Giantkillers Burkina Faso will clinch a place in the final round of the 2010 World Cup-African Nations Cup qualifying competition if they defeat Tunisia in Ouagadougou tomorrow.
The “Stallions” caused the biggest shock of the second round in May by winning 2-1 in Tunisia thanks to a couple of late goals from Issouf Kone of Romanian champions Cluj.
And another three points would lift Burkina Faso to 15 and give them an unassailable lead in Group Nine where Burundi and the Seychelles are out of the running with two rounds left.
Kone and Qatar-based Moumouni Dagano, joint leading scorer in the qualifiers with five goals, are among six strikers named by Portuguese coach Paulo Duarte for the top-of-the-table clash.
But compatriot Humberto Coelho, taking charge of Tunisia for the first time, is less lucky with his strike force.
Injury rules out veteran Francileudo dos Santos and rising star Amine Chermiti.
Cameroon can also seal a place among the final 20 contenders for five slots at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa if they collect maximum points from Cape Verde Islands in Praia.
A win for Ivory Coast in Mozambique would assure them of top spot in Group Seven if second-placed Botswana do not secure maximum points at bottom-of-the-table Madagascar.
The 12 group winners and best eight runners-up after the final fixtures next month qualify for the third round next year with the survivors split into five groups.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
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