African zone FIFA World Cup qualifiers -Big nammes return in final games

Idriss Kameni and Bongani Khumalo are some of the well-known names that have been brought back from the footballing cold as African teams hunt passage to the final CAF qualifying round for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Côte d'Ivoire, Algeria, Ghana and Egypt are the three countries already assured of a place in the final qualifying round, while at least two teams in the other seven groups still have a chance of joining them in the final head-to-head stage. In the next round, the 10 group winners will be drawn into five ties, with the victors in the home-and-away contests qualifying for Brazil.

Ethiopia, who thought they had done all the hard work in their previous Group A game against South Africa with a 2-1 victory, must repeat their efforts after being stripped of a win in Botswana for fielding an ineligible player. The Walia Antelopes now must beat the Central African Republic in neutral Brazzaville if they want to guarantee progress. Anything but a win would open the door for South Africa or Botswana, who face each other in Durban.

Another team that lost ground off the pitch is Libya, who thought they would need just a draw from their final game in Cameroun to advance at the expense of the Indomitable Lions. The roles have been reversed now as Togo forfeited three points from a win against the Camerounians, who welcome back veteran goalkeeper Kameni after an absence of a year and sit top of Group I with 10 points — one more than Libya.

Also going head-to-head for a place in the play-offs are Senegal and Uganda, with the former knowing a draw will be enough for them, although they will be forced to play their 'home' match in Morocco.

In Group B, Tunisia will be confident of holding off Cape Verde Islands at home in Rades with a two-point advantage. Like the Blue Sharks, Malawi have a chance to shock the continent on the road, needing three points at the expense of this year's African champions Nigeria’s Super Eagles to the top of Group F.

The games in Group C and Group G are for entertainment and statistical interest only. In the former, Côte d'Ivoire will host Morocco with only pride on the line, while in the latter, Egypt put the continent's only perfect preliminary record up against Guinea in Alexandria.

Congo could have made sure of a place in the play-offs on either of the last two matchdays, but a draw in Gabon and a defeat at home against Burkina Faso has seen the Diables Rouges stuck on the doorstep of securing a place in the next round.

They will again try to secure Group E during a tough trip to Niger for their final game—one point ahead of the surging Burkinabe and three better than Gabon. One of the players the Congo fans are putting their faith in to find goals is France-born winger Chris Malonga, who has just joined Vitoria Guimaraes from Monaco. The exciting 26-year-old was on loan at Lausanne last season and was the top scorer for the Swiss club.

Source: fifa.com