2010 World Cup Tidbits: Where We Stand in Africa

It's been some time since my last post so let's catch up on some news from the 2010 World Cup and African football, shall we?

First off, some self-promotion ... my post on Africans in the UEFA Champions League from earlier today ... don't you dare miss it!

- Are you interested in the upcoming African Cup of Nations in Angola? Well, you should be. Here are photos of their stadiums being finished in time for the tournament in January.

- Is Togo's Emmanuel Adebayor in trouble for taunting Arsenal's fans after scoring a goal against them with new club Manchester City? Looks that way. What was he thinking, anyways?

- Here's a nice little primer from about.com about African football. Nothing new, but what the hey?

- A Ning African football social networking site? Yes, please. Let's join ...

Finally, let's catch up on the state of affairs in African qualifying for the 2010 World Cup, courtesy of FIFA.

Two matchdays remain in the third and final round of African qualifiers. Who's in and who is out?

Which teams are already through?
With four wins out of four, seven goals for and none against, Ghana’s progress in this third qualifying round has been flawless. With qualification secured, the Black Stars can now aim to build on their debut performance at Germany 2006.

Which teams are out?
Still winless after four games, Rwanda (Group C) and Sudan (Group D) are no longer in the running for the big event in South Africa. Despite faring somewhat better, Mali and Benin are in the same situation in Group D, as are Guinea and Malawi in E.

The permutations

Group A: This is by far the most open of the five groups with all four teams still in with a shout, although Cameroon are in the driving seat after their recent back-to-back wins over second-placed Gabon. If they beat Togo, and Morocco win in Gabon on the next matchday, the Indomitable Lions will join Ghana in the finals. For the other three teams, their fate is out of their hands.

Group B: Two solid performances against main rivals Nigeria (0-0 in Rades and 2-2 in Abuja) mean that Tunisia will qualify if they record a home win against Kenya in October and Nigeria fail to beat Mozambique. The Super Eagles will need to win their two final matches and hope other results go their way if they are to finish top.

Group C: Twenty-three years after their last FIFA World Cup appearance, Algeria have never been closer to a return to the world stage. With an unblemished home record (three wins out of three), the Fennecs need only to better Egypt’s result on the next matchday to wrap up qualification. Failing that, all will be decided when they face off against the Pharoahs in November.

Group D: With Ghana safely through, all that remains is for Mali, Benin and Sudan to battle it out for second place in the two outstanding rounds of fixtures.

Group E: Although qualification is not yet a mathematical certainty, with 12 points out of 12, Ivory Coast have done all the hard work. A single point from their two remaining games, in Malawi and at home to Guinea, will be enough to see the Elephants through, four years after their maiden FIFA World Cup.

What about second and third place?
This last round of qualifiers in Africa doubles as the qualification tournament for the 2010 African Cup of Nations. The top three teams in each group will book their passage to the finals in Angola in January, just a few months before the FIFA World Cup itself kicks off. Algeria, Ghana and Ivory Coast are already assured of a place, while the others still have everything to play for in the last two matchdays.

Final Stage of African World Cup Qualifiers At Halfway Point

We're almost to the 2010 World Cup in Africa, as the continent is now half way through their last phase of Cup qualifying.

Where do we stand? Let's take a look at the standings for the five groups.

Remember, the five group winners go to the 2010 World Cup. The top three in each group advance to the 2010 African Cup of Nations in Angola. Qualifying starts again in September.

GROUP A

				P	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts
			Gabon	2	2	0	0	5	1	6
			Togo	3	1	1	1	1	3	4
			Morocco	3	0	2	1	1	2	2
			Cameroon	2	0	1	1	0	1	1

In Group A, Gabon is the surprise leader over the likes of Cameroon and Morocco.
What's up with Cameroon? They've yet to score a goal! Get it together, lads.

GROUP B

	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts
Tunisia	3	2	1	0	4	1	7
Nigeria	3	1	2	0	3	0	5
Kenya	3	1	0	2	3	6	3
Mozambique	3	0	1	2	1	4	1

Tunisia has always had a strong team. Can they keep the Nigerians at bay? They play again on September 5th ...

GROUP C

	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts
Algeria	3	2	1	0	5	1	7
Zambia	3	1	1	1	2	3	4
Rwanda	2	0	1	1	0	1	1
Egypt	2	0	1	1	2	4	1

What's up with the Egyptians, reigning African champions? The Egyptians are disappointing again. Luckily, there's still time to get it together. I'd like to see a run from them in the World Cup. Until then, the Algerians are doing a great job at the top of the group, letting in just one but scoring five.

GROUP D

	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts
Ghana	3	3	0	0	5	0	9
Mali	3	1	1	1	4	4	4
Benin	3	1	0	2	2	4	3
Sudan	3	0	1	2	1	3	1

Group favorite Ghana is riding high. Can anyone catch them? Doubtful.

GROUP E

	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts
Ivory Coast	3	3	0	0	10	3	9
B Faso	3	2	0	1	7	5	6
Guinea	3	1	0	2	5	7	3
Malawi	3	0	0	3	1	8	0

Ivory Coast is doing exceptionally well. The surprise package is Burkina Faso, a mere three points behind the group leaders. Still, Ivory Coast just defeated their major competition and another three points would see them inch ever so closer to the 2010 Cup.

There you have it! For a full schedule of fixtures, please click here.

We're so close, I can almost taste it!

Latest Round Up of African World Cup Qualifying

We inch closer and closer to finding out which countries will represent the African continent in the first World Cup on African soil.

This weekend shed some light on which countries will make it - and which won't.

For a complete run down of the group standings, please click here.
The winners of each group earn an automatic place in the 2010 World Cup.

Group A

Surprising Gabon head the group with 6 points, 3 ahead of Togo and 5 ahead of Morocco and Cameroon.

Gabon easily handled 10-man Togo, 3-0 this weekend.

Togo were a goal down after just 11 minutes with Bruno Ecuele scoring and the Hawks were a man down after 40 minutes following the dismissal of Thomas Dossevi.

Roguy Meye and Moise Brou Apanga scored in the second half to complete a comfortable win for Gabon.

In the group's other game, Cameroon could only draw 0-0 against Morocco on Sunday.

Cameroon's Indomitable Lions have failed to score so far in the second phase of qualifying.

The next matches take place in two weeks time when Morocco host Togo and Cameroon travel to Gabon.

Group B

Tunisia defeated Mozambique 2-0 in their Group B encounter.

Lens defender Alaeddine Yahia scored from the penalty spot after 21 minutes.

Oussama Darragi, from Tunisian champions Esperance, was then on target for the Carthage Eagles with their second goal in injury time at the end of the match.

Victor Obinna Nsofor scored a brace as Nigeria beat Kenya 3-0 in Abuja.

Ikechukwu Uche took advantage of a defensive slip to open the scoring for the Super Eagles in only the second minute of the game.

Kenya had several chances to get into the game, but failed to convert any of them.

Obinna Nsofor scored twice in the second half to ensure the Super Eagles wrapped up a comfortable home victory.

Tunisia remain top of the group with six points, Nigeria are second with four.

Mozambique stay in third with a point, Kenya are last and are yet to earn any points.

Tunisia go head-to-head with Nigeria in two weeks time, while Mozambique travel to Kenya.

Group C

Zambia defeated visitors Rwanda 1-0.

The victory takes Zambia to four points, after they drew 1-1 with Egypt in the opening game of the final round of qualifiers.

Rwanda remain on just a single point from their two games.

Algeria shocked their North African rivals and African champions Egypt 3-1 triumph on Sunday.

Karim Matmour opened the scoring for the hosts in the 60th minute.

Goals from Abdelkader Ghezzal and Rafik Djebbour soon followed as the Desert Foxes opened a 3-0 lead over the six-times African champions.

Mohammed Aboutraika clawed one back from the visitors with three minutes to go, but it was too little, too late.

Algeria go top of the table with four points ahead of Zambia.

Egypt lie bottom, below Rwanda, with a solitary point.

The Pharoahs will hope to restore a semblance of hope to their 2010 World Cup campaign when they host Rwanda in two weeks.

Algeria meanwhile travel to Zambia.

Group D

Benin narrowly edged Sudan, 1-0.

In the group's other tie, Ghana secured a 2-0 away victory over Mali.

Kwadwo Asamoah and Matthew Amoah were scorers of the two second half goals.

The Black Stars go back on top of Group D with six points, while Benin lie in second place with three points.

Sudan and Mali have one point each.

Next up for group leaders Ghana is a trip to Sudan, while Mali host Benin.

Group E

Burkina Faso kept their perfect record in this round of qualifying with a 1-0 over hosts Malawi.

Moumouni Dagano, who plays in Qatar, grabbed the only goal of the game in the 70th minute with a well-taken close-range volley past goalkeeper Swadik Sanudi.

It was Dagano's 10th goal in the World Cup campaign so far making him the top scorer in Africa for the 2010 qualifiers.

Ivory Coast also made it two wins out of two when they beat Guinea 2-1.

Bakary Kone opened the scoring for the Elephants on the stroke of half time.

Sambegou Bangoura struck an equalizer for the home side halfway through the second half.

But Romaric scored what proved to be the winner seven minutes later and Ivory Coast top Group E with six points on goal difference.

Burkina Faso lie in second and the group's top two teams will face each other in Ouagadougou in two weeks.

Guinea and Malawi prop up the group.

Both are yet to win a point.

That could change when Malawi travels to Conakry for the next round of matches.

MY POV: Should be a fun weekend of action in two weeks. We'll know a lot more after that round of action.

Final Phase of African World Cup Qualifying Continues

Africa's road to the 2010 World Cup heats up this weekend with a full slate of action as countries compete for the 5 available spots in South Africa.

There are already some teams in trouble.

Like Cameroon and Morocco, who have collectively qualified for nine previous World Cup finals. Also in peril are reigning African champions Egypt and the unpredictable Guinea, both of whom were expected to feature among the serious contenders for the finals.

The first match day in March provided a host of surprises. With two more matches in quick succession this month, the picture could soon become a lot clearer.

Both Cameroon and Morocco were humbled in their opening group outings and now go head-to-head in Yaoundé on Sunday. Egypt, having dropped potentially vital points at home, seek to revive their campaign away against long-standing rivals Algeria.

Guinea hope to overturn a run of five successive defeats in head-to-head matches with Ivory Coast when they host a Group E tie in Cotonou, also on Sunday.

Of particular interest is the Group B clash between Kenya and Nigeria.

Nigeria's Super Eagles came under heavy criticism following their opening draw with Mozambique but their recent friendly win over France has restored morale.

Now they are at home against Kenya, whose own build-up has been disrupted by a pay dispute between their coach Antoine Hey and Football Kenya Ltd., which runs the game in the country.

The team left for Nigeria without him but he is now on his way.

Hey is planning to exploit the perceived differences within the Nigeria camp.

"I think they [Nigeria] are very much under pressure at home after the result in Mozambique," Hey said. "We will try and get a result that no-one is expecting," he told the BBC.

Here are the current African qualifying standings.

Over in Group D, Ghana were at the World Cup in Germany and the Black Stars gained a taste for the biggest stage.

They started this round of qualifying with a win but will be missing a series of high-profile players in their squad for a trip to Mali.

Sulley Muntari, Stephen Appiah, Derek Boateng, Asamoah Gyan and Laryea Kingston are all out of action.

Mali's coach Stephen Keshi will have high hopes of securing a valuable win as he goes into the game with a fully fit squad.

In the other match in this group, Benin host Sudan, who must turn themselves around after a heavy 4-0 defeat in a friendly international against Tunisia.

Benin are hopeful of continuing the good form they showed in the previous round, after their narrow defeat by Ghana.

Squirrels' midfielder Romauld Boco says the team are in good spirits.

"We have played a lot better in the last 5 years, [because] we are the same group of players and we know each other very well," he told the BBC.

"The game against Sudan is the most important game for us."

The top team in each group goes to the World Cup.

Here are all the matches scheduled for this weekend:
Saturday 6 June 

Zambia-Rwanda, Malawi-Burkina Faso, Gabon-Togo, Tunisia-Mozambique

Sunday 7 June

Cameroon-Morocco, Benin-Sudan, Nigeria-Kenya, Guinea-Cote d'Ivoire, Mali-Ghana, Algeria-Egypt

Kenya Coach Boycotts Nigeria Trip

Kenya's coach Antoine Hey boycotted the team's trip to Abuja, Nigeria for Sunday's World Cup qualifying match against the Super Eagles, a day after Kenya's players protested over non-payment of their allowances.

Hey arrived at the airport 30 minutes after the plane had taken off, saying he'd been held up in the traffic. But later, Hey revealed that he deliberately boycotted traveling with the team after Football Kenya Limited failed to pay him his salary.

The team's physical trainer, Kamal Harat also joined the head coach in the boycott over non-payment of their salaries. The assistant coach Swaleh Muhiddin had left for Nigeria earlier in the week, and will now possibly handle the team in the absence of Hey, who was appointed in February this year.

His short tenure has been surrounded by quarrels with Kenya's premier league clubs, which have almost derailed the national team’s preparations for the 2010 World Cup qualifiers.

Since he was appointed, Harambee Stars have only played one international match - against Tunisia in March - which they lost 2-1.

The Hey snub comes a day after Kenya's players boycotted training on Tuesday, demanding to be paid their allowances after being in the camp for three weeks.

But yesterday the government, through the Minister of Youth and Sports Hellen Sambili, settled their allowance claims by presenting 2.7 million Kenya shillings ($34,730) to Harambee Stars captain Musa Otieno.

MY POV: Strange times for Kenya football. But isn't that always the case?

So will he show up? If he does, how will Kenya do against a motivated Nigerian side?
If he doesn't, who coaches the side? And how will the team be affected by not having their trainer there?

If World Cup Qualifying Ended Today, Who Would Be In?

Interesting article over at the World Cup Blog today, asking the question, 'If 2010 World Cup qualifying ended today, who would make the trip to South Africa?'

32 nations will make the cut. Who would be in? Let's take a look ...

CONMEBOL:

Paraguay, Brazil, Chile, Argentina

CONCACAF:
USA, Costa Rica, Honduras

Playoff: Uruguay (5th place CONMEBOL) vs Mexico (4th place CONCACAF)

ASIA:
Australia, Japan, S. Korea, N. Korea

Playoffs: Bahrain (3rd place Asia Group 1) vs Saudi Arabia (3rd place Asia Group 2 team)
Winner of that plays New Zealand (Oceania winner) for World Cup spot.

AFRICA:
South Africa (hosts), Gabon, Tunisia, Egypt, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire

EUROPE:
Denmark, Greece, N. Ireland, Germany, Spain, England, Serbia, Italy, Netherlands

Playoffs: France, Bosnia, Russia, Slovakia, Hungary, Switzerland, Scotland, Ireland

(Eight best second placed teams, who will be drawn into four two-legged playoffs. Winner of each playoff game goes to the World Cup).

************************************************************

Taking a look at African qualifying specifically, which is but one game old, what about Gabon making the tournament? And Nigeria and Cameroon would miss out?

I'd hate to see that. Let's give this more time ...

Over in Europe, France and Portugal might not make it. Talk about shocking!

There's still plenty of time. But it's an interesting look at the countries currently in good position and the other countries that still have some work to do!

African World Cup Qualifying

The final phase of African World Cup qualifying begins this weekend, with 20 teams competing for five positions at the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.

The five group winners are guaranteed a prestigious spot at Africa's first World Cup, while the top three in each group make it to January's African Cup of Nations in Angola.

Hosts South Africa, who don't need to qualify, must satisfy themselves with a friendly at home to Norway this weekend.

All but one of Africa's four representatives at the 2006 World Cup in Germany are still in contention, with the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo and Tunisia all playing in separate sections.

Angola are the only side who did not progress past the first group phase, which ended last October.

Getting back to the World Cup will not be easy for the four, as eager nations like Algeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Morocco and Nigeria are all looking to occupy the spots.

The Egyptians, the reigning African champions, are confident they can make the cut, while Cameroon's Indomitable Lions will be out to extend their own record of qualifications by an African team to six.

The BBC has a thorough preview of African qualifying while Soccernet.com also has a wonderful preview.

What's the big match of the weekend, according to FIFA.com?

Togo-Cameroon, Saturday 28 March, 16.00 GMT, Ohene Djan Stadium, Accra (Ghana)
The much anticipated shoot-out between two of Africa's most prolific strikers now looks unlikely to take place. Samuel Eto'o is expected to line up for Cameroon, but Emmanuel Adebayor's participation is in doubt as he recovers from a hamstring injury. The Arsenal player was recently named African Footballer of the Year for 2008, while three-time recipient Eto'o is an early candidate for the 2009 award having scored an avalanche of goals for Barcelona in the Spanish La Liga.

Saturday's game will unfold in Accra, across the border from Togo, who are forced to play their home matches on neutral ground due to a ban. The Sparrow Hawks were surprise qualifiers for Germany 2006, but lost momentum by failing to reach the CAF Africa Cup of Nations Ghana 2008. Cameroon, meanwhile, won five out of their six matches in the first phase of the South Africa 2010 preliminaries, emphasising their status among the favourites to qualify.

Here are this weekend's matches. Enjoy!

African Zone qualifying, final phase, Matchday 1 fixtures

Saturday 28 March
Rwanda-Algeria
Togo-Cameroon
Kenya-Tunisia
Burkina Faso-Guinea
Morocco-Gabon
Sudan-Mali
Sunday 29 March
Mozambique-Nigeria
Ghana-Benin
Côte d'Ivoire -Malawi
Egypt-Zambia

Road to 2010 Continues

Big games abound in 2010 World Cup qualifying this weekend.

Over in Europe, France can't afford to trip up against Lithuania while injury-ravaged champions Italy face a tricky test in Montenegro.

FIFA.com has an excellent primer on this weekend's 20 qualifying matches and the significance of them all …

Over in Asia, eight of the remaining ten teams resume battle, with leaders Australia and South Korea sitting this match day out. Good time for some of their rivals to make up ground.

Big games? How about Japan-Bahrain? Japan can go top with a win.

Or how about Saudi Arabia-Iran, a grudge match where more than regional pride is at stake?

We fly over to South America, where Diego Maradona takes the reigns for his beloved Argentina against Venezuela and Brazil square off against rivals Ecuador.

But the big game involves current South American leaders Paraguay, who travel to Uruguay, currently 5th in the table. FIFA.com says:

Despite a comfortable cushion at the top of the table, Paraguay will be taking nothing for granted at Montevideo's mythical Estadio Centenario, where Oscar Tabarez's dangerous Uruguay side await them. The Celeste, currently fifth in the ten-team group, will be optimistic about their chances having top-scored so far in this campaign. The Albirroja, for their part, have the second-best defence in the group and will be hoping to add to their impressive points tally and close in on qualification.

This will be the sides' tenth meeting in this competition, with Paraguay boasting seven wins to their neighbour's two. The Guaraníes will have their work cut out to extend that sequence this Saturday, however, given the Charrúas have not lost at home since a 3-1 defeat by Peru on 1 June 2004.

More? Please check out Fifa.com's impressive South American preview.

Now let's swing north to North America, where the United States faces off against El Salvador and Sven-Goren Eriksson's Mexico meets Costa Rica. Is Eriksson, the former England manager, feeling the heat?

Oceania doesn't get much press now that Australia's moved to the Asia zone of qualifying.
Oceania's qualifying is over. New Zealand won the Oceanian Zone qualifying section and will now play-off against the side who finish fifth in Asian Zone for a place at South Africa 2010.

For information on African qualifying, please see the next post ...

2010 is getting ever closer. Can you feel the excitement?!?

World Cup Qualifiers Are Coming Up!

The Road to South Africa and the 2010 World Cup resumes this weekend and next week with a full slate of qualifiers. The football aficionado has a veritable smorgasbord of matches to choose from.

Here, a link list to World Cup news from around the football world with my fresh analysis ...

First, have you seen Spain's new kit? I like the classic red jersey myself. But I fancy the new ones. Still, what's up with the war paint on their cheeks?

Next Wednesday, legendary Italian coach Giovanni Trapattoni, now the coach of the Republic of Ireland, takes on Italy in a vital qualifier.

Many believe Trapattoni's prime motivation for taking the Ireland job last May was to try and outsmart the national team he failed to inspire to glory during his stint in charge between 2000 and 2004, so now comes his ultimate test as he prepares to do battle with compatriots who will become his enemies for one night as least.

Can the 70-year old do it? I hate to bet against him, but Italy are the World Champions ... can't knock success.

France have struggled in World Cup qualifiers. They take on Lithuania this Saturday and many see it as a chance for redemption for Les Bleus.

Over on FIFA's official website, Barcelona defender and Mexico international Rafa Marquez offers his assessment of Mexico's chances for Cup qualification under Swedish coach Sven-Goran Eriksson.

Goal.com tells us about some of the most shocking results in World Cup qualifying history.

Who can forget Brazil's shock loss to Chile nine years ago?

Chile 3-0 Brazil (15 August 2000, Santiago, Chile) Qualification for World Cup Japan & South Korea 2002

Five-time World Cup winners Brazil are the only nation to have taken part in every single World Cup competition since its inception in 1930, but they have never come closer to elimination from the South American section than en route to Asia in 2002.

Ronaldo was recuperating from his horrific knee injury suffered when playing for Internazionale and sat out the entire campaign, and how his nation missed his goals. Brazil’s results stumbled from bad to worse, but in Chile they were completely and utterly outclassed by the dynamic strike-force of Ivan Zamarano and Marcelo Salas.

Both forwards along with Estay got on the score-sheet amid some alarming Brazilian defending to leave the Samba stars teetering on the brink of a premature exit. However, Rivaldo rallied his side to a 3-0 win in their final match against Venezuela to guide his nation to the finals, albeit through the back door.

And the rest, as they say, is history; Ronaldo returned, emerged with the Golden Boot after scoring eight goals and Brazil were victorious once more.

Speaking of Brazil, will Kaka be fit to play in Sunday's World Cup qualifier against Ecuador? Doctors say he's 50-50. I'd rather have 50% of Kaka than most everyone in the world!

Finally, South Africa's decision to ban the Dalai Lama from a peace conference in the country speaks badly about the advancement of democracy in the 2010 World Cup host country, according to this blog post ...

What do you all think?

Results of African Friendlies

While much of the world watch Spain defeat England and Diego Maradona's Argentina floor France, the African continent saw a slew of international friendlies.

How did the African teams fare? Let's find out!

Egypt 2 Ghana 2

Probably the match of the list, African champions Egypt played out a thrilling to-and-fro encounter with visitors Ghana.

The Pharaohs took the lead after 40 minutes through Middlesbrough midfielder Mohamed Shawky.

The Black Stars equalized just seven minutes into the second half when a cross hit Hani Said on the arm and the penalty was converted by Stephen Appiah.

The clubless midfielder also featured in Ghana's second with 12 minutes left as his shot rebounded off goalkeeper Essam Al Hadary for Prince Tagoe to slot home the rebound.

But the home side managed to hit back six minutes from time when striker Emad Moteab controlled a loose ball and beat goalkeeper Richard Kingson from close range.

Nigeria 0 Jamaica 0

Nigeria coach Shuaibu Amodu insisted his side's goalless draw against Jamaica in London had served its purpose as a useful warm-up for their World Cup and African Cup of Nations qualifying campaign.

"First and foremost, we had an opportunity to come together as a team," he said.

"We came together as a family and we can project a lot of qualities."

Nigeria dominated for spells in the second half and had their chances, the best coming from two Ike Uche headers.

The game was overshadowed by an incident two minutes before half-time when Jermaine Johnson seemed to shove linesman Darren Cann after squaring up to Nigeria's Taye Taiwo. The two were sent off.

"As Arsene Wenger says, I didn't see it," said Jamaica coach John Barnes.

South Africa 0 Chile 2

The 2010 World Cup hosts' five-match winning streak ended with a 2-0 home defeat to Chile.

Jorge Valdivia and Alexis Sanchez scored a goal in each half to seal victory for the South American side.

The home side, meanwhile, were left to rue missed chances and defensive errors.

Striker Benni McCarthy saw his powerful header from a Teko Modise cross easily saved by Chile goalkeeper Claudio Bravo in the first half.

He then hit the upright from inside the box on 57 minutes after Bravo had parried Tsepo Masilela's ball into his path.

It's now a case of back to the drawing board for Joel Santana's team - who are already out of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying - as they prepare for their next friendly against Norway in Rustenburg at the end of March.

The defeat did not surprise the Bafana Bafana coach, however.

"Chile had a very strong team who know what to do out on the field," he said.

"They made us hurry through everything. It was a good friendly for us. These are the type of games we need and we have to apply now what we have learnt."

Here is a full list of match scores from around the continent:

Mali - Angola 4-0
Egypt – Ghana 2-2
Morocco – Czech Republic 0-0
Cameroon – Guinea 3-1
Turkey – Côte d’Ivoire 1-1
South Africa – Chili 0-2
Tunisia – Netherlands 1-1
Algeria – Benin 2-1
Libya – Uruguay 2-3
Burkina Faso – Togo 1-1
Mozambique – Malawi 2-0
Nigeria - Jamaica 0-0
Tanzania - Zimbabwe 0-0

2010 African Cup Qualifying Now Set

The draw for the final round of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations took place today in Zurich, Switzerland.

So what happened?

African champions Egypt were handed what many would consider to be the best of the five group draws.

The Egyptians will face Algeria, Zambia and Rwanda in Group C as they attempt to reach their third World Cup finals.

Cameroon, the highest ranked African country, were drawn against Morocco, Gabon and Togo.

Ghana will face Benin, who have cruised through the qualifiers to date, as well as Mali and Sudan.

Nigeria will face Tunisia, Kenya, and Mozambique, while 2006 World Cup finalists Ivory Coast will meet Guinea, Burkina Faso and Malawi.

The 20 remaining African nations were drawn into five groups of four teams each.

The five group winners qualify directly for the 2010 World Cup finals, while the first three in each group will go to Angola to contest the African Cup of Nations in the same year.

Hosts South Africa qualify for the World Cup automatically, but were knocked out of the African Cup of Nations at the first group stage of qualifying.

The final round of qualifying matches will begin in March 2009.

So, how about some analysis?

BBC Sport was so kind as to offer us a breakdown of the groups vying for a spot in the first African World Cup. Here are some excerpts ...

Group A is a Francophone affair, and a tough test for any team hoping to make it to the World Cup in 2010.
Cameroon may be Africa's top-ranked side, but they will know there is no easy passage through a group which also includes Morocco, Gabon and 2006 World Cup contenders Togo.

Cameroon boss Otto Pfister knows all about Togo. He lead them through that chaotic campaign in Germany and will now meet his old charges as he tries to lead the Indomitable Lions to South Africa and Angola.

Gabon will be fired up to try and embarrass their illustrious neighbours and Morocco are looking for a resurgence under new coach Roger Lemerre.

There is no free passage to 2010 from Group A.

20 Teams Advance in African Cup Qualifying

With 607 days until the opening of the 2010 World Cup South Africa, African Cup qualifying is heading to its final stage.

20 countries advanced into the final round of African qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup after an eventful weekend.

Along with the perennial crop of heavyweights, including nine previous Cup participants, the likes of Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda and Sudan also progressed, indication of the constantly shifting power balance on the continent.

Unfortunately, Senegal is out following a 1-1 draw at home to Gambia on Saturday.

Diomansy Kamara, who plays his club football for Fulham in the English Premier League, believes the failure marks the end of a generation for the Lions of Teranga.

"There will now be three years without competition until the next qualifiers and for many of the players who are over the age of 28, it means the end of their international career," he explained. "From the beginning of the qualifiers things did not work out for us."

We'll miss Senegal and their insatiable energy and enthusiasm.

The Democratic Republic of Congo also miss out after a 2-1 loss in Malawi.

As Zaire, the country qualified for Germany 1974 to become Africa's first sub-Saharan side to compete at the World Cup. But although they have come close since, it remains their only appearance on the sport's grandest stage.

Mozambique had little hope of making it to the final phase of qualifying, even after they had beaten Botswana in Gaborone on Saturday in one of only three away wins of the weekend's 22 African preliminaries.

Coach Mart Nooij revealed they were only told that Sunday's sequence of results had fallen perfectly in their favor, and allowed them to qualify as the last best runners-up, when they got back to Maputo after a long day's travel.

"It was a narrow escape but I think we played well in all six of our qualifiers. We didn't have much luck in the first three games but if you are willing to play offensive football then in the end it pays off," said the Dutchman.

The 20 sides will go into the draw in Zurich on October 20, when they will be divided into five groups of four. The group winners qualify directly for South Africa 2010, and the top three in each section will reach the CAF African Cup of Nations Angola 2010.

Nice Article about African Cup Qualifying

With the final stages of the 2nd round of African World Cup qualifying upon up this weekend, here's a nice article from ESPN's Jon Carter about this weekend's games.

Click the link for the full article ... below's a free preview ...

African teams have raised the bar at the World Cup in recent tournaments and with Ghana impressing in Germany in 2006 and Senegal having made the quarter-finals in 2002, the expectations of the continent are high. Especially with the next showcase event set to take place in South Africa.

Yet, of all the regions in contention for 2010, the African section of qualifying regularly throws up surprises. Minnows Togo were the shock of 2006, despite failing to register a point once they arrived at the competition, and this year the likes of Rwanda, Benin and Burkino Faso all look well placed to progress to the next round of qualifying.

While it is exciting for such sides to be given the chance to test themselves in the world's biggest football tournament, their presence could come at the expense of some of the continent's more dominant forces.

Firstly, and most incredibly, is the situation of Ghana after their impressive run to the knockout stages in 2006. The Black Stars dispatched the highly fancied Czech Republic in Germany, but have looked a shadow of their former selves as they have struggled in their qualifying group.

2010 African Qualifiers Are Confusing!

Interesting article from the Bangkok Post about how confusing the 2010 African World Cup qualifiers are. As they put it, 'FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) are on course to score an own goal' with their qualifier rules.

Basically, there's a situation where South Africa may have to lose or draw to make it to the next round (weird, I know. Play along).

South Africa spokesman Sipho Nkumane said the situation was strange, to say the least. "It is a difficult situation. How can we tell our players that they are not allowed to win a game? We will have to look at all the permutations after our game against Nigeria and then see what we have to do. The same situation could, of course, also arise in other groups."

A FIFA spokesman said that they worked on the premise that all teams would have to win games to ensure that they finished first or second.

"Teams have to win their matches if they want to make sure of winning their groups or finishing second. If South Africa do not win their game against Equatorial Guinea and Sierra Leone beat Nigeria, then they will probably not finish second at all.

"We will have to see the results of all the games to know all the different possibilities," he said.

So how did this happen? Here's the South Africa scenario.

In Group 4 of the qualifiers, where South Africa is close to being knocked out of the African Cup of Nations (the World Cup qualifiers also serve as the 2010 African Cup of Nations qualifiers), the 2010 hosts could be in a situation where they'll be eliminated if they win their final game against Equatorial Guinea.

After drawing and losing to Sierra Leone, Bafana Bafana face a do-or-die game against Nigeria this weekend. If they fail to win, they will certainly be eliminated from the 2010 Nations Cup.

If they win, much will depend on the result of the other game between Sierra Leone and Equatorial Guinea.

A victory for Sierra Leone will all but guarantee an early exit for the 1996 African champions.

A draw or a victory for the visiting side from Equatorial Guinea will keep alive South Africa's chances of qualifying for the finals of the 2010 Nations Cup in Angola, on condition they do not win their final game in Equatorial Guinea.

South Africa, who are currently on four points behind the already- qualified Nigerians, would move to seven points should they win. Sierra Leone would remain on four or move to five if they lose or draw to Equatorial Guinea.

Equatorial Guinea would move to four points (with a draw) or six (with a victory).

South Africa then faces Equatorial Guinea in their final game and would finish second if they win that game. In that case, however, Equatorial Guinea would in all probability finish last in the group and the six points that South Africa secured against them would be scratched, leaving South Africa with four points - too few to advance as one of the best-eight second-placed teams.

If, however, South Africa do not win, Equatorial Guinea could finish third and South Africa keep the three or four points they secured against them and as a result could advance to the next round with six or seven points.

Umm, WHAT??

From the BBC, a guide to African qualifying ...

The Confederation of African Football (Caf) has detailed a complicated formula to determine which teams progress to the second qualifying group stage for the 2010 World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations.

The 12 group winners in the first group phase and the eight best runners-up will advance to the second stage.

But a fair amount of mathematics will be required to discover those best runners-up.

One of the 12 groups has only three teams, and Caf wants to give the runners-up in that group a fair chance of qualifying.

So rather than simply looking at points gained and goal difference to determine the best second-placed teams, a re-calculation will take place.

The runners-up in Group 11, which has three teams will have their statistics unchanged.

But in the other groups, the points and goal difference that the second-placed teams had against the fourth-placed team will be erased.

These new totals will then be used to determine the eight best runners-up, using points gained and then goal difference, then goals scored.

Caf says that a play-off match will take place in November should there be a tie for the eighth best runners-up spot.

Second stage

The 20 teams that qualify for the second group stage will be drawn in five groups of four teams.

The group winners qualify for the 2010 World Cup, but should hosts South Africa win a group, there will be a recalculation to determine the team that goes to the World Cup.

All results against South Africa would be erased and a new table calculated.

The first three teams in each group will qualify for the 2010 Nations Cup.

If Angola reach the second group stage, the three teams drawn in their group will automatically qualify for the Nations Cup.

MY POV: I dunno about you, but my head hurts reading the above.
How about we just wait and see what happens this weekend, OK??
Why couldn't they make this more straight forward? Yikes ...

African World Cup Qualifiers

With Europe getting their World Cup qualification schedule under way, I thought it'd be fitting to see where Africa is in their drive to South Africa. Remember, the Africans started their Cup qualification months ago. 

So how fares Africa? 

Apart from Nigeria who have already booked their place into the next stage out of Group 4, the qualifiers remain very contested with many surprises expected this weekend.

Group 1: Cameroon will make sure of top spot if they beat Cape Verde Islands in Praia on Saturday. But what on paper would seem a routine assignment for a team of the Indomitable Lions' status is far from a straightforward task. The Cape Verdeans have proven feisty opponents, and also have hopes of making it through to the next phase. Three wins in their four matches to date demonstrate the remarkable progress achieved by Portuguese coach Joao de Deus. The meeting between Mauritius and Tanzania in Curepipe is of academic interest only.

Group 2: The outcome of this group will likely be determined on the final matchday in October, but Kenya and Zimbabwe will be seeking to use home advantage to maneuver themselves into favourable positions. The latter have been told they need to tighten up on discipline if they are to beat Guinea in Harare on Sunday. "This game is like a cup final," said Zimbabwe's Brazilian coach Valinhos. Kenya, who share the group lead with Guinea, will expect to beat Namibia at home.

Group 3: It is a crunch weekend for Angola, whose dreams of a second successive trip to the sport's showpiece event will end if they lose in Benin on Sunday. Black Antelopes coach Luis Oliveira Goncalves departed for Cotonou in determined mood. "We will throw away caution, we are going for victory," he declared. "It is going to be a hard game and Benin are difficult adversaries, but our objective is to win." Uganda's hopes of staying in contention also rest on avoiding defeat when they visit Niger, who have yet to collect a point in the campaign. Benin lead on nine points, two clear of both Angola and Uganda.

Group 4: Nigeria have already banked pole position, but still have pride to play for when they meet South Africa in Port Elizabeth. The Super Eagles squad for Saturday's game has been depleted by injury, while South Africa have doubts over the fitness of key striker Benni McCarthy. Sierra Leone will strive to unseat the South Africans from second position when they entertain Equatorial Guinea in Freetown on Saturday. Equatorial Guinea lost three successive qualifiers in June, and have appointed former Spanish international Vicente Engonga as their new coach.

Group 5: The top-of-the-table battle between Libya and Ghana is one of the main attractions of the weekend's packed programme, pitting Faouzi Benzarti's ambitious charges against the formidable Black Stars. The Ghanaians have recalled Stephen Appiah after a nine-month absence, although they will be hindered by the absence of defender John Mensah, which could dictate that Michael Essien operates at the back. Libya have put in extensive preparation for Friday's match in Tripoli, scoring nine goals in two friendlies last month. Gabon, three points behind the top two, will keep their hopes alive if they beat Lesotho.

Group 6: Algeria may be former continental champions and two-time FIFA World Cup participants, but their reputation has suffered in recent years. Failure to win at home to Senegal in Blida on Sunday will sharpen their decline, and all but end hope of reaching South Africa 2010. Rabah Saadane has assembled his strongest squad in years, largely owing to the returns of Brahim Hemdani and Nader Belhadj, but the coach admits it will nevertheless be tough against the Lions of Teranga. "The quality of our play and our behaviour on the field must be at the highest level," said Saadane. Gambia are still eying a ticket to the next phase, and will be fancied to beat Liberia in Banjul on Saturday, a result which could move Paul Put's impressive squad joint-top of the section.

Group 7: After a slow entry into the qualifying rounds, Ivory Coast have steadily gathered steam. With 8 points in 4 games, Ivory Coast is 3 points better than Botswana, who reside in the second spot. Mozambique, with 4 points and Madagascar, with 3 points, still have a chance with two playing days to go.

Group 8 : The group top spot is being contested between Morocco and surprise package Rwanda, each with 9 points. Ethiopia with 6pts can still hope but Mauritania, with 0 points have been eliminated. Rwanda are turning heads, rivaling the North African giants in what was seen as a group Morocco would easily win when the draws were made.

Group 9 : The Stallions of Burkina Faso are surprising group leaders with 12 points, outsmarting 2004 African Champions Tunisia. The North Africans are 3 points shy of the Stallions, who may be determined to go all the way. Burundi (3 pts) and Seychelles (0 pt) are already eliminated.

Group 10 : After the disqualification of Chad by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), the group has been thrown wide open. Leaders Mali (6 pts) as well as Congo and Sudan (3 pts) could still make it to the next round. Frédéric Kanouté’s side seem to have the better option in the group.

Group 11 : This is another group of three teams, which is maintaining its suspense. Swaziland (4 pts), Zambia (4pts) and Togo (3 pts, with a delayed match) are locked in a struggle. The team that better manages the situation will surely come out on top.

Group 12 : The Democratic Republic of Congo sparked some life into African football after their satisfactory performance at the 2006 African Cup of Nations in Egypt. The Simbas are in good form and are topping the group (as a result of a better goal advantage than Egypt). Both nations have 9 points. Malawi is still in the running with 6 points but Djibouti are out with 0 points and a –21 goal advantage after 4 playing games.

For full group standings, please click here. 

Zimbabwe Tickets Prices are $10 Billion!!

This is just beyond crazy ...

According to South Africa's Football365 website, fans wishing to watch Zimbabwe's 2010 World Cup/African Cup of Nations qualifier against Namibia on Sunday will have to fork out up to $10 billion for a ticket.

This isn't a joke. This is ridiculous!

The cheapest ticket is pegged at $1.5 billion!!!

However, those not keen to seat with the povo (a loose term referring to the common people of that country - to use Zimbabwe liberation struggle parlance) will have to pay either $5 billion for a seat in the Upper West stand or $10 billion for the VIP arena.

A full house is expected at the Rufaro stadium as a country ravaged by political turmoil and hyperinflation welcomes the opportunity to escape, albeit temporarily, the hardships of everyday life and finds reprieve in a game of football.

Zimbabwe pulled off one of the surprise results of the opening round of the 2010 qualifiers by holding Guinea to a goalless draw last weekend.

They will be hoping to build on that result by getting the better of early group leaders Namibia, who beat Kenya 2-1 in the opener last Saturday.

The match between the two African rivals, who both go by the same moniker - Zimbabwe simply known as 'The Warriors' and Namibia as 'Brave Warriors' - is accorded derby status. Bragging rights will also be at stake.

MY POV: Inflation has dragged this country's dollar way, way down. Having a derelict like Robert Mugabe in power doesn't help. While I don't intend to make this a political blog and stoke the flames, I do think he's an awful politician and a virtual dictator ...

Ok, with that out of the way, let's also say that $10 billion Zimbabwe dollars is worth about $1.69 American dollars ...

Still, take a look at this article about the Zimbabwean economy ... according to the article, a loaf of bread now costs what 12 new cars did a decade ago.

Inflation rose 1,063,572% in May ... ridiculous ...

The economic decline has been blamed on the collapse of key agriculture sectors following the violent seizures of farmland from whites. Mugabe claimed the seizures begun in 2002 were to benefit poor blacks, but many of the farms went to his loyalists.

Let's hope Zimbabwe does better in World Cup qualifiers than they've done in politics. The people there deserve that, at least ...

Overcrowding at Fault for Deaths in Liberia-Gambia Match

Stadium issues have reared their ugly face in Africa again as at least eight Liberian football fans died this weekend in Monrovia, Liberia during their country's opening World Cup qualifier against Gambia.

A BBC correspondent in Monrovia says many fake tickets were in circulation, leading to overcrowding at the 33,000 capacity Samuel K. Doe stadium.

As the problem became apparent, UN peacekeepers closed the gates to the stadium, leaving thousands outside.

One fan told the BBC that Liberian police were reselling tickets to fans.

"We saw people, security men, entering, getting tickets from those who had crossed over boards, jumping over the fence and bringing the same tickets back outside, selling them to people for a little or nothing," said Lee Francis, who was unable to get into the game.

The Liberian Football Association (LFA) believe the deaths were caused mainly by suffocation at one of the ground's crowded gates.

The secretary general of the LFA George Williams admitted his association was responsible, but said the situation could have been much worse.

"Generally, we know we had a situation where there were more people at the game than the stadium could cater for," he said.

"The repercussions were that there was overcrowding at a particular gate and that then led to suffocation, which is unfortunate."

"We had fire trucks that were there to spill water over the crowd and that really helped the overall situation. Them spraying water over the people reduced the level of suffocation and also helped the crowd calm down."

"Yes, we (the LFA) are responsible, but things could have been worse.

"At the moment, we know that eight people have been killed. There are injuries as well, but these are not that significant."

Meanwhile the president of the Football Association of Zambian (Faz), Kalusha Bwalya, has told BBC Sport that the tragedy in Liberia should be a warning to the rest of the continent.

The former African Footballer of the Year also recently inspected safety and security at the main stadium in Sierra Leone on behalf of football's world governing body FIFA.

"In terms of the ongoing qualifiers this should be a wake up call for everybody to ensure that we don't have a repeat where we are going to endanger our spectators," he said.

"Eighty per cent lies with the associations in Africa - so that we provide the necessary security and the necessary rules and regulations so people without tickets don't go to the stadium.

"Twenty per cent lies with the supporters themselves - so that they won't want to come to the stadium without a ticket and thereby cause a problem."

MY POV: This is a situation that could have been avoided. But who prevents these situations from happening? Football associations? FIFA?

Maybe the responsibility lies on the supporters, who stream by the hundreds into games they don't have tickets to.

But then again, can one blame them for wanting to see their superstars perform in World Cup qualifiers?

Stricter security needs to be a priority for future World Cup qualifiers.

We're not talking about security guards who exacerbate the situation by selling fake tickets to the throngs. We mean FIFA-run security forces that will make sure the proper amount of people get into the stadiums with the least amount of corruption.

It's all well and good to want the stadiums to be safe for the supporters.
But when too many people are let inside, not even the most modern of stadia will hold under the pressure.

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!