Zambia go down, Bafana held

JOHANNESBURG. — Former Nigerian coach Henry Nwosu says the away victory against Zambia in the 2018 Fifa World Cup qualifier in Ndola yesterday has put the Eagles at an advantage, but warned that the race has not been won yet. Eagles downed the Southern African side 2-1 in a Group B opening clash at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium. Two first-half goals by Eagles forwards Alex Iwobi and Kelechi Iheanacho proved enough to hand Nigeria the three points at stake while Zambian danger man Collins Mbesuma scored his side’s consolation.

“I’m happy we won the clash against Zambia; at least it puts us at an advantage going forward in other group qualifying matches. “The match truly lived up to its billing as a difficult encounter; I praise Eagles for going out there in Zambia for the first time to claim three points.

“It’s a good result going forward, but that does not call for relaxation on the part of the players as the race is not yet won. “We must work hard in other matches knowing fully well that as we went out there in Zambia to record a win another team can come here to claim a victory if we are not careful.

“The qualifier is a marathon; we must maintain a cool head and full concentration, especially in the next home clash against Algeria. “A critical look at the clash against Zambia showed we did not play very well in the second half, Zambia dominated the half and that resulted in the pressures that gave them the consolation goal.

“I felt Ahmed Musa should have been introduced much earlier when it appeared the Zambians were showing fatigue in the game. “Going forward, we must work on the attack as well as the midfield; the defence caved in under pressure.

“As I said earlier the result is good as it puts us at an advantage in the group’s race but it’s not yet celebration time but time to do more effective work,” said the former Nigerian captain and Golden Eagles coach.

Egypt fought back to overcome Congo-Brazzaville 2-1 in the 2018 Fifa World Cup qualifier yesterday at the Stade Municipal de Kintele in Congo’s capital city, Brazzaville. The home side took the lead in the 24th minute when Thievy Bifouma’s cross found Ferebory Dore who headed home to make it 1-0 to Congo.

The Pharaohs of Egypt then pushed forward in search of the equalising goal against Congo’s Red Devils before the half-time break. The visitors did restore parity four minutes before the break through Mohamed Salah who nodded home a cross from Mohamed Abdel-Shafy to make it 1-1.

However, the visitors then took the lead for the first time in the 58th minute when Abdallah Saied beat Congo goalkeeper Gildas Kiwoko to make it 2-1 to Egypt. A three-goal blitz enabled Cote d’Ivoire to whip Mali 3-1 on Saturday in a World Cup soccer qualifying match while Burkina Faso snatched a dramatic 1-1 draw with South Africa after wasting two penalties.

Democratic Republic of Congo thrashed Libya 4-0, Senegal overcame Cape Verde 2-0 and Gabon and Morocco drew 0-0 in other matchday 1 African clashes. Sambou Yatabare stunned reigning African champions Cote d’Ivoire by racing on to a long pass and chipping the ball over slow-reacting goalkeeper Sylvain Gbohouo for an early lead in Bouake.

But the Ivorians responded by laying siege to the Mali goalmouth and Jonathan Kodjia and Gervinho scored in a dazzling nine-minute spell during which Salif Coulibaly conceded an own-goal.

Kodjia, a recent recruit by English second-tier club Aston Villa, levelled on 25 minutes by slamming the ball past goalkeeper Oumar Sissoko from outside the box. Rattled Mali fell behind when Coulibaly turned a low cross into his net five minutes later and China-based Gervinho fired the third goal from just inside the penalty area.

It was a great start for three-time World Cup qualifiers in Group C, especially as likely closest rivals Morocco were held 0-0 by 2017 African Cup of Nations hosts Gabon in Franceville. Jonathan Pitroipa had an early penalty saved by Itumeleng Khune and Alain Traore blazed another spot-kick over before Banou Diawara snatched a stoppage-time draw for Burkina Faso in Group D.

Dean Furman put three-time World Cup participants South Africa ahead on 80 minutes, rifling a low shot through a crowd of players and past goalkeeper Herve Kouakou Koffi after a corner was not cleared.

When Traore failed to equalise from his penalty a minute before the end of regular time in front of a 40 000 Ouagadougou crowd, the hosts seemed doomed. However, South Africa failed to deal with a bicycle kick in the first minute of additional time and Diawara got a touch that diverted the ball past Khune.

Striker Keita Balde from Italian Serie A outfit Lazio scored the first goal and created the second as dominant Senegal cruised to victory in Dakar and took a two-point lead over Burkina Faso and South Africa.

Balde beat Vozinha with a low, close-range shot during the opening half and his clever back-heel allowed recalled Sow to slam the ball into the net with 10 minutes left. Dieumerci Mbokani netted early in each half to power DR Congo to an emphatic triumph over Libya in Kinshasa with Jonathan Bolingi and Ndombe Mubele the other scorers. — AFP/SuperSport.