African World Cup Qualifiers

Tunisia's South Africa 2010 qualification bid got off to the worst of starts when they went down 2-1 at home to Burkina Faso, the North Africans letting slip a one-goal lead in a disastrous final ten minutes.

Over in Cairo, reigning African champions Egypt were given a stern examination by an impressive Congo DR team, with Egypt coming back from a 1-0 half-time deficit to secure a 2-1 win. Hassan Shehata's men were not the only big names to suffer on Sunday, however.

Deprived the inestimable services of the injured Didier Drogba, Côte d'Ivoire did just enough to scrape a 1-0 victory at home to Mozambique, while Guinea, ranked sixth in the continent, had to settle for an unsatisfactory draw against the Warriors of Zimbabwe.

And to round up all Sunday's action for you, here is FIFA.com.

Game of the day
Nigeria 2-0 South Africa
Goals: Ikechukwu Uche 10, Obinna Nwaneri 45

Nigeria have not lost a FIFA World Cup™ qualifying match at home since going down 2-0 to Algeria way back on 10 October 1981. And the Super Eagles were in no mood to relinquish that proud record when they entertained South Africa in Abuja.

In control for long periods, Shaibu Amodu's charges got the job done in the first half and were content to sit on their lead in the second. Pleasing to the eye, the visitors failed to find the final pass. Even so, Joel Santana's side showed plenty of nice touches and can only improve as the campaign progresses.

Surprise of the day
Guinea 0-0 Zimbabwe

Quarter-finalists at the recent CAF Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana, the Syli National came gently down to earth on Sunday when they were held to a draw by a solid-looking Zimbabwe, the 23rd-ranked African side in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking. Despite ending the game with five forwards on the field, the uninspired Guineans spurned a string of clear-cut chances, thus allowing Namibia to open up a two-point gap at the top of Group 2.

Player of the day
Yssouf Kone

Burkina Faso have stumbled upon a new hero in the Rosenborg striker. Making his entrance from the bench just ten minutes from time and with his side still trailing to Tijani Belaid's first-half strike for the Tunisians, Kone got to work immediately. Within a minute he had levelled the scores and within seven he had bagged the winner to stun the crowd at the Stade Olympique du 7 Novembre in Rades and give the Burkinabés three wholly unexpected points. Whatever else happens in Group 9, the 2004 African champions will never forget Kone's name.

Number crunching
50: The number of goals scored in the weekend's 21 qualifiers, an average of 2.38 goals per game. For all the facts and figures as the African qualifying race unfolds, click on Statistics in the right-hand column.

What they said
"The pitch was a bit slow because of the weather conditions. All the same, we've got off to a good start with this win because South Africa are a good, technical side. We've had a few disappointments in the past and we've promised each other we'll stick together and build up a strong team spirit. I think we're well on the way to achieving that." Joseph Yobo, Nigeria defender.

Sunday's results:
Angola 3-0 Benin
Equatorial Guinea 2-0 Sierra Leone
Burundi 1-0 Seychelles
Liberia 1-1 Gambia
Côte d'Ivoire 1-0 Mozambique
Nigeria 2-0 South Africa
Guinea 0-0 Zimbabwe
Ghana 3-0 Libya
Mali 4-2 Congo
Tunisia 1-2 Burkina Faso
Egypt 2-1 Congo DR

Côte d'Ivoire and Togo had away days to forget on Sunday as the race for places at South Africa 2010 continued. While the Elephants were being held to a 0-0 stalemate by unfancied Madagascar, the Sparrowhawks were having their wings clipped in Swaziland.

Those ambushes aside, it was a day of few shocks in Africa, with Cameroon cantering to a 3-0 win in Mauritius, Angola securing a 2-1 victory in Niger, and Ghana doing just enough to see off Lesotho 3-2 in Bloemfontein.

Game of the day
Zimbabwe 2-0 Namibia
Goals: Gilbert Mushangazhike 27, 86

The 35,000 fans shoehorned into the Rufaro Stadium in Harare were in expectant mood as this Group 2 clash between two serious qualification contenders kicked off. And Valinhos's men did not disappoint, storming to a 2-0 win courtesy of a double from Orlando Pirates striker Gilbert Mushangazhike. The Warriors now stand top of the section with four points, one clear of Kenya, surprise victors against Guinea on Saturday, and Namibia.

Surprise of the day
Swaziland 2-1 Togo
Goals: Siza Dlamini 55, Collen Salelwako 72 (Swaziland); Adekamni Olufade 88 (Togo)

With Eritrea having already withdrawn from the competition, Group 11 has been reduced to a three-way battle, thus handing outsiders Swaziland an unmissable opportunity to make a name for themselves. Kick-starting their qualification bid at the Somhlolo National Stadium in Mbabane, the Sihlangu served notice of their intentions with a fine 2-1 win over the Germany 2006 finalists, a result that takes them to the top of the pool, ahead of the Togolese on goal difference and with a game in hand.

Player of the day
Jean Chrysostome Raharison

Despite the absence of Didier Drogba from their Group 7 clash with Madagascar in Antananarivo, Côte d'Ivoire would still have expected to return home with three points safely in the bag. But the Elephants reckoned without the defensive solidity of the home side, who showed their improved tactical awareness with a creditable 0-0 draw in Botswana last weekend.

While German coach Franz Gerber deserves much of the credit for fashioning a formidable rearguard, the Scorpions were also indebted to a stunning performance from Raharison between the posts. Holding firm against the formidable Ivorian attack, the USCA Foot Analamanga shotstopper kept his second clean sheet in seven days and is one of only six keepers yet to concede to goal in the African group phase.

Number crunching
9: The number of teams with maximum points in the bag after the first two rounds of qualifiers. Cameroon, Angola, Nigeria, Ghana, Morocco, Rwanda, Burkina Faso, Mali and Egypt have all been word perfect so far.

What they said
"We did what we had to do by coming away with three points. I would have loved to have got a hat-trick tonight but even so I'm happy with the two goals. The altitude affected us in the first half but we knew we had to keep going flat out to get the points. We've been developing and growing as a team for some time now and we know exactly what to expect of each other and what we still have to achieve." Ghana striker Junior Agogo gives his views after scoring twice in his side's 3-2 win over Lesotho in Bloemfontein.

Sunday's results:
Madagascar 0-0 Côte d'Ivoire
Mauritius 0-3 Cameroon
Zimbabwe 2-0 Namibia
Mozambique 1-2 Botswana
Swaziland 2-1 Togo
Congo 1-0 Sudan
Congo DR 1-0 Malawi
Niger 1-2 Angola
Benin 4-1 Uganda
Ethiopia 1-2 Rwanda
Gambia 0-0 Senegal
Lesotho 2-3 Ghana