Africa

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and his Gabon teammates were forced to spend the night sleeping on the airport floor ahead of their vital Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Gambia.

Aubameyang used social media to highlight their plight after arriving at Banjul airport on Sunday, ahead of Monday’s Group D clash in the Gambian capital. The Gabon delegation were told they were not allowed to leave the airport because of an administrative problem and were forced to sleep on the floor before being allowed to leave in the morning after government intervention.

Senegal became the first country to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations finals after a late goal from Sadio Mané secured a 1-0 victory away at Guinea Bissau on Sunday.

Mané, who also scored last Wednesday when Senegal beat Guinea Bissau 2-0 at home, netted with eight minutes remaining to ensure they maintained their 100 percent record in Group I where they are guaranteed a top-two finish and therefore a place at the finals in Cameroon in January 2022.

Guinea-Bissau 0-1 Senegal

CAPE TOWN — Sierra Leone came from four goals down to hold Nigeria to a 4-4 draw in a dramatic Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Benin City as the preliminaries for the 2022 finals continued on Friday.

Tunisia kept its 100 percent record in the qualifiers with a 1-0 home victory over Tanzania, while Morocco's Hakim Ziyech scored twice as they beat Central African Republic 4-1 but South Africa struggled before winning 2-0 at home to Sao Tome e Principe.

CAIRO — Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah has tested positive for the coronavirus on the eve of Egypt's Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Togo, the Egyptian Football Association said on Friday.

"The medical swab conducted on the mission of our first national football team showed that our international player, Mohamed Salah, the Liverpool star, was infected with the Coronavirus, after his test came back positive," the federation said in a statement on its Facebook page.

Former Barcelona, Inter Milan and Chelsea striker Samuel Eto’o was taken to the hospital over concern from his involvement in a nasty car crash near the town of Nkongsamba, Cameroon, on Sunday.

Reports say that Eto’o was driving home from a wedding when a public transportation bus collided with his car head-on. He was taken to the hospital with fears of a head injury, but BBC Sport reported he escaped the incident unscathed.

Manchester United striker Odion Ighalo says he is ashamed of the Nigerian government following reports that soldiers opened fire on protesters in the Lekki district of the commercial capital Lagos on Tuesday.

Nigerians have been demonstrating nationwide every day for nearly two weeks against a police unit, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), that rights groups had for years accused of extortion, harassment, torture and murders.

The unit was disbanded on Oct. 11 but the protests have persisted and at least two people were shot on Tuesday.

Mexico salvaged a 2-2 draw against 10-man Algeria on Tuesday with Jesús Corona’s beautiful opener pegged back by goals from Ismaël Bennacer and Riyad Mahrez before Diego Lainez provided one final flourish to the script in The Hague.    

MADRID — Wolverhampton Wanderers winger Adama Traoré was named in the Spain squad by coach Luis Enrique on Friday, three days after also being called up by Mali.

Traoré, who was born in Barcelona to Malian parents, has been at the center of a tug-of-war between the two federations over the past 18 months.

He can still represent either nation as he has not yet played senior international football.

The winger was selected by Luis Enrique for last month's fixtures against Germany and Ukraine, but was forced to withdraw from the squad following a positive COVID-19 test.