Dakar — The last two weekends of qualifiers for the next African Cup of Nations and World Cup 2010 tournaments were characterized by a number of themes: a North African comeback, the confirmation of Africa's powerhouses, Burkina Faso's surprise, and the Senegal-Gambian family affair.
African football dreaded the meeting between the Gambia and Senegal last weekend. The match was judged by the Confederation of African Football and its world equivalent, FIFA, as carrying a high risk of violence because of the fierce sporting rivalry between the two countries. But as in 2003, the teams were equally matched, resulting in 0-0 draw.
Before the players determined the result on the field, the fans competed in the stands. Initial nervousness and the dryness of the grass augured a lame game, but in the event the crowd was treated to a beautiful match despite Senegal repeatedly receiving cards, one of which was red (Kader Mangane was sent off at the 37th minute).
Spectators will long remember the heartening sportsmanship between El Hadj Diouf and Ebou Sillah, the Gambian captain who was drowned by applause from the Gambian public throughout the match.
We'll next see the two teams match up in October in Dakar.
North Africa bounces back
Two weekends ago, Morocco's Atlas Lions overwhelmed the Ethiopian 11 during the first day of qualifiers (3-0), and Egypt snuck past the DR Congo in Cairo (2-1). But other North African teams got caught in a fox trap.
Tunisia lost at home to Burkina Faso (1-2). Just as surprisingly, Algeria was put down 0-1 in Dakar by Senegal. The Mourabitounes of Mauritania registered the heaviest loss in the region by going down to Rwanda 0-3. Libya didn't do any better in Kumasi, losing 0-3 to Ghana.
In the second weekend of qualifiers, North African teams surged back, following the example of Morocco, who secured a second consecutive victory by crushing Mauritania 4-1, whereas Egypt inflicted the same score on Djibouti. Algeria bounced back by thrashing the Liberian Warriors 3-0. Libya, on the other hand, barely got by Gabon with the smallest score margin of 1-0.
All the North African teams except Mauritania won, putting them back in the race to qualify for the World Cup, to the annoyance of West Africa, which is always in direct competition to represent Africa at international contests.
Burkina Faso surprises
The Stallions of Burkina Faso didn't disappoint their fans last weekend after the warm reception they got upon returning from Tunis unexpectedly victorious over the "Eagles of Carthage." Playing against Burundi at home in the August 4 stadium, they kicked off with fresh confidence of a team on their own patch, sealing a second win thanks to a player scoring twice for the second successive weekend.
At Rades, it was Issouf Koné who scored two goals, this time it was the striker from FC Sochaux, Moumouni Dagano. Has there already been a Duarte effect on the team from Ouagadougou"? Portuguese coach Paolo Duarte is convinced that his team will make it to the World Cup.
Guinea gets stuck
The Syli Nationale of Guinea have their backs to the wall after losing against Kenya (0-2) in Nairobi last weekend and the tie with Zimbabwe last week. After military troubles in Conakry, a forced stopover in Dakar and conceding a tie at home, a somber story of a un-accommodating hotel troubled their first few days in Kenya. Is that enough to explain the lateness of the kindling of Pascal Feindouno's gang?
The strongest remain strong
The super teams of Africa, those of the last bracket of the 2008 African Cup and 2006 World Cup are still strong and have the best performance in the current rounds of matches so far.
Egypt, Cameroon, Nigeria, Angola, Ghana, and Morocco have all already filed two wins. Rwanda, Burkina Faso and Mali make good company with their recent victories.
Only Ivory Coast, one of the last World Cup teams, without superstar Didier Drogba and Togo, with Adebayor, were not able to make their presence felt in these first rounds. The "Elephants" divided the score with Madagascar (0-0) while the "Sparrow Hawks" were blasted out of the sky in Mbabane by Swaziland, losing two goals to one.
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The lesson to be learned so far is that logic seems respected on the continent, with the exceptions of the outstanding and unexpected performance of countries such as Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Rwanda.
Five major players score doubles
Five magic feet knocked in doubles on the second weekend of this qualifying round. First, the Algerian Karim Ziani, after a so-so season at the OM, is back in the groove by slotting in two of the three Algerian goals against Liberia.
Ghanaian Junior Agogo was as effective in butchering Lesotho away from home. Moumouni Dagano designated himself the "champion prince" of Burkina Faso's fans by registering two goals for his team.
Gilbert Mushangazhike of Orlando Pirates showed his Zimbabwean teammates the way to victory by scoring two goals against Namibia. Dennis Oliech, the Kenyan star, confirmed his status with the "Harambees Stars" by finding the net twice in the match.
