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Sierra Leone stage four-goal comeback to hold Nigeria in AFCON qualifiers

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 their 100% 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.

Nigeria raced into a 4-0 lead inside the first half-hour as Alex Iwobi scored twice, the first in the fourth minute, and Victor Osimhen and Samuel Chukwueze added two more.

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But Kwame Quee pulled one back for Sierra Leone four minutes before the break after which the visitors staged a remarkable recovery with Alhaji Kamara scoring twice in between Mustapha Bundu's effort -- all in the final 18 minutes -- to draw.

Angry fans demonstrated outside the stadium after the game forcing Nigeria's team to spend several hours in their changing room before being able to leave.

Nigeria remain top of Group L with seven points from three games while Sierra Leone moved off the bottom on two.

Ziyech's double, including a penalty, plus goals from Achraf Hakimi and debutant Zakaria Aboukhlal allowed Morocco to enjoy a comfortable win over Central African Republic in Casablanca.

Penalties proved decisive in Friday's other four qualifiers.

Tunisia have nine points from three games in Group J after captain Youssef Msakni's first half spot kick saw them to a narrow win over Tanzania in Tunis.

Mali joined Guinea at the top of Group A after their 1-0 home win over Namibia in Bamako, with teenager El Bilal Toure netting a 38th-minute penalty.

South Africa also needed a spot kick to help them avoid embarrassment against Sao Tome, a country with a population of just 200,000 and ranked 182nd in world football.

Percy Tau converted the penalty after 55 minutes in the Group C game, with Bongani Zungu adding a second with a header from a corner in the last minute to ensure victory in Durban.

Earlier on Friday, Niger's Youssouf Oumarou netted a 74th minute penalty which proved enough to beat Ethiopia 1-0 in Niamey as they picked up their first points in Group K.