African World Cup Qualifying Offers No Surprises

Sounds like it was a ho-hum day for African World Cup/Cup of Nations qualifying, save for Malawi's 8-0 destruction of Djibouti.

There were no major surprises in the afternoon's eight games, with continental powerhouses Cameroon and Togo winning their respective engagements to take early leads in their groups.

Let's give the fine folks at FIFA.com the chance to break it down for us, shall we?
(Well, they provide the facts, I provide the meat. Work with me, people!)

According to fifa.com, the game of the day had Togo defeating Zambia 1-0 on a goal by Adekamni Olufade in the 16th minute. Why so good, FIFA?

As in many of the other sections, the headline clash in Group 11 came on the very first day, with the Sparrowhawks of Togo taking on the Copper Bullets of Zambia. Despite being forced to play at the Ohene-Djan Stadium in the Ghanaian capital of Accra due to the suspension imposed on their home ground in Lome, Henri Stambouli's side took a big stride towards securing top spot in the group.

Olufade put them in the driving seat 16 minutes in and that is where the Germany 2006 finalists stayed to clinch a vital opening-day win. With only three teams in the pool following Eritrea's withdrawal, Togo will be anxious not to drop points when they take on a beatable Swaziland team on the road in their next game.

Not a bad win for a team forced to play away from home ...

The surprise of the day saw Tanzania draw perennial pushover Mauritius 1-1.

Minnows Mauritius made a mockery of the 104-place gap separating them from Tanzania in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking when the two sides met at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam. The visitors even had the audacity to take a first-half lead before the Tanzanians, pushed on by their excitable fans, eventually levelled things up. The hosts could not find a winner, though, leaving the islanders with an early advantage in Group 1.

Like the old adage says, you never know what'll happen once the ball is rolled out. That's why they play the games. Good going, Mauritius!

Here are the rest of Saturday's results:

Malawi 8-1 Djibouti
Namibia 2-1 Kenya
Botswana 0-0 Madagascar
Cameroon 2-0 Cape Verde Islands
Rwanda 3-0 Mauritania
Togo 1-0 Zambia
Tanzania 1-1 Mauritius
Uganda 1-0 Niger
Senegal 1-0 Algeria
Morocco 3-0 Ethiopia

For more, please click on the link above ...

It's just getting started, folks! Hang in there!