The first leg of the CAF Women’s Afcon qualifiers came to a conclusion on Friday, producing some interesting results ahead of the second leg of those games.
A number of games were quite straightforward, while others were closely contested.
Guinea, who thumped Mauritius 8-0 in a one-sided encounter, were the biggest winners of the round, while Mali enjoyed a 7-1 victory at home over Central African Republic while Tunisia also overcame Niger by the very same scoreline at home.
Cameroon – one of the continent's big women's teams in the past – laboured to a 1-0 win over Kenya, Gambia were beaten 3-2 at home by Namibia and Botswana cruised past Gabon with a 4-1 victory.
After the completion of the second leg of the first round games, the final round where 11 other teams will join hosts Morocco for the continental showpiece in 2024 will be played.
In the meantime, let's take a look at the Women's Afcon top scorers so far.
Women’s AFCON Qualifiers top goal scorers so far
A number of teams had it easy during the first round of qualifiers and we have compiled a list of some of the top scorers.
Mafille Woedikou – 4
Mafille is a forward who plays for French Division 2 Féminine club FC Nantes and the Togo women's national team. The 29-year-old was just capped at senior level during the 2022 Africa Women Cup of Nations qualification.
She has started the 2023 Women's AFCON Qualifiers in great form as she scored four of the goals against Djibouti. She scored twice in either half as she hopes to help her side qualify for the finals next year.
Sarah Essam – 3
Essam plays as a midfielder, winger, or attacker for English club Rugby Borough Women in the National League South and the Egypt women's national team.
The versatile player led her side past South Sudan in a 8-0 aggregate win. Essam scored three goals in two games to help her side reach the next round.
Agueicha Diarra – 3
Diarra has been with the Malian Women's Football team for a while after appearing at the 2018 edition of the Women's AFCON. The 25-year-old scored three times in her side's 7-1 bashing of the Central African Republic.
Zenatha Coleman – 3
Coleman scored three times to help Namibia beat the Gambia 5-2 on aggregate and book their spot in the next round. The skipper scored the winner in the first leg, before scoring both goals in the reverse fixture to complete the job.
Sabrine Ellouzi – 3
Tunisia thumped Niger 7-0 in the first leg and Sabrine got three goals in that one-sided encounter. The 26-year-old who plays as a forward for Eredivisie club Excelsior scored all her goals in the second half and will be keen to score more in the second installment.
Maman Sata Fancinandouno – 2
Sata excelled in Guinea's 8-0 thumping of Mauritius in their first leg encounter. She scored in either half to help her side hold an insurmountable lead over Mauritius.
Nency Kourouma – 2
Nency, just like Sata, had a great game against Mauritius for Guinea. She scored in both halves as the Guineans strolled past the visitors in Conakry.
This article was most recently revised and updated 1 month ago
