Comoros Islands advanced to the second round of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations without kicking a ball on Thursday as they received the results they needed from the final games in Group E to book a historic place in the knockout stages.

Comoros, who are on debut at the tournament, join fellow COSAFA side Malawi in the second round as both completed excellent group phase.

Comoros’ 3-2 win over continental heavyweights Ghana set up their passage as they claimed three points from their three Group C games, but they still needed other results to go their way to be among the four best third-placed finishers in the pool.

For that to happen they needed Ivory Coast to beat Algeria and Equatorial Guinea to defeat Sierra Leone in Group E, and that is exactly what happened on Thursday.

Comoros will now face hosts Cameroon in their second round clash in Yaounde on Monday, while Malawi will play Morocco on Tuesday.

The winner of Comoros’ clash will take on either Guinea or Gambia in the quarterfinals, while if Malawi advance they will take on one of Ivory Coast or Egypt.