World Cup giantkillers Togo got a taste of their own medicine on Sunday when crashing 2-1 to minnows Swaziland in a 2010 World Cup-African Nations Cup qualifier.
Siza Dlamini and Collen Salelwako scored in the second half as the “Burning Spear” proved too hot for the “Sparrowhawks,” a shock African representative at the World Cup in Germany two years ago.
It was only the second victory in 10 qualifying matches spanning 16 years for the southern Africa kingdom whose national team is ranked 44 on the continent, 31 places below Togo.
PHOTO: AFP
Adekamni Olufade got a late consolation goal for Togo.
Madagascar also made a mockery of the monthly FIFA rankings released last Wednesday by forcing a 0-0 home draw in Antananarivo against Ivory Coast, a team 34 places above them.
Ivory Coast lacked injured stars Didier Drogba and Yaya Toure, but a team containing English Premiership trio Kolo Toure, Didier Zokora and Abdoulaye Meite was expected to prove too strong for Madagascar.
The other Group 7 match also delivered an unexpected result as Botswana earned a 2-1 win in Mozambique.
Rwanda and Congo also collected maximum points. Olivier Karekezi was the Rwandan hero, scoring the late goal that brought a 2-1 Group 8 victory in Ethiopia and Wilfrid Endzanga snatched the only goal for Congo after 70 minutes of their Group 10 match with Sudan.
Benin triumphed 4-1 against Uganda in Cotonou, Angola, Cameroon and Ghana maintained 100 percent records with away wins over Niger (2-1), Mauritius (3-0) and Lesotho (3-2) respectively and Senegal drew 0-0 in Gambia.
Gilbert Mushangazhike scored twice as Zimbabwe won 2-0 against Namibia while a penalty earned Demcoratic Republic of Congo a 1-0 victory over Malawi in Kinshasa.
OFFENSE SHINES: First baseman Pan Chie-kai hit a solo homer in the fifth inning as all 10 batters Taiwan used contributed at least one hit toward their team total of 14 One day after their first shutout loss at the WBSC Premier12, Taiwan yesterday bounced back with a commanding 8-2 victory over the US, keeping their hopes for a spot in tomorrow’s final alive. The win in the Super Round marked Taiwan’s first triumph over the US at a top-tier international baseball tournament since 2003. Their previous win over the US was at the 2003 Baseball World Cup, with only one win in the previous 10 matchups since 1999. Yesterday’s game was tightly contested through the first six innings, with the margin never exceeding two runs. However, the tide turned in the top of
Taiwan last night defeated Cuba 2-0 in their World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier12 Group B game at the Taipei Dome and finished the group second. At the Taipei Tianmu Baseball Stadium, South Korea yesterday defeated Australia 5-2, while Japan last night won 11-3 against the Dominican Republic. On Sunday, Taiwan scored two three-run homers in an 11-3 blowout win over Australia at the Taipei Dome to advance to the Super Round. Fresh off a defeat at the hands of defending Premier12 champions and Group B winners Japan the previous day, Taiwan’s offense came out slugging against Australia from the
TWO-NIL LOSS: Taiwan’s best chance to score came at the top of the fifth with the bases loaded and one out, but Venezuela’s Liarvis Breto got out of the jam Taiwan yesterday suffered a shutout 2-0 loss to Venezuela in the opening game of the WBSC Premier12 Super Round at the Tokyo Dome. Taiwan had seven hits, one more than Venezuela’s six, but catcher Carlos Perez’s two-run homer to left field in the bottom of the fourth inning delivered the only runs scored by both teams and secured victory for Venezuela. Taiwan’s best chance came at the top of the fifth inning with the bases loaded and only one out. However, Venezuela reliever Liarvis Breto struck out Chen Chen-wei before reliever Pedro Garcia finished the inning by allowing an infield flyball by Lin
As sporting celebrations go, it does not quite have the charm of Roger Milla’s hip-wiggling shimmy with a corner flag at the 1990 World Cup or the imperious swagger of Usain Bolt’s iconic lightning pose. However, a dance move inspired by US president-elect Donald Trump’s stilted on-stage boogieing has rapidly become the celebration of choice across the US sporting world. From the blood-soaked UFC to the hard-hitting NFL and the reliably decorous world of the LPGA Tour, athletes across North America have succumbed to the viral Trump dance craze in the past week. On Monday, US soccer star Christian Pulisic became the latest
RSS