Cameroon defender Aurelien Chedjou turned goalscorer on Sunday to sink Libya 1-0 and move his country closer to the World Cup finals in Brazil.
The Yaounde victory sealed first place in Group I for the “Indomitable Lions,” who finished four points clear of their opponents.
Chedjou, who recently signed a four-year contract with Turkish club Galatasaray, netted three minutes before half-time.
Photo: EPA
Cameroon suffered a blow on the hour mark when new Chelsea signing Samuel Eto’o limped off, to be replaced by Jacques Zoua.
A draw would have been enough for six-time World Cup qualifiers Cameroon, while Libya needed maximum points to keep alive their dreams of a first appearance.
Libya set the pace for much of a six-round mini-league that began in the middle of last year, but Togo did them no favors in June.
The Togolese fielded a suspended player in a 2-0 win over Cameroon, who were awarded a 3-0 victory and three points.
Instead of facing Libya in second place two points adrift, the “Lions” had a one-point lead and home advantage at the Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo.
Cameroon were the last nation to reach the playoffs, joining Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Senegal.
A seeded draw, based on the latest FIFA rankings, is to be made on Monday next week in Cairo.
The winners of five two-leg ties scheduled for next month and November, go to Brazil.
Togo finally had cause to celebrate when a stoppage-time goal from Backer Aloenouvo delivered a 2-1 home win over the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Lalawele Atakora put the Togolese ahead during the first half in Lome and Saoule Ebunga equalized nine minutes from time.
Benin completed their Group H campaign with a 2-0 victory over bottom side Rwanda in Porto Novo, through goals from Mickael Pote and Bello Babatuinde.
Kenya ended a five-match win drought in the qualifying competition by edging visiting Namibia 1-0 in Nairobi.
Defender David Owino scored after five minutes to give the “Harambee Stars” maximum points from their final mini-league fixture.
The result meant a change of positions in the final standings, with Kenya climbing to third and Namibia dropping to last place.
African champions Nigeria won Group F on Saturday by defeating Malawi 2-0 in Calabar as they look to qualify for their second straight World Cup after going out in the first round in South Africa.
Zimbabwe and Mozambique drew 1-1 in Harare, leaving the southern African neighbors winless after six Group G matches each.
Captain Masimba Mambare put the home side ahead just before half-time and substitute Maninho leveled on the hour mark.
Egypt were runaway winners of the group and complete their schedule today at home to second-placed Guinea in El-Gouna. Mozambique finished third and Zimbabwe last.
Meanwhile, Eto’o said he would quit the Cameroon national team for “family reasons” after a row with coach Volker Finke over team selection.
The 32-year-old, who also threatened to retire from international soccer in September last year before changing his mind, told teammates in the dressing room after Sunday’s win over Libya that he was ending his 16-year career with the “Indomitable Lions,” according to French newspaper L’Equipe.
His announcement follows a week of tension in the team camp after Eto’o demanded the selection of goalkeeper Carlos Kameni and striker Achille Webo against Libya, with Finke refusing to agree.
Eto’o, four-time African Footballer of the Year, initially suggested he was not fit to play because of a groin injury, but did take part in the match and even wore the captain’s armband before being replaced on the hour mark.
Eto’o, who signed for Chelsea from Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala last month, has scored 56 goals in 114 appearances for Cameroon and appeared at three World Cup finals in 1998, 2002 and 2010.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
If all goes well when the biggest marathon field ever gathered in Australia races 42km through the streets of Sydney on Sunday, World Marathon Majors (WMM) will soon add a seventh race to the elite series. The Sydney Marathon is to become the first race since Tokyo in 2013 to join long-established majors in New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago if it passes the WMM assessment criteria for the second straight year. “We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden told a news conference in Sydney yesterday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All of our plans look good on
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later