Drogba paces Cote d'Ivoire to World Cup finals

Didier Drogba came off the bench to pace Cote d'Ivoire for a 1-1 tie against Malawi to secure a ticketfor the World Cup finals on Saturday.

The draw was enough for the Ivorians to join Ghana and hosts South Africa for next year's tournament, while three other berths from Africa remain hanging in the balance.

Against bottom placed Malawi in Blantyre, coach Vahid Halilhodzic rested most of his key players, and only introduced Drogba after Malawi broke the deadlock in the 63rd minute through Jacob Ngwira.

The Ivorian captain took two minutes from his entry onto the field to score the equaliser and secure a second successive World Cup trip for the west Africans.

Cameroon stayed ahead in Group A after beating Togo 3-0 in Yaounde, while African champions Egypt kept alive the hope with a 1-0 away win in Zambia. Cameroon are one point ahead of Gabon while Egypt levelled with Algeria on 10 points in Group C.

Hosni Abd Rabou scored a long-range effort in the 69th minute to give Egypt a 1-0 win in Chililabombwe.

Algeria is expected to restore its three-point lead when it host bottom-placed Rwanda in Blida on Sunday, setting up a potential thriller in Cairo between Egypt and Algeria next month.

Cameroon and Gabon are also set for a finale in Group A after they both won their last home matches. They will both play their last qualifiers away next month.

Six African qualifiers will be played on Sunday, including Group B leaders Tunisia against Kenya. Nigeria, who trail Tunisia by two points, will face Mozambique.


Source: Xinhua