Road to Qatar 2022: Results from African qualifiers
The tussle for the five slots available for Africa at the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar continues with matchday three and four billed for this international break. Matches have already been played yesterday, October 6, with a number of games also played today, Friday, October 7. As usual, myactiveonline brings to you the results from all match centres across Africa.
Midweek Showdown
On Thursday, two matches were played with one being a draw and the other a comprehensive victory. Sudan and Guinea who are occupying the fourth and third places in Group I played out a 1-1 draw at the Stade de Marrakech, the adopted home of the Sudanese. Mohammed Bayo scored with four minutes left to the hour mark to put Guinea in front but Saifeldin Malik Bakhit 72nd minute equalizer ensured they shared the spoils.
Morroco was also in action against Guinea Bissau at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium. It ended in a comprehensive victory for the Atlas Lions with goals Achraf Hakimi and Imran Louza in the first half shooting the African champions to a safe lead. Second-half goals from Ilyas Chaira, Ayoub El Kaabi and Munir El Haddadi then completed the 5-0 win as Morroco take a commanding lead at the top.
Thursday Thrillers
Matchday three action continued across Africa with eight matches across eight match venues.
Liberia took up a position at the bottom of the group after a 1-2 defeat at home to Cape Verde who are second in the group with four points, two points behind Nigeria who still lead the group despite a shock home defeat to the Central African Republic. Van-Dave Harmon scored first for the Lone Stars in the first half but a goal from Jamiro Monteiro in the second half and an injury-time goal from Garry Rodrigues were enough to secure the win for the Blue Sharks.
Nigeria who had won their first two matches in the group were no match for the Central African Republic who handed the Super Eagles a shock defeat at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos thanks to Karl Namnganda’s goal in added time. Nigeria still remains top of the pack in Group C and the Wild Cats jump take up third place.
In Group J, Benin secured a 0-1 win away in Tanzania thanks to a second-half goal from Steve Mounie. The Squirrels take up the top position in the group with Tanzania in third place with four points.
Chadrac Akolo and Dieumerci Mbokani scored in either half respectively to hand DR Congo and 2-0 home win over Madagascar who is winless after three rounds of matches in the qualifiers so far. The Leopards are now second in the group with the Barea remaining rooted at the bottom.
Equatorial Guinea were 2-0 winners at home to Zambia. Goals from Saul Coco and Emilio Nsue in each half were enough to secure all three points for the Nzalang Nacional against the Chipolopolo in Group B.
Still, in Group B, Tunisia maintained their perfect start to the campaign with another victory, a 3-0 win over the group’s whipping boys, Mauritania who are yet to earn a point after three rounds of matches. Ellyes Skhiri and Whabi Khazri scored in the first half to hand the Carthage Eagles a 2-goal lead before the half-time break. Seifeddine Jaziri then completed the scoring with a goal in the 85th-minute. Tunisia is on top of the table with 9 points whereas Mauritania is bottom with no point.
Uganda secured a 0-1 win on the road in their game against Rwanda who is on one point and bottom of the table after three matches. Meanwhile, the Cranes have now accumulated 5 points out of the 9 available and place second on the table, two points behind Mali.
Mali made lightwork Kenya in the other Group E match, The Eagles shot into an early lead through Adama Traore in the 7th-minute. Ibrahim Kone then added the second on the 22nd-minute mark before increasing his individual tally to two after only 36 minutes of the game. He would then complete his hattrick by tucking in a penalty in the 45th-minute, giving Mali a resounding 4-goal lead as they went for the break. The Harambee Stars however got into the game in the second half and managed to patch their leaky defence but that was still not enough to completely shut out the Eagles as Mousa Doumbia registered his name on the score sheet with five minutes remaining to play. Mali is on top of the group with 7 points while Kenya places third with 2 points.
By: Clifford Adumbire | myactiveonline.com
