The Playoffs for the first round of the CHAN 2022 (African Nations Championship) started last weekend in West Africa, in the Central East Zone and in the South Zone. Benin and Liberia bowed to Ghana and Senegal respectively.
Benin’s first playoffs for the first round of the CHAN 2022 was fatal. Ghana inflicted a devastating setback by beating them by a score of 3-0 in Cape Coast. Daniel Afriyie Barnieh (25th), Mohammed Alhassan (49th) and Gladson Awako (80th) all scored. Benin will face Ghana again on Saturday in Cotonou. Meanwhile, Senegal defeated Liberia 3-0 with goals from Bouly Jr Sambou (15th), Raymond Diémé Ndour (31st) and Jean Barthélemy Diouf (34th).
In the southern part, Comoros lost at home to South Africa on a goal by Khulekani Shezi while the return match will be played in the island of Mauritius. In the East, Burundi got the best of Djibouti (2-1). The return matches will take place in the next few days. The winners of this phase will qualify for the second round of the CHAN playoffs in their respective zones to face the teams that were exempted from the first round. Algeria, the host country, as well as Morocco and Libya already hold their qualifying tickets.
Results of the first round of CHAN playoffs
Western Zone A
Liberia 0–3 Senegal. Sierra Leone 2-0 Cape Verde. Gambia 1-0 Guinea Bissau
Western Zone B
Ghana 3–0 Benin. Central-East Zone. Ethiopia 0-0 South Sudan. Somalia 0-1 Tanzania.
Burundi 2-1 Djibouti
Southern zone
Comoros 0-1 South Africa. Mauritius 0-2 Angola. Botswana 0-0 Eswatini. Mozambique 0-0 Zambia. Seychelles 0-1 Madagascar