Botswana faced off with Madagascar in Antananarivo. A Madagascar goal midway through the first half surely caught the attention of the Botswanans. The score, however, failed to change for the duration of the match and surprising Madagascar moved into second place in Group G with six points. Botswana ended the day stuck on five points."This game is like a cup final." -Valinhos, coach of Zimbabwe
Guinea visited Zimbabwe in a crucial qualifier in Group B qualifier, although Valinhos may have slightly overstated the importance of the matchup. Neither team could get going offensively, and the match ended in an unsatisfactory scoreless tie. Guinea missed its opportunity to tie Kenya for the group lead, and the red card given to their substitute Amara Bangoura in the seventy-second minute did not help their chances of scoring a late winner. Guinea have eight points, behing Kenya's ten but ahead of Zimbabwe's six. Guinea host Kenya in their final Round One qualifier in October.
Gabon went to South Africa to face already-vanquished Lesotho. Gabon got the win they desperately needed by a score of 3-0, and after Libya's victory over Ghana the day before, Group E has become a crapshoot. Libya visit Gabon in the final day of first-round qualifying, and Ghana host Lesotho. Libya have twelve points, Gabon have nine and the goal-differential tiebreaker over Ghana, who also have nine points.
Côte d'Ivoire went to Maputo with aspirations of clinching the Group G title, but resilient Mozambique was not about to be knocked out of the World Cup this early. A scoreless first half lead to high drama in the early minutes of the second half. The Ivoirians scored three minutes after the restart, but Mozambique kept its hopes alive with an answer four minutes later and a final score of 1-1. Côte d'Ivoire lead the group with ten points, whereas Mozambique have five points. This result eliminated Botswana from World Cup contention because they have no opportunity of finishing as a top eight second-place team despite still having the opportunity to finish second in Group G.
Mali faced off with Congo in Brazzaville for a huge match in Group J. A road win for Mali would have sealed their progression, but the Congolese had different plans. The game was scoreless until there remained but three minutes. Congo scored the decisive goal at that point to send the crowd into rapture. The 1-0 means that both teams now have three points and are tied at the top of the group tables heading into Match Day Six. A Chad win over Sudan on Wednesday would mean a three-way tie at nine points.
Egypt went to Kinshasha in the hopes of finishing off their Group L crown. Democratic Republic of the Congo expected a physical encounter from the two-time defending African Cup of Nations champions. At the half hour point, the Egyptians went atop the score with a goal. The next hour proved to be a stalemate, and the 1-0 win guarantees that the Egyptians will live to see Round Two. Democratic Republic of the Congo play in Malawi in October to determine who will finish second in the group. Both have nine points, but Democratic of the Congo have a better goal differential, so a tie would clinch second place for them.
"We will throw away caution, we are going for victory. It is going to be a hard game and Benin are difficult adversaries, but our objective is to win." -Oliveira Gonçalves, coach of Angola
Angola faced Benin in Cotonou in another highly important encounter, this time in the competitive Group C. The Beninese got out quickly with a goal two minutes in, but the Angolans answered within ten minutes time. The score was stable until the second half, when Benin jumped out to 3-1 with two strikes in a fifteen-minute span. Angola had twenty-five minutes to answer, but they were unsuccessful, pulling closer to Benin at 3-2 but not finishing the deal. The win seals Benin's surprising progression as group victors. Angola visit Niger in their final qualifier stuck at seven points. Angola appear unlikely to progress as one of the best eight second-place finishers and will need many results to swing their way come Match Day Six.
Uganda visited group doormats Niger in a match that was supposed to propel the Ugandans to ten points and a high position in Group C. Their 1-0 lead at the half suggested that they would achieve just that. The Nigeriens finally pulled themselves together and played the soccer they had been searching for all campaign long in the second half, pouring on three goals after having scored only one in their first four matches. Niger grab the miraculous 3-1 victory and shattered the hopes of Uganda, who sit in third place in Group C at seven points, although if they can win at home against Benin and move past Angola in the group table, they are very likely to advance as one of the best eight second-place teams. Such is the nature of African qualifying, where being second can be worse than being third.
Goal scorers:
Madagascar: Rabemanajara 23
Gabon: Ebuele ; Meye ; Mbanagoye
Côte d'Ivoire: B. Koné 48
Mozambique: Miro 52
Congo: Endzanga 87
Egypt: Aboutrika 30
Benin: Adenon 2; Omotoyossi 52, 66
Angola: Flavio 12; Loco 78
Niger: Issoufou 68, 85; Kamilou 87
Uganda: Obua 33
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