Algeria and Libya climbed to the top of 2010 World Cup-Africa Cup of Nations groups this weekend after contrasting home wins in second round qualifiers.
Defender Antar Yahia scored after 31 minutes in Blida to earn Algeria’s Desert Foxes a 1-0 victory over Gambia in Group 6 and reverse the result of a match between the countries in west Africa last weekend.
Osama Salah got Libya off to a perfect start in Tripoli with a fourth-minute goal and the Greens scored three times in the second half to complete a 4-0 rout of Group 5 strugglers Lesotho.
PHOTO: EPA
The Blida clash between Gambia and Algeria, two teams with realistic ambitions of finishing at least second and progressing to the final qualifying phase, was overshadowed by Gambian claims that some players were intimidated during the first game. Senior Gambian soccer official Jammeh Bojang informed world governing body FIFA and its African wing, CAF, that two Algerian players told striker Ousman Jallow they were “terrorists” and threatened to bomb the visitors’ hotel in north Africa.
An Algerian official dismissed the allegations as “baseless” and the match at the Mustapha Tchaker Stadium, 50km south of the capital city Algiers, passed without incident.
Senegal, one point behind the leaders with a match in hand, remain the likely winners of Group 6, leaving Algeria and Gambia to dispute second place, while Liberia appear out of the running.
Libya moved three points clear of top seeds Ghana in Group 5 after completing a double over hapless Lesotho, who have failed to collect a point from three outings under Serbian coach Zavisa Milankovic.
Defenders Omar Dawood and Younis al-Shibani were among the second-half marksmen and midfielder Hesham Shaban completed the scoring nine minutes from time at the 60,000-seat National Stadium in Tripoli. The Greens have nine points from four matches, while this year’s Cup of Nations bronze medalists Ghana (six points from three games) and Gabon (three points from two games) meet in Accra today, with the Black Stars seeking revenge for a shock 2-0 loss last weekend.
■ CONCACAF
AP, MONTREAL
Dwayne De Rosario and Ali Gerba each scored twice as Canada defeated St. Vincent and the Grenadines 4-1 and advanced 7-1 on aggregate in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying on Friday.
The victory put Canada into the third round of CONCACAF qualifiers, in a tough round-robin group against Honduras, Jamaica and likely Mexico, who hold a 2-0 advantage from the first leg of their second-round tie against Belize going into the home second leg. Only the top two from that four-team group, starting in August, will advance to the final stage of qualifying.
Houston’s De Rosario, who should have had a hat-trick in the first half, opened the scoring in the 29th minute, slipping past defender Wesley Charles, cutting inside, beating Charles again and firing home before 11,502 spectators at the Saputo Stadium.
Gerba, who also scored twice in a 3-0 win in the first leg, was at the goalmouth to head in a De Rosario pass in the 38th minute.
Five minutes into the second half, De Rosario blasted through goalkeeper Winslow McDowall’s hands and then he put in a smart cross from the right that Gerba, of German lower-division club Ingolstadt, headed past McDowall in the 63rd minute for 4-0.
St. Vincent got a consolation goal in the 76th minute, as Malaysian-based striker Marlon James swept in on the right side and the captain chipped the ball over goalkeeper Pat Onstad in the 76th minute.
■ OCEANIA
AP, WELLINGTON
New Caledonia kept alive their slim hopes of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa when they beat Vanuatu 3-0 in an Oceania regional qualifying match in Noumea on Saturday.
Pierre Wajoka opened the scoring for New Caledonia in the 30th minute, giving the home team a 1-0 lead which they took to halftime.
Michel Hmae scored New Caledonia’s second on 60 minutes and Patrick Diaike sealed a convincing win three minutes before time.
New Caledonia moved to within a point of group leaders New Zealand, who have played one less game. New Zealand and New Caledonia are scheduled to meet in home-and-away matches in September.
The top two teams will advance to a two-match playoff to determine the Oceania winner, who will play the fifth-placed team from Asian qualifiers for a place at the 2010 World Cup.
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