Zambia became the first country to qualify for the 2019 Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations after eliminating Congo on Sunday.
The Dream Team went into the second leg with a 2-1 lead and impressively held their hosts to a 3-3 draw at Stade Alphonse Massemba-Débat, seeing them advance via a 5-4 aggregate win.
Zambia will thus be making their second straight appearance at the eight-team U-23 Afcon which will be in its third edition come November 8-22. They join hosts Egypt.
Six more places will be determined Tuesday with the playoff games, including the return leg between Algeria and Ghana in Sétif.
The Black Meteors were held to a 1-1 draw in the first leg at Accra Sports Stadium last Friday.
The 2019 Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations serves as the qualifying tournament for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games. The top three teams in the competition qualify for the men’s football tournament.
Results of the first leg matches:
South Africa 5-0 Zimbabwe
Ghana 1-1 Algeria
Cameroon 1-0 Tunisia
Ivory Coast 0-1 Guinea
Sudan 1-0 Nigeria
Morocco 1-1 Mali
