Syria faced Kuwait in Kuwait during the final AFC qualifier of the day. The game was fully of intensity; Syria picked up three yellows, and Kuwait added two of its own. As for the goals, they came quickly and often. A Kuwait goal was twice answered by a Syrian goal, and the score was 2-2 at the half. Kuwait pulled away with two goals right around the hour mark, but they were not comfortable for long. Kuwaiti goalkeeper Al Khaldi was ejected for a red card in the seventy-third minute, but luckily for the Kuwaitis, they had one substitution remaining. Down a man, Kuwait managed to hang on for the 4-2 victory and are still in contention in Group E.Côte d'Ivoire visited Madagascar, again without Didier Drogba. Luckily for the Ivoirians, their defense has held up without their star, but no goals were found in Antananarivo. The final yellow card tally did fall in the Ivoirians’ favor, however, ending at 3-2.
Cameroon visited rainy Mauritius in their second tilt of 2010 qualifying. The true deluge, however, came off of the feet of the Cameroonians. Two penalty conversions in the first half combined with yet another penalty score in the second brought Cameroon a 3-0 victory and three more points.
Botswana visited neighbors Mozambique with thoughts of an upset. They left with the dream realized. A 1-0 halftime lead for Botswana was erased at the hour mark, but a score ten minutes from time saw them through with a 2-1 win.
Ghana visited Lesotho without Sulley Muntari, but they looked great despite his absence. Two goals eased their nerves by the end of the half, and a third came midway through the second period. Nevertheless, Lesotho never gave in and managed to pull back two goals in the ninetieth minute. Ghana escaped with a 3-2 victory, which is worth three points, the same as the 3-0 would have given them. Still, the late splurge may be cause for concern moving on in the competition.
“All the players did really well today… It was disappointing to concede the two late goals; we lost concentration. Giving away two late goals like that is not good for a team that wants to qualify for the World Cup. But it was a spectacular result. Six points is the maximum and we can now build on this. Six goals in two matches is very good." -Ghana coach Silas Tetteh.
Namibia was looking to build on its win over Kenya during its trip to Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe had other plans. A Zimbabwean goal before the half-hour was the only tally at the half. The game was not put out of reach until there were under five minutes to play, when a second score gave Zimbabwe a 2-0 win and three points in the most competitive group in Africa’s First Round.
Namibia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, and Guinea promise to provide plenty of drama in the upcoming four match days, especially since it is now unlikely that the second-place finisher will have enough points to advance to Round Two.
Goal scorers:
Kuwait: Al Azemi 2, 20, 63; Jumah 57
Syria: Al Khatib 10, 45+2
Cameroon: Bikey 11 PK; Eto'o 27 PK; Bebey Mbangue 87 PK
Botswana: Selolwane 20; Mafoko 80
Mozambique: Lobo 61
Ghana: Kingston 15; Agogo 42, 62
Lesotho: Muso 90; Seema 90
Zimbabwe: Mushangazhike 27, 86
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