Paynesville, Liberia – Following a heartbreaking 2-1 home defeat to South Africa on Tuesday in Paynesville, March 28, 2023, in the 2023 AFCON qualifier, Liberia’s hopes of qualifying for a third Nations Cup participation were dashed.
Zakhele Lepasa gave the Bafana Bafana an early advantage in the opening 19 minutes, but Williams Jebor, the captain of the Lone Star, equalized in the following 35 minutes to make the score 1-1 at the break.
The South Africans then confirmed their 2-1 victory in the 53rd minute on a rebound by Mihlali Mayambela, who took advantage of errors made by Tommy Songo to guarantee their place in the 2024 finals in Ivory Coast based on head-to-head record.
With four points from three games following the victory, South Africa reclaimed second place, while Liberia fell to third place in Group K with one point.
One of the few nations to have qualified for the 2024 edition, alongside hosts Ivory Coast, Algeria, Senegal, and groupmate, is group leader and scoring leader Morocco with six points.
The following are other outcomes of the games contested in the AFCON qualifier on March 28, 2023: Malawi 0-4 Namibia 2-1 Cameroon 0-1 Eswatini 2-3 Botswana 2-3 Egypt, Namibia, and Namibia Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Mali, Togo, Burkina Faso, Comoros, Tunisia, Mauritania, DR Congo, Mozambique, Ivory Coast, Libya, and Uganda all scored one goal each.
Photo credit: Sam Pontia Jadoe
Reported by: Sylvester Tamba
