The Black Stars of Ghana confirmed their 24th African Cup of Nations participation after a solitary 2-1 victory over Central African Republic.
Ernest Nuamah put the game beyond CAR in the 88 minute after slotting home a close range from Antoine Semenyo pass.
Despite missing Thomas Partey, Daniel Amartey and Mohammed Salisu, Chris Hughton’s named a strong line-up against the Wild Beasts with captain Dede Ayew at the bench.
Louis Mafouta put the visitors in front after a beautiful team play and a smart through ball from Youga
Two minutes later, Baboula broke free on the left flank and sent in a low cross but Seidu reacted quickest to clear the impending danger.
Ghana had to wait till the 13th minute to make their first foray into CAR’s box when Bukari chased down a long ball and beautifully cut back to Kudus, but the West Ham star hesitated in shooting and eventually saw the ball nicked off his feet.
Despite struggling to create clear-cut chances, the Black Stars found the breakthrough late in the first half, with Kudus scoring from a 25-yards free-kick.
Ghana’s coach Chris Houghton introduced Semenyo and Nuamah in the half hour mark with the duo combining to make it 2-1, with the former setting up the latter for a tap-in.
The victory sees Ghana qualify for the next year’s AFCON in the Ivory Coast as winners of Group E, while CAR misses out as Angola picked the other qualification ticket after finishing second in the group with 9 points.
