Captain Andre 'Dede' Ayew opened the scoring as Ghana triumphed 2-0 in Mauritius on Sunday to become the sixth qualifiers for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.

The Swansea City midfielder and son of former Ghana superstar Abedi 'Pele' Ayew struck from close range after 71 minutes in Belle Vue on the Indian Ocean island.

Two Mauritians failed to cut off a cross and Ayew controlled the ball before firing a left-foot shot past outstanding goalkeeper Kevin Jean-Louis.

Dominant Ghana sealed victory three minutes later through Chelsea midfielder Christian Atsu, who was voted the outstanding footballer of the 2015 Cup of Nations.

Mauritius were battling to contain Ghanaian raids on the left flank and from one the ball was cut back for Atsu to score with a hard, low shot.

Although they never threatened to breach the Black Stars defence, Mauritius were a much improved team from that humiliated 7-1 in Ghana last June.

Ghana have 13 points, Rwanda and Mauritius six each and Mozambique four with one matchday to come in September.

Morocco, Algeria, Cameroon, Egypt and Senegal have also qualified for the January 21-February 12 tournament while Gabon are automatic participants as hosts.