Żejtun Corinthians goalkeeper Ibrahim Kone has booked his ticket for the upcoming 2022 Africa Cup of Nations after Guinea defeated Mali 1-0 to join the latter as the two qualified teams from Group A.
Coached by Didier Six, Guinea scored the all-important goal on the 75th minute through Seydouba Soumah.
Guinea’s squad included Liverpool’s Naby Keita as captain, Amadou Diawara of Roma and Olympiacos’ Mohamed Camara.
Żejtun’s Kone was one of the two goalkeepers named as substitutes for this game with 34-year-old Aly Keita of Sweden’s Ostersunds defending Guinea’s goal.
Kone, who has 5 caps with his national team, was part of Guinea’s last expedition to the continental showpiece in 2019 where he played against Nigeria and Burundi in Group B and in the last 16 tie against Algeria.
January’s tournament, to be held in Cameroon, will be Guinea’s 13th appearance in the Africa Cup of Nations.
With Cameroon guaranteed an automatic spot as hosts, the other teams who have qualified so far are Guinea, Mali, Senegal, Algeria, Tunisia and Burkina Faso.
One of the hopeful teams still to book its competition ticket is Congo of Mosta goalkeeper Christoffer Mafoumbi who face Senegal and Guinea-Bissau in their final two Group I matches.
Also, Mafoumbi’s team mate at Mosta, Yves Bitseki, could qualify with Gabon as they face a stern challenge from Gambia, led by former Malta coach Tom Saintfiet, in Group D.
Author
