Giants Egypt, Ghana and Morocco were among the shock losers on Saturday as minnows wreaked havoc in the 2010 World Cup-Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Cup of Nations holders Egypt conceded a goal three minutes into stoppage time to lose 1-0 against resurgent Malawi in Blantyre, Ghana were beaten 2-0 by Gabon in Libreville and Morocco slumped 3-1 to Rwanda in Kigali.
Angola, Cameroon and Mali also surrendered 100 percent records in the third round of matches, leaving Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Rwanda and Swaziland the only countries with maximum points.
Uganda overpowered shock 2006 World Cup qualifiers Angola 3-1 in Kampala, Mali fell 3-2 to Sudan in Omdurman and Cameroon were held 0-0 by Tanzania in Dar es Salaam.
Moumouni Dagano scored a hat-trick as Burkina Faso triumphed 3-2 against Seychelles in Victoria, Sierra Leone humbled 2010 World Cup hosts South Africa 1-0 in Freetown, Botswana held Ivory Coast 1-1 in Gaborone and there was a rare victory for Chad, who came from behind to edge Congo 2-1 in N’Djamena.
Guinea finally clicked to defeat Namibia 2-1 in Windhoek with playmaker Pascal Feindouno scoring the winner on the stroke of half-time and Gambia claimed their first success by pipping Algeria 1-0 in Banjul. Kenya secured a second consecutive 2-0 home win with Zimbabwe the latest victims in Nairobi while French coach Michel Dussuyer celebrated his Benin debut via a 2-0 triumph over Niger in Niamey.
The Democratic Republic of Congo overwhelmed Djibouti 6-0 in the tiny Horn of Africa state and Ethiopia captured their first points by beating Mauritania 1-0 in Nouakchott.
Chiukepo Msowoya was the Malawi hero as he snatched the 93rd-minute goal that beat six-time African champions Egypt and continued a revival under new coach Kinnah Phiri. Malawi top Group 12 on goal difference from DR Congo and Egypt with Djibouti, lowest ranked of the 47 second round competitors, out of their depth having conceded 18 goals in three outings.
Roguy Meye put Gabon ahead three minutes before halftime against Ghana and Stephane Nguema added a second midway through the second half for a team coached by former France midfield star Alain Giresse. The Black Stars of Ghana still lead Group 5 with six points, followed by Gabon and Libya with three each, while Lesotho are yet to win.
Rwanda clinched victory over Morocco through a last-minute goal from Olivier Karekezi after Youssef Safri had scored 11 minutes from time to spark an Atlas Lions revival in the top-of-the-table Group 8 clash. With nine points in the bag and another home fixture to come, the Wasps seem set to make the third and final qualifying phase either as group winners or one of the eight best runners-up from the 12 mini-leagues.
Uganda shrugged off a Group 3 hiding in Benin last weekend, with Eugene Sepuya, Andrew Mwesigwa and Dan Wagaluka scoring to establish a commanding lead before Angola’s Pedro “Mantorras” Manuel snatched a consolation goal.
Cameroon, whose five World Cup appearances is an African record, will not be unduly troubled by the stalemate in Tanzania as they remain in control of Group 1, four points clear of the Cape Verde Islands. Dagano was the individual star, raising his goal tally to five from two matches and becoming the leading scorer in the qualifying competition with one more than Faneva Andriatsima of Madagascar.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
RSS