Cameroon came from behind to trump Cape Verde Islands 2-1 on Saturday and become the second country to reach the final African qualifying phase for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
The Samuel Eto-less “Indomitable Lions” joined Nigeria in the third round thanks to second-half goals from substitutes Achille Emana and Alain Nkong on the Atlantic island. Veteran Claudio “Lito” Aguiar raised hopes of a shock Group 1 victory for the “Blue Sharks” with a goal in the 39th minute, but Emana leveled six minutes into the second half and Nkong struck the winner on 65 minutes.
Barcelona striker Eto’o missed the top-of-the-table clash because of a one-match suspension and Cameroon struggled up front until German coach Otto Pfister replaced Modeste Mbami and Achille Webo at halftime. Cameroon have 13 points and Cape Verde (9) could join them as one of the best eight runners-up from the 12 groups if they overcome Tanzania in Dar es Salaam next month.
PHOTO: AFP
Tanzania ended a four-match run without a win by walloping Mauritius 4-1 in Curepipe through goals from Jerson Tegete (two), Shadrack Nsajigwa and Nizzar Khalfan, but are doomed to finish third in the standings.
Giant-killers Burkina Faso had their hopes of joining Cameroon in the next phase put on hold after a goalless top-of-the-table showdown with Tunisia in Ouagadougou. The “Burkinabe Stallions” needed maximum points to clinch first place in Group 9 and they were seeking a double over Tunisia having scored twice in the closing stages to snatch a shock 2-1 away victory in June. A draw in Burundi will assure Burkina Faso of first place.
Burundi were the latest nation to defeat the Seychelles, winning 2-1 in Victoria thanks to goals from Henry Mbazumutima and Claude Nahimana, before Philip Zialor reduced the arrears.
Minnows Sierra Leone climbed above 2010 World Cup hosts South Africa into second spot in Group 4 after defeating Equatorial Guinea 2-1 in Freetown via goals from Kewullay Conteh and Sheriff Suma.
Juvenal Edjogo put away a stoppage-time consolation goal for the visitors, who were suffering a fourth consecutive loss after launching their campaign with a home victory over the “Leone Stars” three months ago.
South Africa dominated runaway leaders Nigeria in Port Elizabeth, only to lose 1-0 when a counterattack 20 minutes from time ended with Ikechukwu Uche firing a low shot past Itumeleng Khune.
Kenya moved three points clear of Guinea at the top of Group 2 by edging Namibia 1-0 in Nairobi, with Jamal Mohammed converting a penalty on the stroke of halftime after John Njoroge was tripped.
Gambia thrashed Liberia 3-0 in a Group 6 West Africa derby to move above Senegal into second place, one point behind Algeria.
Njogu Demba scored twice and Ousman Jallow once during the first half in Banjul.
Yesterday in Antananarivo, Madagascar defeated Botswana by a single goal, scored by Stephan Rabemananjara in the 18th minute.
Taiwanese world No. 1 women’s doubles star Hsieh Su-wei on Saturday overcame a first-set loss to win her opening match at the Madrid Open. Top seeds Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium, with whom she last month won her fourth Indian Wells women’s doubles title, bounced back from a rocky first set to beat Asia Muhammad of the US and Aldila Sutjiadi of Indonesia 2-6, 6-4, 10-2. Hsieh and Mertens were next to face Heather Watson of the UK and Xu Yifan of China in the round of 16. Thirty-eight-year-old Hsieh last month reclaimed her world No. 1 spot after her Indian
EYES ON THE PRIZE: Armed with three solid men’s singles shuttlers and doubles Olympic champions, Taiwan aim to make their first Thomas Cup semi-final, Chou Tien-chen said Taiwanese badminton star Tai Tzu-ying yesterday quickly dispatched Malaysia’s Goh Jin Wei in straight sets, while her male counterpart Chou Tien-chen beat Germany’s Kai Schaefer, as Taiwan’s women’s and men’s teams won their Group B opening rounds of the TotalEnergies BWF Thomas and Uber Cup Finals in Chengdu, China. World No. 5 Tai beat Goh 21-19, 22-20 in a speedy 33 minutes, her fourth straight victory over the world No. 24 shuttler since they first faced each other in the quarter-finals of the 2018 Malaysia Open, where Tai went on to win the women’s singles title. Malaysia followed up Tai’s opening victory
Chen Yi-tung (陳奕通) secured a historic Olympic berth on Sunday by winning the senior men’s foil event at the 2024 Asia Oceania Zonal Olympic Fencing Qualifiers in United Arab Emirates. Chen defeated Samuel Elijah of Singapore 15-4 in the final in Dubai to secure the only wild card in the event, making him the first male Olympian fencer from Taiwan in 36 years and only the sixth Taiwanese fencer to ever qualify for the quadrennial event. The last appearance by a Taiwanese male fencer at the Olympics was in 1988, when Wang San-tsai (王三財) and Cheng Ming-hsiang (鄭明祥) competed in Seoul. The
Rafael Nadal on Tuesday lost in straight sets to 31st-ranked Jiri Lehecka in the fourth round at the Madrid Open, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced to the semi-finals in the women’s doubles. Nadal said that he was feeling good about his progress following his latest injury layoff. Nadal called it a “positive week” in every way and said his body held up well. “I was able to play four matches, a couple of tough matches,” Nadal said. “So very positive, winning three matches, playing four matches at the high level of tennis. I enjoyed a lot playing at home. I leave here with