Equatorial Guinea looked for a win in Freetown, but Sierra Leone were not about to let their opportunity to pass South Africa in the group go by the wayside. The grabbed the first goal at the half-hour mark, and a goal with ten minutes to go in the second half gave them an insurmountable 2-0 lead. A stoppage time goal by Equatorial Guinea was not enough, and Sierra Leone have themselves a 2-1 lead, seven points, and a great chance to move onto Round Two.Liberia went to Banjul to keep their faint hopes of qualification from dying, but Gambia sent Liberia packing for good. Two goals within the first half hour ended Liberian hopes, and a third goal sent the visitors home soundly defeated. The 3-0 win gives Gambia eight points and a tie for second place with an edge in goal differential over Sénégal. Gambia need a result in their upcoming match in Sénégal to have a chance to advance. More than likely, a tie will see them through to Round Two.
Cameroon went to Praia in hopes of snatching the Group A title from Cape Verde. Things did not appear too auspicious for the Cameroonians after surrendering a goal near the end of the first period and entering the break down one goal. Cameroon continued to fight, however, and two goals before the midpoint of the second period brought the Cameroonians to the promised land by virtue of a 2-1 victory and the Group A title. Cape Verde now face a must-win fixture in Tanzania to retain hope of qualifying for Round Two.
Rwanda visited Mauritania holding nine points through four matches. They had a date with winless and pointless Mauritania, but it appeared to be destined for a scoreless tie until the Rwandans clinched the away victory with a goal with nine minutes left in regulation. Rwanda's twelve points appear to be enough to advance, but Morocco and Ethiopia's match was postponed, so Rwanda have not yet advanced completely out of Group H. Alexandre Song was red-carded for picking up two yellows in the final minutes of the game, including his second in stoppage time, but he will only miss Cameroon's unimportant qualifier against Mauritius in October.
"There's no point in lying, we're in danger. Even though we've won our last three games, the defeat at home to Burkina Faso hurt us badly. Our qualification depends entirely on the match over there." - Karim Haggui, Tunisia
Tunisia went to Ouagadougou to face their nemesis Burkina Faso. Alas, the game did not deliver the interest that it had been tabbed to generate, but the scoreless draw suits both teams rather nicely. Burkina Faso and Tunisia have both advanced to Round Two out of Group I with the result. Burkina Faso have thirteen points and the group victory, whereas the seven points garnered by Tunisia against first-place Burkina Faso and third-place Burundi guarantees them a spot as one of the best eight second-place sides.
Sweden went to Tirana to snatch three points from their hosts. Albania had other ideas, and although the Albanians could not generate any offense, they did generate one point in the standings by shutting out the heavily-favored Swedes. The result was undoubtedly highly frustrating for Sweden.
Belarus faced a Ukraine side looking to redeem itself after falling off in the two years after its 2006 World Cup appearance. Neither side could pull anything together in the offensive ends of the pitch, and the game was scoreless after ninety minutes. Ukraine drew a penalty kick opportunity deep into second-half stoppage time, much to the chagrin of the Belarussian fans, and the conversion gave Ukraine a 1-0 victory over their neighbors and their first three points of qualifying.
Iceland faced fellow Scandinavians Norway in Oslo, but it was the Norwegians who were supposed to be making all of the noise. Iceland were forced to take three yellows to slow down Norway's attackers, but the Norwegians struck first after drawing and converting a penalty kick in the first half. Iceland quickly answered with a goal of their own, and the sides went to the break tied at one. A goal five minutes into the second half put the hosts atop the score once again, but the Icelanders knocked home another goal and walked away with a tough 1-1 road draw.
Goal scorers:
Sierra Leone: Conteh 30; Suma 80
Equatorial Guinea: Edjogo 90+1
Gambia: Demba 10, 80; Jallow 26
Cameroon: Emana 51; Nkong 65
Cape Verde: Lito 39
Rwanda: Mulenda 81
Ukraine: Shevchenko 90+4 PK
Norway: Iversen 36 PK, 50
Iceland: Helguson 39; Guðjohnsen 69
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