana a chance to restore some pride in front of their home fans. Instead, the four-time AFCON champions capped off a campaign to forget with a winless record, finishing bottom of Group F.
Elsewhere, Callum Marshall watched on from the bench as Northern Ireland gained automatic promotion to League B with a 2-2 draw away to Luxembourg. Goals from Standard Liège's Isaac Price and Liverpool's Conor Bradley put Michael O'Neill's youthful side two to the good, but a late surge from Luxembourg denied Northern Ireland their first away win of the campaign. Bulgaria’s draw against Belarus however, meant a point was all they needed to cement their place at the top of Group 3 and secure promotion to League B.
In U21s action, George Earthy made his second appearance of the international break coming off the bench in stoppage time to replace captain James McAttee as the Young Lions secured a 1-1 draw against the Netherlands in Almere.
Tottenham Hotspur’s Dane Scarlett's diving header in the fifth minute was all that separated the two sides for the majority of the encounter until a late equaliser from Dutch substitute Thom van Bergen of FC Groningen ensured a share of the spoils. Ben Futcher's final game as the U21s interim head coach sees England extended their unbeaten run to ten games in a streak which extends all the way back to October 2023.
