JOHANNESBURG – The number of 2008 African Nations Cup qualifiers rose to 13 Sunday as Guinea, South Africa and Zambia sealed slots.
Angola, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, Tunisia and hosts Ghana had already secured places at the biennial showpiece of African football. And title holders Egypt seem set to fill one of the remaining three spots after forcing a 0-0 draw in Burundi despite having captain Ahmed Hassan sent off early in the second half.Guinea knew maximum points at home to Cape Verde Islands would ensure Group 8 glory and they cruised to a 4-0 win with all the goals coming during the first half.Midfield maestro Pascal Feindouno, who passed a late fitness test on an injury sustained in the French Ligue 1, opened the floodgates with an 18th-minute penalty awarded for a foul on Fode Mansaray.Defenders then got in on the scoring act with Mohamed Cisse and Ibrahima Camara claiming goals before another France-based Guinean, Ismael Bangoura, completed the Conakry rout.Algeria, who began the final round level on points with Guinea but under pressure owing to an inferior head-to-head record, fell 2-1 to Gambia in Banjul after taking the lead.Captain Chris Katongo scored a 12-minute first-half hat-trick to give Zambia a shock 3-1 win in Cape Town over South Africa, who replied through recalled striker Benni McCarthy five minutes into the second half.A better head-to-head record gave top spot in Group 11 to Zambia, whose hard approach brought six cautions before Isaac Chansa was sent off 11 minutes from the end, triggering a scuffle involving McCarthy.South Africa, whose suicidal defending and sloppy passing infuriated Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Parreira, fill one of three places reserved for the best runners-up.Emad Moteab from African club champions Al-Ahly came closest to breaking the Group 2 deadlock in Burundi with a shot that came back off a post 14 minutes into a tense Bujumbura showdown.Cameroon surrendered the last 100 percent record in the qualifiers as a Juvenal Edjogo-Owono goal after 39 minutes gave Equatorial Guinea a 1-0 win in the top-of-the-table Group 5 clash.Tunisia suffered their first defeat, falling 3-2 in Sudan, but only pride was at stake as both countries had qualified for the finals from Group 4 where Mauritius came from behind at home to draw 1-1 with Seychelles.Zimbabwe, who miss out on the finals after two consecutive appearances, finally won in Morocco-dominated Group 12 with second-half goals from Richard Mteki and Method Mwanjali securing a 3-1 home victory over Malawi.Chad struck in the final minute to snatched a 1-1 home draw with Congo in Group 11 and Swaziland completed a miserable Group 6 campaign without a goal after being held 0-0 by visiting Eritrea.The final qualifiers on October 12 pit Egypt against Botswana in Cairo and Mauritania against Burundi in Nouakchott in Group 2 while Togo face Mali in Lome and Sierra Leone meet Benin in Freetown in Group 9 fixtures.Nampa-AFPAnd title holders Egypt seem set to fill one of the remaining three spots after forcing a 0-0 draw in Burundi despite having captain Ahmed Hassan sent off early in the second half.Guinea knew maximum points at home to Cape Verde Islands would ensure Group 8 glory and they cruised to a 4-0 win with all the goals coming during the first half.Midfield maestro Pascal Feindouno, who passed a late fitness test on an injury sustained in the French Ligue 1, opened the floodgates with an 18th-minute penalty awarded for a foul on Fode Mansaray.Defenders then got in on the scoring act with Mohamed Cisse and Ibrahima Camara claiming goals before another France-based Guinean, Ismael Bangoura, completed the Conakry rout.Algeria, who began the final round level on points with Guinea but under pressure owing to an inferior head-to-head record, fell 2-1 to Gambia in Banjul after taking the lead.Captain Chris Katongo scored a 12-minute first-half hat-trick to give Zambia a shock 3-1 win in Cape Town over South Africa, who replied through recalled striker Benni McCarthy five minutes into the second half.A better head-to-head record gave top spot in Group 11 to Zambia, whose hard approach brought six cautions before Isaac Chansa was sent off 11 minutes from the end, triggering a scuffle involving McCarthy.South Africa, whose suicidal defending and sloppy passing infuriated Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Parreira, fill one of three places reserved for the best runners-up.Emad Moteab from African club champions Al-Ahly came closest to breaking the Group 2 deadlock in Burundi with a shot that came back off a post 14 minutes into a tense Bujumbura showdown.Cameroon surrendered the last 100 percent record in the qualifiers as a Juvenal Edjogo-Owono goal after 39 minutes gave Equatorial Guinea a 1-0 win in the top-of-the-table Group 5 clash.Tunisia suffered their first defeat, falling 3-2 in Sudan, but only pride was at stake as both countries had qualified for the finals from Group 4 where Mauritius came from behind at home to draw 1-1 with Seychelles.Zimbabwe, who miss out on the finals after two consecutive appearances, finally won in Morocco-dominated Group 12 with second-half goals from Richard Mteki and Method Mwanjali securing a 3-1 home victory over Malawi.Chad struck in the final minute to snatched a 1-1 home draw with Congo in Group 11 and Swaziland completed a miserable Group 6 campaign without a goal after being held 0-0 by visiting Eritrea.The final qualifiers on October 12 pit Egypt against Botswana in Cairo and Mauritania against Burundi in Nouakchott in Group 2 while Togo face Mali in Lome and Sierra Leone meet Benin in Freetown in Group 9 fixtures.Nampa-AFP
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