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African World Cup Qualifying Round-Up: Nigeria Scrape Through

African World Cup Qualifying Round-Up: Nigeria Scrape Through

The 2018 FIFA World Cup which is set to take place in Russia is one step closer for a selection of African countries which emerged victorious in a two-legged tie played over the last few days.

The results below come from the second leg matches, and after this stage the teams that remain will be drawn into groups to determine the five African representatives that will travel to Russia in 2018.

The 53 African teams that began qualifying for the tournament in 2018 have now been reduced to 20, with the group stage phase set to begin in October next year.

The teams that remain include Gabon, Zambia, Uganda, DR Congo, Morocco, Guinea, Libya, Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, Congo, Egypt, South Africa, Ivory Coast, Tunisia, Burkina Faso, Algeria, Cape Verde, Senegal and Mali.

These are the results of the World Cup qualifiers that took place in Africa:

Ghana 2 – 0 Comoros (2-0 aggregate – Ghana progress)

The Black Stars of Ghana made sure of their progression to the next phase of African World Cup qualifying with a 2-0 victory in the second leg of their tie with the Comoros, thanks to goals from with Mubarak Wakaso and Jordan Ayew. The win in Kumasi was a must, following a 0-0 draw for Ghana away to the Comoros in the first leg.

Nigeria 2 – 0 Swaziland (2-0 aggregate – Nigeria progress)

The Super Eagles returned home from Swaziland with a goalless draw that felt like a loss for the 2013 AFCON champions, who expected to tear the Swazis apart. Despite that disappointment, they made sure of progression in Port Harcourt with a 2-0 win thanks to late goals from Victor Moses and Efe Ambrose.

Cameroon 0 – 0 Niger (3-0 aggregate – Cameroon progress)

The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon will be pleased that they did enough in the first leg with a 3-0 victory away in Niger, as a goalless stalemate at home on Tuesday would have disappointed the fans who supported their Cameroonian heroes at home, but with the job done in the first leg, the fans will look forward to the group stages.

Egypt 4 – 0 Chad (4-1 aggregate – Egypt progress)

After a 1-0 shock victory for Chad over Egypt in the first leg, the Pharaohs were aware of what they needed to do in their home encounter, and they did it in some style, putting four goals past their opponents. A goal apiece from Mohamed Elneny and Abdalallah El-Saied earned the lead for Egypt, with Ahmed Hassan Koka adding two more to create an insurmountable lead for the Pharaohs.

Ivory Coast 3 – 0 Liberia (4-0 aggregate – Cote D’Ivoire progress)

Continuing the trend of the big guns progressing to the next phase, the current African champions made light work of Liberia at home, winning 3-0 to secure a 4-0 aggregate victory overall. Two first half goals from striker Giovanni Sio added to a Jean Michael Seri strike in the second half to ensure a comprehensive victory.

South Africa 1 – 0 Angola (4-1 aggregate – South Africa progress)

Following an impressive 3-1 away victory for Bafana in Angola at the weekend, an own goal from Manucho Diniz secured a narrow 1-0 win for the South Africans at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Tuesday evening, making sure of progression to the group stages.

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Algeria 7 – 0 Tanzania (9-2 aggregate – Algeria progress)

The Algerians recovered from what would have been a surprise 2-2 draw away to Tanzania by making absolutely sure of moving on to the group stage with a comprehensive 7-0 win in Algeria. Two goals each for defender Faouzi Ghoulam and striker Islam Slimani added to strikes from Yacine Brahimi, Riyad Mahrez and Carl Medjani to secure a famous victory for the Fennec Foxes in Blida.

Tunisia 2 – 1 Mauritania (4-2 aggregate – Tunisia progress)

The Carthage Eagles of Tunisia managed a 2-1 victory over a tricky Mauritania outfit to add to the 2-1 away victory that they registered in the first match, allowing for a comfortable progression to the next phase. Syam Ben Youssef opened the scoring for Tunisia before an equaliser from Mauritania’s Moulay Ahmed Khalil, but a great free kick from Saad Bguir guaranteed Tunisia’s win.

Senegal 3 – 0 Madagascar (5-2 aggregate – Senegal progress)

Senegal progressed to the next stage of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup thanks to a 3-0 victory at home, completing a 5-2 aggregate win. Moussa Konaté’s 53rd-minute strike complemented midfielder Cheikhou Kouyaté’s first-half opener, before a goal from Mame Biram Diouf completed the rout.

Cape Verde 2 – 0 Kenya (2-1 aggregate – Cape Verde progress)

The visiting Cape Verde side knocked Kenya out of the running thanks to two excellent goals from Heldon Ramos, ensuring a continued run towards an attempt at qualifying for the 2018 World Cup. This will be a disappointment for the Kenyans, as the Harambee Stars won the first leg 1-0 and would have been hoping to hold on for the victory in the tie.

Other Results:

Rwanda 1 – 3 Libya

Congo 2 – 1 Ethiopia

Mali 2 – 0 Botswana

Burkina Faso 2 – 0 Benin