Our group today contains favourites and top seeds Tunisia, who won the opening tie of Round 2 to get here – beating Rwanda 6-3 on aggregate. Both they and Sudan had players in the 2017 North Africa side which made the final 16. Sudan got here by the narrowest margin, only overcoming Guinea on penalties after two 2-2 draws. Ethiopia have already produced one shock when they knocked Congo out 4-2 on aggregate. Completing the group is Uganda, who had to start in Round 1, where they beat Equatorial Guinea before beating Niger in Round 2.
Tunisia start with authority, by notching three goals in the opening 14 minutes against Uganda. However, Uganda pulled one back just before half time, and another one in the 80th minute to set up a nervy finish for Tunisia, who held out for a 3-2 win. Ethiopia also started well, going ahead in the 6th minute against Sudan, but couldn’t hold on and had to settle for a 1-1 draw after Edward Sadomba’s 71st-minute equaliser.
Ethiopia vs. Uganda
Uganda currently just need a point to finish above Ethiopia in third. The hosts have much the better of the match, but fall behind just before the break when Hailu was penalised for a push in the box, and Sula Matovu put the spot kick away. Ethiopia finally get a deserved equaliser when Alula Girma latched on to a loose ball, but it was in the third minute of added time, and there was no time to find a winner. A 1-1 draw means neither team ends the group with a win to their name.
The equation for Sudan is that they need to win by 3 against the runaway group winners to become the best-performing 2nd-placed side. Any win against Tunisia would be a difficult task, and it was made more difficult when Anis Ben-Hatira opened the scoring for the visitors with an easy finish. Sudan could barely create any chances, despite playing with an attacking mindset, and the killer blow came in the 89th minute when Khenissi’s header doubled the lead. There was still time for Sudan to pull one back through Mudather El Tahir, but the 2-1 final score confirmed Sudan’s elimination and Tunisia’s perfect campaign.
Highest average rating: Anis Ben-Hatira (TUN) 7.77
Next time
Tunisia will be a difficult team to face in the finals based on that showing. Next time we start the final round of qualifying in Asia, with two teams joining Tunisia in the finals. China will be expected to go through, but all six sides have shown a lot of quality so far, so it could be an enthralling group.