Africa’s top-ranked soccer team, Cameroon, were handed a tricky route to the 2010 World Cup after being drawn on Wednesday against Morocco, Gabon and Togo in Group A of the continent’s third and final qualifying stage.
The group will see Cameroon’s German coach Otto Pfister pitting his wits against the Togo side which he coached through a chaotic 2006 World Cup.
“It is indeed a very difficult group. We are the favorites on paper, but this does not mean too much. We cannot afford to underestimate any team as they are all strong,” Pfister told FIFA.com.
“Togo have two or three really good players and, of course, have the experience of being part of the previous World Cup in Germany,” said the coach who was in charge of the Sparrowhawks at the 2006 tournament.
The group also brings together former French stars Roger Lemerre and Alain Giresse who now coach Morocco and Gabon respectively.
“It’s a very exciting group, and the fact that Cameroon are neighbors of ours also adds to the spice,” Giresse said following the draw.
Only the five group winners will progress to the final tournament along with 2010 World Cup hosts South Africa, who will be the first African country to stage football’s biggest event.
The groups are also being used to determine qualification for the next African Nations Cup, also in 2010, with the three top sides in each group going through along with hosts Angola.
“I think in our group it will be Cameroon and Morocco battling it out for top spot,” said Giresse, whose team hail from the country with the smallest population left in the competition. “We will be happy if we can make it into the top three.”
Group B also threw up some tough fixtures with Nigeria, Tunisia and Kenya all going head-to-head along with Mozambique.
Reigning African champions Egypt were given a slightly easier-looking assignment in Group C where their main rivals are likely to be two-time World Cup participants Algeria.
Ghana were joined by Mali, Benin and Sudan in Group D while southern Africans Malawi, the lowest-ranked team in the draw, are in Group E along with Didier Drogba’s Ivory Coast, Guinea and Burkina Faso.
Tallon Griekspoor on Friday stunned top seed Alexander Zverev 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4) in the second round at Indian Wells, avenging a devastating loss to the German at Roland Garros last year. Zverev, the world No. 2 who is heading the field of the prestigious ATP Masters event with No. 1 Jannik Sinner serving a three-month drugs ban, is the first Indian Wells men’s top seed to lose his opening match since Andy Murray in 2017. It was a cherished win for Griekspoor, who had lost five straight matches — including four last year — to the German. That included a five-setter
Donovan Mitchell on Wednesday scored 26 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers punched their ticket to the NBA playoffs with a hard-fought 112-107 victory over the Miami Heat. A seesaw battle in Cleveland saw the Heat threaten to end the Cavs’ 11-game unbeaten streak after opening up a seven-point lead late in the fourth quarter, but the Cavs clawed back the deficit in the closing minutes to seal their 12th straight victory and a place in the post-season. The Cavaliers improved to 52-10, maintaining their stranglehold on the Eastern Conference with 20 games of the regular season remaining. Mitchell was one of six Cleveland
VALUABLE POINT: Relegation-threatened Valencia snatched a thrilling 3-3 draw at CA Osasuna thanks to a remarkable backheel volley by Umar Sadiq Barcelona on Sunday secured a comfortable 4-0 win over Real Sociedad to move back top of La Liga. Aritz Elustondo’s early red card gave Hansi Flick’s side a comfortable afternoon, with Gerard Martin, Marc Casado, Ronald Araujo and Robert Lewandowski on the score sheet. Atletico Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao on Saturday to temporarily knock the Catalans from their perch, while Real Madrid, third, lost at Real Betis Balompie. Flick was able to rotate his side a little ahead of the UEFA Champions League round-of-16 visit to face SL Benfica tomorrow and still move one point above Atletico. “There were a lot of things that
Five-time champion Novak Djokovic on Saturday tumbled out of the Indian Wells ATP Masters, falling in his first match to lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp as two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz advanced. “No excuses for a poor performance,” 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic said after 37 unforced errors in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 defeat. “It doesn’t feel great when you play this way on the court,” he said. “But congratulations to my opponent — just a bad day in the office, I guess, for me.” Djokovic is just the latest in Van de Zandschulp’s string of superstar victims. He
RSS