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The Indian Ocean archipelago is in with a chance of grabbing one
of the four places reserved in the last 16 for the best
third-place finishers from the six groups, once the last three
groups complete their matches.
Their sensational 3-2 win over 10-man Ghana in Garoua eliminated
the four-time champions in one of the tournament’s all-time
upsets, and sealed qualification from Group C for Morocco and
Gabon, leaving the Comoros third on three points.
Cape Verde and Malawi have already finished third in Groups A
and B with four points, putting them ahead of the Comoros in the
qualification stakes.
That means Comoros need results to go their way on Wednesday and
Thursday, when the last three groups complete their matches, to
secure one of the last two third-place qualification spots.
The tournament in Cameroon has been brought alive by Tuesday’s
upset and the giant-killing feat of Equatorial Guinea, another
of the continent’s minnows, who ending the 35-match unbeaten run
of defending champions Algeria.
"What we have done is already historic, brilliant," Said Ali
Athoumane, president of the Comoros Football Federation, told
reporters.
"We were a little more liberated, more relaxed. We had nothing
to lose, and now we have to hold onto hope because
mathematically, it is still possible."
Amir Abdou, who has coached the team since 2014, said they had
kept attacking, even after letting a 2-0 lead slip against a
Ghana side who were down to 10 men from the 25th minute when
their captain Dede Ayew was sent off.
"That's why I made offensive changes, we wanted to win," he
said.
The island nation, which declared independence from France in
1975, has a population of just under a million.
But it has looked to its former colonial power for players to
help create a substantial national side, which has now been in
competition for just over a decade.
(Editing by Kevin Liffey)
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