Avram Grant leads Ghana to almost flawless AFCON qualification

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Ghana beat Rwanda, Mauritius and Mozambique. And then on Sunday, they bristled past Mauritius away to make it to the 2017 African Cup.

Avram Grant, whose every move has been scrutinized since the qualifiers began, has led the team to 13 points from a possible 15. They qualified with a match to spare - as have Cameroon, Senegal and Algeria.

Egypt qualified on Saturday, but because Chad pulled out of the group, there are no more games to play in the now three-team Group G.

And even then, the criticism of his team selection, team builiding and general lack of staying in Ghana has been the main speaking points this year. Grant's results would, for many countries, be gladly hailed, especially the big names who could not qualify (yes, we mean Nigeria) but this is Ghana.

"We expected the coach to even get all 15 points!" came the chorus on Twitter after goals from stand-in skipper Andre Ayew and Christian Atsu ensured yet another AFCON berth.

Should Ghana win when they host Rwanda in September, it should be a very polished end to the campaign for the former Chelsea boss.

"Well, all we have been looking for is to win every game. No team is easy, but we believe we are good enough to scale these challenges", Grant said before the team left for Mauritius.

Grant's only blip, if one could call it that, is the Stars' 0-0 draw in Maputo. And he would argue that the end justifies the means.

"It's important to note that a major part of my work is to take the country to the Nations Cup and the World Cup and then do well when we get there. We want o win, be rest assured. Always."

If that's the case, then his work - despite making the final of AFCON 2015 - is only just beginning.