Cameroon sealed their spot at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in dramatic fashion after defeating Algeria in extra-time on Tuesday night.
Rigobert Song’s men backs were against the wall as they lost the first-leg on their own turf, but Eric Choupo-Moting brought about a glimmer of hope early in the opening half.
The Indomitable Lions couldn’t add more and saw the match go all the way to extra-time, where the hosts had a goal disallowed from Islam Slimani for a hand ball.
Although, Algeria continued fighting and were rewarded when a delivery from Rachid Ghezzal saw Ahmed Touba collect and profited.
However, the Indomitable Lions responded in the final seconds with the winner through a smart finish from Karl Toko Ekambi to seal their spot at Qatar.
Morocco 4-1 Democratic Republic Congo (5-2 on aggregate)
Morocco cruised past the Democratic Republic of Congo to advance to their sixth appearance at the World Cup following a dominant 5-2 victory on aggregate.
After getting the equaliser in the first leg, Tarik Tissoualdi then complemented the opening finish from Azzine Ounahi to give the Atlas Lions a comfortable advantage at the interval.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
Ounahi dampened the hopes of the Leopards even further when he completed his brace in the earlier stages of the second exchanges, before Achraf Hakimi helped the Atlas Lions to a fourth goal on the night and a fifth in the overall clash before Ben Malango pulled a consolation near the end for the visitors.
Tunisia 0-0 Mali (1-0 on aggregate)
Tunisia qualified for the World Cup finals for the sixth time in their history courtesy of a 1-0 win over two-legs against their West African counterparts Mali.
The Carthage Eagles carried with a narrow win from the first-leg last week Friday in Bamako, as Mali had their work cut out in order to ensure passage to their first ever appearance at the World Cup.
In the end, Tunisia held on tight to their advantage and earned a ticket amongst the participants of this year’s World Cup finals.
Senegal 1-0 Egypt (1-1 on aggregate)
Senegal booked a spot in the 2022 FIFA World Cup finals ahead of Egypt following a 3-1 win on penalties as the match finished in a stalemate on Tuesday night.
The newly-crowned Africa champions were on the back-foot heading into the clash after going down by a solitary strike in the first-leg encounter last Friday in Cairo.
A fourth minute goal from Boulaye Dia evened the tie this time around although while each outfits searched thoroughly for the winner, it finished level and extra-time followed.
During the course of extra-time, the match continued on even terms as the two powerhouses of the continent battled to open up each other and were forced into a penalty shoot-out.
After an eventful opening six spot-kicks in which no side managed to find the net, the Teranga Lions emerged victors in the end with star man Sadio Mane getting the winning kick.
Nigeria 1-1 Ghana (1-1 on aggregate)
A single goal over two-legs was enough to land Ghana a ticket at the World Cup finals this year after overcoming Nigeria on the away-goal rule following a 1-1 draw on Tuesday evening.
There were no goals in the first-leg clash four days ago between the Super Eagles and the Black Stars, who opened the deadlock in the first ten minutes through Thomas Partey.
A penalty by William Troost-Ekong following a coming-together in the six-yard area evened the clash and subsequently the balance of the overall play.
With neither side able to make the most of the chances coming their way in the latter periods of the match, the Black Stars advanced to the World Cup finals after missing out on the 2018 event.-kickoff
