<p>South Africa failed to qualify for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations after losing 2-0 to Sudan on Sunday in their final Group C match in Omdurman.</p>.<p>Saifeldin Malik gave the hosts a fifth-minute lead in a clash of former African champions by heading past goalkeeper Ronwen Williams off a free- kick.</p>.<p>Mohammed Abdelrahman doubled the lead on 31 minutes, taking advantage of hesitancy by captain Thulani Hlatshwayo before firing past Williams at his near post.</p>.<p>South Africa coach Molefi Ntseki took off star forward Percy Tau just past the hour and surprisingly replaced him with defender Sifiso Hlanti, given the desperate need for goals.</p>.<p>Ghana defeated Sao Tome e Principe 3-1 in Accra in a match played at the same time to finish first with 13 points, followed by Sudan (12), South Africa (10) and Sao Tome (0).</p>.<p>South Africa have gradually faded as a Cup of Nations force after hosting and winning the competition in 1996 and finishing second and third in the following two editions.</p>.<p>Failure to qualify for the 2021 tournament in Cameroon means Bafana Bafana (The Boys) will miss the finals of the marquee African competition for the fourth time in seven editions.</p>.<p>The latest failure is sure to pile pressure on the national football association to ditch Ntseki, with the group phase of 2022 World Cup qualifying starting on May 31.</p>.<p>South Africa are in the same group as Ghana, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia and only the winners of the six-matchday mini-league advance to the final round.</p>.<p>Ghana have proved consistently superior to South Africa in recent years, including winning at home and drawing away in 2021 Cup of Nations qualifying.</p>.<p>Former national under-17 coach Ntseki was a shock choice to succeed England-born Stuart Baxter two years ago given he had never handled a senior-level team.</p>.<p>Crystal Palace forward Jordan Ayew was among the scorers for Ghana against Sao Tome, the only team among the 48 in the group phase to lose all six matches.</p>.<p>Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey also started for the Black Stars, whose last of four Cup of Nations titles came 39 years ago.</p>.<p>Tunisia beat Equatorial Guinea 2-1 in Rades in a match between countries who had already qualified from Group J while Tanzania edged Libya 1-0 in Dar es Salaam in the same section.</p>.<p>Both teams conceded an own-goal in Tunisia after Seifeddine Jaziri raised his goal tally to three from two matches by holding off three Equatoguinean defenders to score in the fourth minute.</p>.<p>Guinea, who secured a place at the 24-team tournament earlier this week, surrendered an unbeaten Group A record when losing 2-1 to Namibia in Windhoek.</p>.<p>Captain Peter Shalulile was the Namibian star, scoring in each half after Mamadou Kane had given Guinea an early lead.</p>
<p>South Africa failed to qualify for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations after losing 2-0 to Sudan on Sunday in their final Group C match in Omdurman.</p>.<p>Saifeldin Malik gave the hosts a fifth-minute lead in a clash of former African champions by heading past goalkeeper Ronwen Williams off a free- kick.</p>.<p>Mohammed Abdelrahman doubled the lead on 31 minutes, taking advantage of hesitancy by captain Thulani Hlatshwayo before firing past Williams at his near post.</p>.<p>South Africa coach Molefi Ntseki took off star forward Percy Tau just past the hour and surprisingly replaced him with defender Sifiso Hlanti, given the desperate need for goals.</p>.<p>Ghana defeated Sao Tome e Principe 3-1 in Accra in a match played at the same time to finish first with 13 points, followed by Sudan (12), South Africa (10) and Sao Tome (0).</p>.<p>South Africa have gradually faded as a Cup of Nations force after hosting and winning the competition in 1996 and finishing second and third in the following two editions.</p>.<p>Failure to qualify for the 2021 tournament in Cameroon means Bafana Bafana (The Boys) will miss the finals of the marquee African competition for the fourth time in seven editions.</p>.<p>The latest failure is sure to pile pressure on the national football association to ditch Ntseki, with the group phase of 2022 World Cup qualifying starting on May 31.</p>.<p>South Africa are in the same group as Ghana, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia and only the winners of the six-matchday mini-league advance to the final round.</p>.<p>Ghana have proved consistently superior to South Africa in recent years, including winning at home and drawing away in 2021 Cup of Nations qualifying.</p>.<p>Former national under-17 coach Ntseki was a shock choice to succeed England-born Stuart Baxter two years ago given he had never handled a senior-level team.</p>.<p>Crystal Palace forward Jordan Ayew was among the scorers for Ghana against Sao Tome, the only team among the 48 in the group phase to lose all six matches.</p>.<p>Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey also started for the Black Stars, whose last of four Cup of Nations titles came 39 years ago.</p>.<p>Tunisia beat Equatorial Guinea 2-1 in Rades in a match between countries who had already qualified from Group J while Tanzania edged Libya 1-0 in Dar es Salaam in the same section.</p>.<p>Both teams conceded an own-goal in Tunisia after Seifeddine Jaziri raised his goal tally to three from two matches by holding off three Equatoguinean defenders to score in the fourth minute.</p>.<p>Guinea, who secured a place at the 24-team tournament earlier this week, surrendered an unbeaten Group A record when losing 2-1 to Namibia in Windhoek.</p>.<p>Captain Peter Shalulile was the Namibian star, scoring in each half after Mamadou Kane had given Guinea an early lead.</p>