The race to decide Africa’s representatives at the 2010 World Cup will be whittled down to 20 teams this weekend, setting up a potentially thrilling final qualification phase next year.
Benin, Cameroon and Nigeria are already through to the draw in Zurich later this month where the final 20 candidates will be divided into five groups.
But the other 17 qualifiers will be only be determined after the 22 scheduled matches today and tomorrow.
The likes of Burkina Faso, Egypt, the Ivory Coast, Morocco and Tunisia are almost certain to progress but 2006 World Cup finalists Angola, Ghana and Togo do not have the same privilege.
Togo, whose Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor has launched a one-man boycott of the national team after a row over travel arrangements, are particularly vulnerable to early elimination.
Even if they beat lowly Swaziland today, they face missing out on the final phase of the qualifiers.
Adebayor sits out a second successive match after walking out on the eve of last month’s game in Zambia when his call to meet the Togo Football Federation president went unheeded.
Togo’s problems have opened the door for Swaziland to emerge as the Cinderella team of the campaign to date.
The tiny southern African kingdom will top Group 11 if they win the match, which is being played in Ghana because of a ban on internationals in Togo after home fans attacked Mali players a year ago in Lome.
“We are going there for a kill,” Swaziland’s key midfielder Denis Masina said.
Meanwhile, Senegal prepare to host Gambia today in a make-or-break qualifier. Coach Lamin Ndiaye knows his future hinges on the outcome today in Dakar.
Algeria (9 points) top the table ahead of a fixture at lowly Liberia (2) while Gambia and Senegal have eight each with the ‘Scorpions’ second because of a better goal difference, plus three to plus two.
Victory for Senegal over opponents they have not lost competitively to since 1962 should see them safely into the final qualifying phase as group winners or one of the best eight runners-up.
A defeat would spell the end for the home side and even a draw might not be enough to earn a place in the third-round draw.
Ndiaye wants Senegal President Abdoulaye Wade among a capacity crowd, believing the presence of the head of state “would be a source of exceptional motivation for the players.”
Ghana could feature in a three-way tie at the top of Group Five and effectively need a deluge of goals to keep up their qualifying chances but go into today’s match against Lesotho in Sekondi without the injured Asamoah Gyan and Michael Essien.
Angola must beat Niger in their Group Three match in Luanda tomorrow to have any hope of qualifying.
Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday fought through a second-set slump to post a roller-coaster 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 victory over Damir Dzumhur in his opening match at the Cincinnati Open. The Spaniard, playing his first tournament since losing to Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon final, raced through the first set, but completely lost his way in the second, dropping his serve twice against the 33-year-old Bosnian. Alcaraz regained his intensity and cut down his errors in the third set as a seventh ace took him to a match point that was converted when Dzumhur fired wide. “It was just a roller coaster,” said the second
Defending champions Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka on Wednesday led the way into the Cincinnati Open quarter-finals, with Carlos Alcaraz hot on their heels after a straight-sets victory of his own. Sinner shrugged off a mid-match weather delay lasting nearly three hours as he advanced 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) over Adrian Mannarino. Alcaraz, the second seed who has reached the final in his past six tournaments, hammered Italian lucky loser Luca Nardi 6-1, 6-4. After sweeping the opening set in 28 minutes, Alcaraz hit a speed bump, dropping his serve to trail 2-4. He promptly regained the break, then fought through a marathon ninth game
Taiwan’s men’s basketball team on Monday clinched a spot in the FIBA Asia Cup quarter-finals with a 78-64 win over Jordan in Saudi Arabia, securing their best finish in the tournament since placing fourth in 2013. The win was sweet revenge for Taiwan, who were denied a quarter-final spot by Jordan at the same stage of the previous Asia Cup in 2022 after blowing a nine-point lead in the final minute and losing 97-96 on a half-court buzzer-beater. “History is part of the journey,” Taiwan head coach Gianluca Tucci said when asked about the 2022 collapse of the team, who he did
Leicester City on Sunday launched their quest for an immediate return to the English Premier League with a 2-1 win at home to crisis club Sheffield Wednesday after the visitors’ supporters protested against Owls owner Dejphon Chansiri. Wednesday are under several English Football League embargoes for a range of financial breaches, with payments of wages to players and staff delayed for the past three months. Owls fans made their feelings toward Thai businessman Chansiri clear by delaying their entry to their seats and the away end was empty as the players came onto the pitch at the King Power Stadium, with a
RSS