Wins for Cameroon and Ivory Coast leave them as the only two left in the race for the lone World Cup play-off place from Group D of African qualifying.
Cameroon shrugged off a delayed arrival in Morocco to beat Mozambique 1-0 with Centre-back Michael Ngadeu-Ngadjui heading home the winner in the 68th minute as the keeper’s attempted punch clear fell to him.
Logistical issues had caused delays leaving Douala, which meant the Cameroon squad only landed in Tangier less than 12 hours before kick-off.
However it was Ivory Coast who retained top place in the group with a 2-1 win over Malawi in Cotonou, Benin.
The Elephants opened the scoring after just two minutes through Arsenal’s Nicolas Pepe, with South Africa-based Khuda Muyaba equalising 18 minutes later for the Flames.
AC Milan’s Franck Kessie secured the three points for Ivory Coast when he scored from the penalty spot in the 66th minute.
The defeats for Mozambique and Malawi mean neither side can qualify for the World Cup.
Ivory Coast top the group on 10 points just one ahead of the Indomitable Lions going into the final two qualifiers in November, with the final tie a potential winner takes all between the two in Cameroon.
Only the group winners will reach next March’s play-offs, where Africa’s five representatives in Qatar will be decided.
Mozambique and Ivory Coast are among 11 countries who have been ordered by the Caf to play home games on neutral soil because local stadia are unfit for use.
Pharaohs to the fore
Egypt moved a step closer to qualifying for the play-offs from Group F with a 3-0 win over hosts Libya in Benghazi.
Zamalek defender Ahmed Fotouh scored with a shot on the angle in the 40th minute after a pass from Mostafa Mohamed, who is currently on loan at Turkish side Galatasaray from Zamalek.
Mohamed was then on target himself in injury time at the end of the first half as he headed home an Omar Marmoush cross.
Former Stoke City and Huddersfield Town forward Ramdan Sobhi, on as a substitute, added the third after being set up by Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah.
Despite the loss Libya still have a chance of reaching the play-offs but must now win their final two games away to Gabon and then at home to Angola and would also need Egypt to fail to win either of their final ties against the same opposition.
Earlier captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored as Gabon beat Angola 2-0 in Franceville to register their first win in the group.
The Arsenal striker lashed in a back-post volley in the 74th minute and To Carneiro’s own goal doubled the Panthers’ lead six minutes from time.
The results leave Egypt top on 10 points, with Libya second on six, Gabon move on to four points in the table and leapfrog Angola, who have three points and cannot now progress to the play-offs.
Djibouti lose again to cost the coach his job
Burkina Faso kept up the pressure on Algeria in Group A with a 2-0 win over Djibouti, who are now another side who cannot reach the play-offs.
Issoufou Dayo and then Adboul Tapsoba, with his fourth goal in his last three internationals, ensured the win for the Stallions in the Moroccan city of Marrakech, with Burkina Faso another nation unable to host international matches.
Djibouti played the 23 minutes of the match with 10 men after Aptidon Daher was shown a straight red card.
Soon after the loss the Djibouti Football Federation announced the sacking of its French coach Julien Mette, who had been in charge since April 2019, for what it called “catastrophic results.”
The loss leaves Djibouti bottom of the group without a single point and having conceded 18 and scoring just two goals in their four World Cup qualifiers so far.
The win moves Burkina Faso to the top of the group with 10 points but African champions Algeria will regain top spot on goal difference if they can beat hosts Niger on Tuesday.
Niger, who lost 6-1 in Algeria on Friday, must beat the Desert Foxes to have any chance of progressing to the play-offs.
Source: BBC
