Burundi have qualified for the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations for the first ever time after beating Djibouti 5-0 in the second leg of their play-off tie.
Leading 2-0 at half-time in Ngozi through goals from Rukiya Bizimana and Uwimana Aniella, Bizimana netted again after the restart and Aniella completed her hat-trick to seal Burundi’s place at the tournament with an impressive 11-1 aggregate score.
The Swallows had beaten Djibouti 6-1 in the first leg last Wednesday, a game which was also played in Ngozi in northern Burundi.
It means Burundi are the third side to book their spot at the Women’s Nations Cup after hosts Morocco and Uganda, who qualified after Kenya withdrew before their clash.
Twelve nations will compete for the continental crown from 2-23 July, with the four semi-finalists automatically securing berths to represent Africa at the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand next year.
Defending Women’s Afcon champions Nigeria will travel to Ivory Coast with a 2-0 advantage, but will be without four time African women’s footballer of the year Asisat Oshoala, who sustained a thigh injury in training.
Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Senegal and Tunisia are among the sides hoping to follow in Burundi’s footsteps and qualify for the tournament this week.
Women’s Afcon second-round play-off second leg results and fixtures
Monday, 21 February
Burundi 5-0 Djibouti (11-1 agg)
Tuesday, 22 February
Namibia v Zambia (0-0 agg) (Johannesburg,14:00 GMT)
Mali v Senegal (0-1 agg) (Bamako,17:00 GMT)
Wednesday, 23 February
Gabon v Togo (1-2 agg) (Libreville,14:30 GMT)
Equatorial Guinea v Tunisia (0-5 agg) (Malabo,15:00 GMT)
The Gambia v Cameroon (0-8 agg) (Bakau,15:00 GMT)
Ivory Coast v Nigeria (0-2 agg) (Abidjan,15:00 GMT)
Burkina Faso v Guinea-Bissau (6-0 agg) (Porto-Novo,16:00 GMT)
Botswana v Zimbabwe (3-1 agg) (Francistown,17:00 GMT)
Algeria v South Africa (0-2 agg) (Algiers,17:00 GMT)