CHAN qualifiers wrap

Cape Town - The road to the 2016 African Nations Championship (CHAN) in Rwanda kicked into top gear this past weekend, with South Africa taking a big step toward the next round.

Shakes Mashaba’s Bafana Bafana defeated Mauritius 3-0 in the first leg of their preliminary round tie, with a goal from Thamsanqa Gabuza and a brace from Siphelele Ntshangase taking the national team to an impressive and convincing victory.

Bafana, should they progress, will probably face Angola in the next round, with the Palancas Negras having claimed a 2-2 away draw to Swaziland in the first leg of their tie.

Other Southern Zone matches saw Mozambique crush Seychelles 5-1, Zimbabwe eased to a 2-0 win over Comoros, Lesotho and Botswana drew 0-0, and new Cosafa Cup champions Namibia defeated Zambia 2-1 despite the recent departure of their coach Ricardo Mannetti.

The Northern Zone features a three-way group stage between Morocco, Libya and Tunisia. The Atlas Lions top the group thanks to Sunday night’s 3-0 win over Libya, while Tunisia sit bottom of the pool with just one point from their first two matches.

In Zone West A, minnows Guinea-Bissau held Mali to a 1-1 draw, while Senegal did what Bafana Bafana could not in beating Gambia 3-1 at home. Mauritania (another team in South Africa’s 2017 AFCON qualifier group) also secured a 2-1 home win over Sierra Leone.

The Central-East Zone featured a big away win for Uganda’s Cranes, who defeated Tanzania 3-0, while Kenya’s Harambee Stars will have to overturn a first leg deficit of 2-0 after losing to Ethiopia’s Walias in a classic East-African derby. Burundi took a big step toward the next round with a 2-1 away win over Djibouti.

The return leg matches for the preliminary round will be played on the first weekend of July, while the final round qualifying playoffs are set for October.

CHAN qualifiers results:

Northern Zone

Morocco 1-1 Tunisia

Tunisia 0-1 Libya

Morocco 3-0 Libya

Zone West A

Guinea-Bissau 1-1 Mali

Senegal 3-1 Gambia

Mauritania 2-1 Sierra Leone

Guinea P-P Liberia

Central-East Zone

Tanzania 0-3 Uganda

Ethiopia 2-0 Kenya

Djibouti 1-2 Burundi

Southern Zone

Mozambique 5-1 Seychelles

South Africa 3-0 Mauritius

Lesotho 0-0 Botswana

Zimbabwe 2-0 Comoros

Namibia 2-1 Zambia

Swaziland 2-2 Angola