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.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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