Lesotho and Equatorial Guinea were the only home teams to win on Friday as Africa began its qualifying competition for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil with 10 first-round games.
A late Lehlomela Ramabele goal earned Lesotho a 1-0 first leg victory over Burundi in Maseru, while next year’s Africa Cup of Nations co-hosts Equatorial Guinea scored in each half to defeat Madagascar 2-0 in Malabo.
Ramabele struck seven minutes from time as Likuena (Crocodiles) coach Leslie Notsi saw his faith in soccer “babes” pay off with more than half the team coming from the stars who qualified for this year’s African youth championship.
Equatorial Guinea, automatic Cup of Nations qualifiers as co-hosts and forced to play friendly instead of competitive fixtures, went ahead midway through the opening half thanks to Spain-based Juvenal Edjogo-Oweno.
A second Equatorial Guinea goal in the closing stages leaves a team coached by experienced Frenchman Henri Michel well placed to survive the return match in Antananarivo on Tuesday.
Rwanda come from behind to force a 1-1 draw in Eritrea and give Serb coach Milutin “Micho” Sredojevic a satisfactory start, while Serge Gakpe was on target for 2006 World Cup qualifiers Togo in a 1-1 away draw against Guinea Bissau.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo, called Zaire when they competed at the 1974 World Cup and crumbled 9-0 to Yugoslavia, were among six away victors as they overcame Swaziland 3-1 in Lobamba.
Kaluyituka Dioko and Mputu Mabi scored within 22 minutes of the kickoff and Sidumo Shongwe pulled one goal back midway through the second half, before Gladys Bokese struck a third for the visiting Leopards.
Neighbors the Republic of the Congo were the most convincing winners, thrashing Sao Tome e Principe 5-0 in Sao Tome via goals from Christopher Missilou, Ladislas Douniama, Francis Malonga, Prince Oniangue and Harris Tchilimbou.
Namibia triumphed 4-0 away to Djibouti in the first match of the day with South Africa-based strikers Rudolf Bester and Henrico Botes among the goals in the tiny Horn of Africa nation.
Pascal Ochieng, Kevin Kimani and Dennis Oliech were on target as Kenya won 3-0 on the Indian Ocean island of Seychelles as coach Francis Kimanzi celebrated a perfect start to a second spell in charge of the Harambee Stars.
Mozambique maintained their recent dominance over the Comoros Islands with a 1-0 win in Mitsamiouli thanks to an early second-half penalty converted by long-serving Miro Lobo.
Bakari Hamadi was the toast of Tanzania as his 80th-minute goal delivered a 2-1 victory in Chad where Mrisho Ngassa opened the scoring for the visitors on 10 minutes and Mahamat Labo leveled almost immediately.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
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