Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal and Mali have reached the next round of the African qualifying competition for the women’s football tournament at the 2028 Olympic Games after securing victories in their respective second-leg matches.
Cote d’Ivoire completed another convincing win over DR Congo, beating them 3-0 at the Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny in Abidjan on Tuesday. The result followed a 4-1 victory in the first leg in Lubumbashi, giving Reynald Pedros’ side a commanding overall success.
N’sira Ouedraogo put the hosts ahead in the 17th minute before Nadja Meite doubled their advantage from the penalty spot eight minutes later. Grace Ruth Sery added a third goal in the fifth minute of stoppage time to complete Cote d’Ivoire’s second victory over DR Congo in the tie.
Cote d’Ivoire will face Cameroon in the next round. Cameroon progressed after Guinea forfeited their fixture.
Earlier on Tuesday, Senegal also secured a second successive victory against Tunisia, winning 2-0 at the Stade Leopold Sedar Senghor in Dakar. They had earned a narrow 1-0 success in the first leg in Rades last week.
Nguenar Ndiaye was the decisive figure for Senegal, scoring both goals. She opened the scoring in the 13th minute and struck again in the 27th to give the Lionesses of Teranga a comfortable result on the night.
Senegal’s reward is a meeting with Mali, who produced the biggest comeback of the round against Benin. Mali overturned a 3-1 first-leg deficit, recorded in Lome, Togo, by winning 6-2 at the Stade du 26 mars in Bamako.
The result gave Mali a 7-5 victory over the two legs. Fatoumata Diarra scored in the 25th minute, while Saratou Traore added another in first-half stoppage time.
Agueissa Diarra then scored twice, in the 52nd minute and from the penalty spot in the 86th, with Aissata Traore finding the net in the 79th minute and Oumou Kone scoring two minutes later.
Benin had briefly regained the advantage across the tie through Romaine Gadonou’s two goals, scored in the 67th and 75th minutes. Those strikes came after Mali had already taken control of the second leg, but could not prevent the hosts from completing their recovery.
Mali will now meet Senegal for a place in the next stage of the qualification process for the 2028 Olympic Games women’s football tournament.
