2008 Nations Cup matchday 2

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Seychelles 2-1 Mauritius  

Seychelles face Tunisia in their next group game
Striker Wilnes Brutus struck twice as Seychelles beat Mauritius 2-1 in Group Four of the Nations Cup qualifiers in Mahe on Saturday.

Brutus opened the scoring for the home side with a strike in the 22nd minute.

But five minutes after the break Mauritius were back on level terms as Kervin Gordon pounced to make it 1-1.

Brutus put Seychelles back in front with only nine minutes remaining to secure the victory.

It is their first win of the group after suffering a 3-0 defeat to Sudan in the opening game of the qualifier last month.

Mauritius next face a tough test of their credentials with a tie against World Cup finalists Tunisia at home in March.

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Malawi shock Zimbabwe  

Kinnah Phiri replaced German coach Bukhard Ziese
Malawi overcome the dramatic midweek sacking of German coach Burkhard Ziese to surprise Zimbabwe 1-0 in a Group 12 Nations Cup qualifier on Saturday.
A 33rd-minute goal from Moses Chavula settled the scrappy affair at Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre.

Ziese was slightly injured in an attack by supporters of the Flames and manhandled out of the national stadium.

This followed his sacking for a series of poor results, a dismissal the German is contesting with vigour.

Replacement Kinnah Phiri, a former national team midfielder, lifted spirits sufficiently for Chavula to break the deadlock against 2004 and 2006 Nations Cup qualifiers Zimbabwe.

Benjani Mwaruwari captained the Warriors in the absence of injured veteran Peter Ndlovu and while he lamented the loss, his Malawian parents will have mixed feelings.

After beating Malawi in their opening match, Morocco are odds-on favourites to win Group 12 and claim a place at the 2008 finals in Ghana.

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Botswana 0-0 Egypt  

Shehata fielded a mixture of local and Europe-based talent
Defending champions Egypt were held to a surprise 0-0 draw by Botswana in a Group Two Nations Cup qualifier in Gaborone on Saturday.
Veteran coach Hassan Shehata, who guided the Pharaohs to a record fifth Nations Cup title last February, fielded an array of local and Europe-based talent at the National Stadium.

But despite dominating territorially and creating most of the chances, a mix of wild finishing and bad luck robbed the visitors of the victory they would have expected.

Dodging defeat was a relief for recently appointed Botswana coach Colwyn Roe from England after losses away to Zambia and Mauritania, and at home to the Cameroon Olympic squad.

Egypt's volatile striker Mido had two opportunities to break the deadlock while Mohamed Zidan shot wide with only the goalkeeper to beat in the second half.

Hossam Abd Rabou was also denied twice as Egypt stepped up the pressure in the latter stages of the match.

Egypt have four points from two matches while the Zebras have one point.

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Cameroon 3-0 Equatorial Guinea  

Idrissou was called up to replace injured Samuel Eto'o
Late call-up Mohamadou Idrissou scored twice to help Cameroon take Equatorial Guinea apart in the Cup of Nations qualifiers in Yaounde on Saturday.

Equatorial Guinea, content to sit back in defence, held Cameroon at bay well into the second half thanks to good goalkeeping from Danilo Emmanuel.

But the four-time African champions broke the deadlock in the 72nd minute, when substitute Idrissou scored in the Group Five fixture.

The Germany-based striker, who was called following a knee injury to Samuel Eto'o, converted a fine cross from Jean Makoun.

The Indomitable Lions went 2-0 up eight minutes later when Achille Webo headed home a cross from Stephane Mbia.

Idrissou made sure of the points, pouncing with just over one minute of normal time remaining.

The forward, who plays for second division side Duisburg, rejoined the Indomitable Lions set-up for the first time since the 2004 Nations Cup.

"It was not easy but the boys did well and we are happy to pick up the three points," assistant coach Jules Nyongha said.

Cameroon have six points from two games while Equatorial Guinea are on three.

Rwanda and Liberia, who meet on Sunday, are without a point.

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Burkina Faso 1-0 Senegal  

A penalty separated Burkina Faso and Senegal in Ouagadougou
Narcisse Yameogo scored from the penalty spot in the 63rd minute to give Burkina Faso a 1-0 win over Senegal in an African Cup of Nations qualifier.
Senegal, who have three points from two games, finished the match with 10 men after Papa Diakate was sent off.

"We congratulate Burkina Faso for their good play," said Senegal striker El Hadji Diouf.

""We will still have a chance to qualify after we correct what did not work today."

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Eritrea 0-0 Swaziland  

Swaziland will face Kenya in their next match
Swaziland claimed a deserved point away to Eritrea as both sides wasted chances in Group Six of the African Nations Cup qualifiers on Saturday.

Heroics from both keepers prevented either side from taking the lead before the break.

The second 45 minutes never reached the heights of the first half as both sides struggled to get behind the opposition defence.

The result is a boost for Swaziland, who lost 2-0 at home to Angola in the opening match of their qualifying campaign last month.

Eritrea pulled a surprise in their opener by beating Kenya 2-1 in Nairobi.

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Algeria 1-0 Gambia  

Algeria play Cape Verde in their next group match  
Karim Ziani's second-half penalty earned Algeria a first competitive win since March 2005 after beating Gambia in Group Eight of the Nations Cup qualifiers.

The midfielder converted the kick for the home side after Rafik Saifi was brought down in the box with only 15 minutes remaining.

The Desert Foxes dominated the game but found the Gambia keeper in good form.

Algeria's last win in a competitive match was when they beat Rwanda 1-0 in the Nations Cup qualifiers in Oran last year.

It was the first game in charge for Gambia's young German coach Antoine Hey.

Algeria now occupy the top spot with four points following Cape Verde's 1-0 win over Guinea in the other group match on Saturday.

The home side won the game thanks to a 52nd minute strike by Lito.

Cape Verde travel to face Algeria in their match while Gambian take on Guinea.

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Burundi 3-1 Mauritania  
A first half brace by Yamin Selemani helped Burundi to beat Mauritania 3-1 in Group Two of the African Nations Cup qualifiers on Sunday.

Selemani set the home side on their way with a strike just after three minutes.

The visitors rallied and grabbed the equaliser in the 7th minute after Buha Ibrahim slotted home.

Selemani put Burundi back in front in the 30th minute, scoring from close range.

Henry Mbazumutima made the victory certain with a strike just before the break.

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Angola 3-1 Kenya  

Angola face Eritrea in their next match
Flavio Amaro scored two goals and Mateus added another to help Angola beat Kenya 3-1 in Group Six of African Cup of Nations qualifiers on Sunday.

Amaro scored his first goal in the 27th minute and then added another with a header in the 68th.

Mateus scored in between with a goal in the 60th off a pass from Ze Kalanga.

Boniface Abani got one back for the visitors in the 81st.

Angola, which reached this year's World Cup for the first time, played without injured captain Figueiredo and veteran left back Yamba Asha.

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Benin 2-0 Sierra Leone  

Benin lost 2-1 to Togo in the opening match of the group
Benin revived their hopes of reaching the 2008 Nations Cup with a 2-0 victory over Sierra Leone on Sunday.

Goalkeeper Rachad Chitou opened the scoring after 22 minutes by converting a penalty in the Group Nine qualifier in Cotonou.

The home side doubled their lead in the 77th minute when Mouri Ogoubiyi slotted from close range.

The victory is a boost for Benin, who suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Togo in the opening match of the group last month.

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Lesotho 0-1 Nigeria  

Ayegbeni plays for the English side Middlesbrough
Nigeria edged lowly Lesotho 1-0 in Maseru on Sunday to maintain a perfect record in Group Three of the African Nations Cup qualifiers.

After surviving a first-half onslaught from the Crocodiles, the Super Eagles snatched the winner when Middlesbrough striker Yakubu Aiyegbeni finished a Christian Obodo cross.

Everton defender and Nigeria captain Joseph Yobo was outstanding as the home team fought to cause an upset.

Meanwhile, Niger were held 0-0 by Uganda in the other group encounter.

Former champions Nigeria have six points, Uganda four, Niger one and Lesotho none with the next series of fixtures scheduled for March.

Only group winners are guaranteed places at the 16-nation tournament in Ghana.

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South Africa squeeze past Zambia  

Mokoena returned to the squad after falling out with Ted Dumitru
Aaron Mokoena scored his first international goal to give South Africa a precious 1-0 win over Zambia Sunday in a 2008 African Nations Cup qualifier.

The Blackburn Rovers defender struck after 28 minutes at the Independence Stadium, rising to power a Delron Buckley free kick past goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene.

Mokoena was reinstated as skipper for the Group 11 clash after a traumatic year in which he was stripped of the captaincy and temporarily retired from international football.

Known as The Axe, Mokoena has represented his country 58 times, but missed the 2006 Nations Cup in Egypt after a public storm with coach Ted Dumitru.

Victory lifted 1996 Nations Cup winners South Africa to four points and leadership of a group that includes Congo and Chad, who meet later Sunday in Brazzaville.

It was a timely success for Bafana Bafana, lifting the gloom hanging over the national team after being held 0-0 at home by Congo last month in their first qualifier for the 2008 tournament in Ghana.

Among those in the Zambian capital to see South Africa win there for the first time in four attempts was Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Parreira, who succeeds Mosimane in January.

Parreira led Brazil to the 1994 World Cup title and was also in charge this year when the favourites made a surprise quarter-finals exit against eventual runners-up France in Germany.

This was the best performance by South Africa for some time and they would have won more convincingly with sharper finishing, wasting several chances to put the result beyond doubt in the second half.

Chief culprit was Simphiwe Tshabalala, who volleyed a cross wide with only Mweene to beat 60 minutes into the match, staged in clear spring conditions on a bumpy pitch.

And veteran striker Siyabonga Nomvete should have done better 10 minutes later as he burst through only to hesitate and his pass was fired wide by Tshabalala, who was replaced by Ricardo Katza soon after.

Favourites Zambia seemed overawed by the tag with midfielder Christopher Katongo and striker Collins Mbesuma failing to have the expected impact on the clash of fierce regional rivals.

Katongo has been outstanding for Johannesburg-based club Jomo Cosmos, wreaking havoc with defences and scoring consistently, and many South Africans feared him.

Mbesuma was outstanding for another Johannesburg outfit, Kaizer Chiefs, before moving to Portsmouth, where he was less successful and the English Premiership club have lent him to Portuguese club Maritimo.

But South Africa defender Bradley Carnell comfortably contained Katongo while Mbesuma, handicapped by a heavily strapped thigh, rarely threatened goalkeeper Rowan Fernandez.

The Zambian striker could have snatched a dramatic late equaliser though, driving a loose ball goalward only for the goalkepeer to make a brave block before the ball was cleared.

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Liberia 3-2 Rwanda  

Liberia face Cameroon in their next match
Liberia clinched a 3-2 victory over Rwanda in Sunday's African Nations Cup Group Five qualifier.

Francis Doe scored after 24 minutes to put the home side ahead and Oliver Makor made it 2-0 after 68 minutes, only for Rwanda's Olivier Karekezi to strike back two minutes later.

Dio William stretched the home lead to 3-1, scoring off a pass from midfielder Kelvin Swegbe in the 76th minute.

Rwanda were again quick on the counter-attack, Abedi Mulenda narrowing the deficit to 3-2 two minutes later, but they were unable to equalise before the final whistle.

However, a spate of wasted chances for Liberia after the break bred frustration on and off the pitch and the home crowd jeered members of their own team.

"We need to do more the next time. We have to train. We should have scored over five goals on them, but our players missed goals," Liberia sports minister Jamesetta Howard-Wolokollie said.

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Ivory Coast 5-0 Gabon  

Ivory Coast will face Madagascar in their next group match
Arouna Kone scored three goals to help Ivory Coast beat Gabon 5-0 in Group One of the African Cup of Nations qualifiers on Sunday.

Defender Kolo Toure scored the first goal for the Elephants, sending a free kick into the net from 25 meters in the 10th minute.

Kone followed with goals in the 22nd and 55th minutes.

The second came from a volley after a cross from Aruna Dindane.

Kone scored again in the 70th with a header from a corner, while Dindane beat the Gabon goalkeeper in the 32nd.

Ivory Coast, which qualified for this year's World Cup, has three points in Group 1, which also includes Madagascar.

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