ABUJA/ALGIERS— The African line up for the 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup has been concluded with the return leg matches of the play-off round completed in sensational and exciting fashion.
African champions Senegal headline the five African countries to proceed to the World Cup alongside Morocco, Ghana, Tunisia and Cameroon.
The stories of Ghana and Cameroon stands out because they both went away and secured qualification.
Nigeria 1-1 Ghana (1-1 aggregate): Ghana qualified for their fourth World Cup after edging out Nigeria on the away goal rule following a 1-1 draw in Abuja. The two sides drew 0-0 in the first leg in Kumasi last week and heading into the return fixture, the Ghanaians only needed a scoring draw to progress.
And they did exactly that, qualifying for the World Cup after missing the 2018 showpiece in Russia. For Nigeria, this is the first time they will be missing the World Cup since 2006.
Thomas Partey had given Ghana an 11th minute lead before William Troost Ekong levelled for the Super Eagles in the 22nd minute.
Partey broke the deadlock with a sleek shot from the edge of the box with keeper Francis Uzoho seeing the ball sneak between his body and the ground, a dream start for the visitors.
Nigeria fought to get level and they did so in the 22nd minute from the penalty spot awarded after a lengthy VAR check. Ademola Lookman was clipped inside the box by Dennis Odoi and Ekong stepped up to score and put Nigeria firmly back in contention.
The Super Eagles thought they had grabbed the lead in the 34th minute but Victor Osimhen was flagged down for offside and the decision was confirmed by VAR.
In the second half, Ghana managed to soak in the pressure from Nigeria and saw off the result after 90 minutes.
Algeria 1-2 Cameroon (2-2 on aggregate): Karl Toko Ekambi swept home perhaps the most important goal of his career, scoring in the fourth minute of added time as Cameroon beat Algeria 2-1 in Blida to qualify for their eighth FIFA World Cup.
The two teams played to a 2-2 aggregate score, but Cameroon qualify to Qatar on the away goal rule.
Algeria had scored two minutes to the end when Ahmed Touba headed home Rachid Ghezzal’s corner, but the never say die Indomitable Lions had the last laugh, Ekambi sweeping the ball home inside the box after Michael Ngadeu headed down the ball for him.
It was massive heartbreak for Algeria with their coach Djabel Belmadi sinking to the turf after the fulltime whistle in a case of too close but too far for Les Fennecs.
The game was forced to extra time after a 1-0 score-line to Cameroon in the regulation 90 minutes.
In regulation time, skipper Maxime Choupo Moting scored the lone goal for Cameroon, slamming the ball home after keeper Rais M’Bohli dropped a corner right at his feet.
Algeria had chances to draw level and the best of them fell on Youcef Bellaili. Off a counter, Islam Silimani collected the ball and squared to Bellaili on a silver platter, but the midfielder fired wide with only the keeper to beat from 10 yards out.
In extra time, Algeria thought they had scored a vital goal when Slimani netted from a cross on the left. However, Algeria’s celebrations were cut short by the VAR, with the Algerian forward adjudged to have handled the ball as he headed the ball in.
Andre Onana made two brilliant saves denying Bellaili from close range and Youcef Attal’s thunderous strike from distance.
Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK