Overshadowed by the end of CONCACAF qualifying, the drama in Asian qualifying and the more popular CONMEBOL qualifying, African qualifying begun on the FIFA matchdays in November as the first round took place.
The first round was a series of home-and-home games played between matched up teams that comprised the lowest 24 ranked nations out of the 52 teams participating in qualifying. Mauritania was the only nation in Africa not to enter World Cup qualifying.
One another note before recapping the action. Liberia received automatic passage to the second round when Mauritius withdrew from qualifying on Oct. 31st.
Here are the results on aggregate with FIFA rank in parenthesis.
Kenya (133) 7 Seychelles (183) 0
Kenya faced little trouble with the island nation Seychelles, winning comfortably 3-0 on the road to begin the tie.
Pascal Ochieng broke the deadlock with five minutes left in the first half, heading home from a free kick. Striker Dennis Oliech added the next two late, first finishing clinically after being played through. Oliech's second came when he picked the ball up at the midfield line and touched by the high Seychelles' line and was able to round the keeper and slot the ball home.
The second leg saw more of the same. This time it was a 4-0 victory for Kenya with the goals coming from four different sources.
Once again the opener came from a set-piece. This time it was a corner kick, Brian Mandela rose highest to meet the ball and power it home in the 19th minute. Oliech scored his third goal of the tie next, before Titus Mulama put Kenya three up before the halftime break. Victory Wanyama added the fourth one in the 75th minute.
Togo (101) 2 Guinea-Bissau (160) 1
Togo, a participant in the 2006 World Cup, has fallen on hard times lately both on and off the field. They received a boost by scraping by Guinea-Bissau in round one and also with the news that Emmanuel Adebayor has recently stated he would be willing to return to the national team.
The first leg ended in a 1-1 draw in Guinea-Bissau.
Togo took the lead in the 32nd minute courtesy of Serge Gakpe, but were pegged back in less than five minutes. Basile De Carvalho gave hopes to a Guinea-Bissau upset with an equalizer. The home side was then able to frustrate the favorites and head to Togo all level.
The second leg finished 1-0 to Togo with the lone goal being scored in only the third minute on an unfortunate mix up.
Togo had pushed forward and rounded the keeper and the ball was played back to the middle of the box. A shot was fired but was cleared off the line by a Guinea-Bissau defender. However, the clearance deflected off the keeper who was retreating back into the net and into the goal. The own-goal was enough to see Togo into the second round.
Namibia (121) 8 Djibouti (200) 0
Namibia had no problems with one of the worst African sides in Djibouti. They smartly put the tie to bed in the first leg with a 4-0 triumph.
Rudolf Bester, who plays for the Orlando Pirates, had a brace in the first leg. Lazarus Kaimbi and Sydney Urikhob added the other two goals for the victors.
The second leg was also a 4-0 scoreline. Kaimbi had a brace in this one while Urikhob added another and Heinrich Isaacks rounded out the scoring.
Mozambique (105) 5 Comoros (186) 1
In another big mismatch, Mozambique eased by the minnows Comoros. The tiny island nation hung tight in its home leg, only falling 1-0 on a second half penalty by Almiro Lobo.
Mozambique demonstrated its quality with a 4-1 second leg win at home. Domingues and Jerry Sitoe ended any hope of a Comoros miracle with two first half goals. Francisco Whiskey added a third in the second half before Comoros finally got on the scoresheet thanks to Mohamed Youssouf. Clésio Bauque completed the scoring for Mozambique.
Equatorial Guinea (151) 3 Madagascar (157) 2
In one of the more evenly matched ties, Equatorial Guinea was able to nudge its way by the island nation of Madagascar.
They used a 2-0 home win to get them off to a fantastic start and heap all the pressure on Madagascar.
In the first leg Juvenal was the first to tally after converting a penalty in the 20th minute to put Equatorial Guinea in front. Randy solidified the hosts advantage with a goal in the 74th minute.
Madagascar fought back in the second leg to claim a 2-1 home win, but it was not enough to overtake Equatorial Guinea on aggregate. In fact, the eventual tie victors all but put the series to bed in the 24th minute when Viera Ellong scored to put them up 3-0 on aggregate with the benefit of an away goal.
Yvan Rajoarimanana equalized early in the second half for Madagascar before Falimery Ramanamahefa won the leg, but not the tie, for Madagascar in the 90th minute.
Ethiopia (137) 5 Somalia (187) 0
Underdog Somalia was able to hold Ethiopia to a scoreless 0-0 draw in the home leg, which was actually played in Djibouti due to security fears. However, it all fell apart in the second leg for Somalia.
Ethiopia ran out 5-0 winners to advance. Omud Okwury got the hosts off to a hot start with a goal in just the fifth minute. The rest of the first half was tense as a Somalian goal would have shifted the advantage to the away side.
Shimelus Bekele made sure of Ethiopia's advancement with two quick goals in the 62nd and 65th minutes. From there the rout was on, and Getaneh Kebede added a late brace in the final minutes to round out the scoring.
Lesotho (148) 3 Burundi (145) 2
In a small upset, tiny Lesotho defeat Burundi to move onward. The eventual winners claimed the first leg at home by the score of 1-0. Lehlomela Ramabele tallied a late 83rd minute goal to propel the side to victory.
Lesotho came out firing in the second leg as well. Thapelo Tale and Bokang Mothoana both scored in the first half hour to put the underdogs up 3-0 on aggregate.
Burundi clawed back with Cedric Amissi finding the target before the halftime break. Selemani Ndikumana converted a penalty late to tie the second leg, but leave Burundi short on aggregate.
Rwanda (114) 4 Eritrea (184) 2
Tiny Rwanda has quietly had a successful few years in Africa, including qualifying for the African Cup of Nations. In its first round tie, the nation was able to handle pesky Eritrea.
The two sides fought to a 1-1 draw in Eritrea in the first leg. Tesfalem Tekle gave the home side the lead in the first half before Elias Uzamukunda tied the score in the second.
Olivier Karekezi gave Rwanda a dream start in the second leg with a goal in the fourth minute. Jean-Claude Iranzi added a second in the 70th minute before Labama Bokota made sure of progression for Rwanda with a strike in the 78th. Abraham Tedros added a consolation for Eritrea late.
Congo DR (125) 8 Swaziland (179) 2
Congo DR cruised by Swaziland to advance. The first leg in Swaziland saw the away side win 3-1.
Dioko Kaluyituka broke the deadlock in the 18th minute and Trésor Mputu added a second four minutes later. Sidumo Shongwe halved the deficit early in the second half, but Gladys Bokese restored Congo DR's two goal advantage before the conclusion of the match.
In the second leg, Mputu ended and faint hopes of a Swaziland comeback with an early goal before adding another in the second half. Kaluyituka had a second half brace of his own and Yves Diba Ilunga also was on target. Shongwe scored yet again for Swaziland, but Congo DR won comfortably 5-1.
Congo (131) 6 Sao Tome and Principe (192) 1
The Congo squared off against the island nation Sao tome and Principe and crushed them in the first leg 5-0 to effectively end the tie.
Christopher Missilou put Congo on the board in the first minute of the game and not even five minutes into the match they were two up when Ladislas Douniama struck. Chris Malonga made it three in the 27th minute. Prince Oniangue and Harris Tchilimbou completed the scoring in the first leg with second half strikes.
The second leg was much more competitive and ended in a 1-1 draw. Orlando Gando actually gave the minnows the advantage only to have Francis N'Ganga equalize a few minutes later.
Tanzania (136) 2 (a) Chad (141) 2
Tanzania advanced to the second round on the away goals rule after they finished tied 2-2 on aggregate with Chad.
Tanzania scored two away goals in the first leg to come away with a 2-1 road win. Mrisho Ngassa scored the first goal of the match for Tanzania, but Mahamat Labbo tied the score five minutes later. Ten minutes from time, Nurdin Bakari was on target for the winner.
Chad came back with an upset win in Tanzania by a 1-0 scoreline with Labbo scoring yet again. Unfortunately for Chad, it was not enough to advance.
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