2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)

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The Confederation of African Football (CAF) qualifying stage for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification will see 52 teams competing for 5 berths. In addition the host, South Africa, qualify automatically. A preliminary round will be played in October 2007 (before the draw on November 25, 2007) to trim the competing teams to just 48 nations.^[1]

For the first time since the 1934 World Cup, the hosts (South Africa) will compete in the qualification process (making them the 53rd nation involved in the African qualifiers) - although they are guaranteed a spot in the finals. This is necessitated by the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification doubling as qualification for the 2010 African Cup of Nations (to be held in Angola). Similarly, Angola will automatically qualify for that competition, although they will play in the qualification process.

Angola's situation mirrors that seen in the 2006 World Cup qualifiers in Africa, which doubled as the qualifiers to the 2006 African Cup of Nations and included Egypt (who qualified for that tournament as hosts).^[2]

1 Preliminary Round
2 First Group Round
3 Second Group Round
4 Goalscorers
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Preliminary Round

Main article: 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - CAF Preliminary Round

Five knockout ties were originally required, involving the ten lowest ranked African countries (based on FIFA rankings as of July 2007). The actual draw was apparently conducted one day before the format was announced by CAF. The pairings were:

Madagascar v Comoros
Somalia v Swaziland
São Tomé and Príncipe v Central African Republic
Sierra Leone v Guinea-Bissau
Seychelles v Djibouti

São Tomé and Príncipe and the Central African Republic both withdrew in early September. As a result, Swaziland and Seychelles (the highest ranked of the ten nations) were no longer required to play in this round, and the teams they were originally matched against, Somalia and Djibouti, were redrawn to play each other instead.^[3] The tie between Djibouti and Somalia was played as a one leg tie in Djibouti, as Somalia was not deemed suitable for FIFA matches; the other two ties were played as two leg ties.

Team #1	Agg.	Team #2	1st leg	2nd leg
Madagascar	10–2	Comoros	6–2	4–0
Djibouti	1–0	Somalia	1–0	n/a
Sierra Leone	1–0	Guinea-Bissau	1–0	0–0

[edit] First Group Round

Main article: 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - CAF First Group Round

The 48 qualifiers were split into 12 groups of 4 in the draw held in Durban, South Africa on 25 November 2007. These teams will play a full round-robin in 2008, with the 12 groups winners and 8 best runners-up advancing to the second group round.

[edit] Seeding

One team from each of the following pots were drawn into each group.^[4]

Pot A	Pot B	Pot C	Pot D
Cameroon Nigeria Côte d'Ivoire Morocco Ghana Tunisia Egypt Guinea Senegal Mali Angola Togo	Zambia South Africa Cape Verde Congo DR Algeria Burkina Faso Benin Mozambique Libya Ethiopia Congo Zimbabwe	Uganda Botswana Equatorial Guinea Tanzania Gabon Malawi Sudan Burundi Liberia Rwanda Eritrea Namibia	Gambia Mauritania Kenya Chad Lesotho Mauritius Niger Swaziland Seychelles Sierra Leone Madagascar Djibouti

[edit] Group 1

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Cameroon	2	2	0	0	5	0	+5	6
Cape Verde	2	1	0	1	1	2	-1	3
Tanzania	2	0	1	1	1	2	-1	1
Mauritius	2	0	1	1	1	4	-3	1


Cameroon	—	2 – 0	11 Oct	21 Jun
Cape Verde	6 Sep	—	22 Jun	1 – 0
Mauritius	0 – 3	15 Jun	—	7 Sep
Tanzania	14 Jun	10 Oct	1 – 1	—

[edit] Group 2

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Zimbabwe	2	1	1	0	2	0	+2	4
Kenya	2	1	0	1	3	2	+1	3
Namibia	2	1	0	1	2	3	-1	3
Guinea	2	0	1	1	0	2	-2	1


Guinea	—	10 Oct	22 Jun	0 – 0
Kenya	2 – 0	—	6 Sep	14 Jun
Namibia	14 Jun	2 – 1	—	10 Oct
Zimbabwe	7 Sep	22 Jun	2 – 0	—

Despite reports Namibia could lose the right to host World Cup qualifiers due to the lack of proper stadiums, this does not appear to have occurred.^[5]

Kenya's participation in the group is under threat, following a court ruling upholding the appointment of a group led by Sam Nyamweya to run the Kenya Football Federation. This is contrary to FIFA's rules as the appointment was made by a government minister, and FIFA recognises a separate group led by Mohammed Hatimy as the true executive of the KFF.^[6]

[edit] Group 3

Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Angola	2	2	0	5	1	+4	6
Benin	2	1	1	4	4	0	3
Uganda	2	1	1	2	4	-2	3
Niger	2	0	2	1	3	-2	0


Angola	—	3 – 0	10 Oct	22 Jun
Benin	7 Sep	—	22 Jun	4 – 1
Niger	1 – 2	14 Jun	—	5 Sep
Uganda	14 Jun	12 Oct	1 – 0	—

Despite reports Benin could lose the right to host World Cup qualifiers due to the lack of proper stadiums,^[5] this does not appear to have occurred.

[edit] Group 4

Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Nigeria	2	2	0	3	0	+3	6
South Africa	2	1	1	4	3	+1	3
Equatorial Guinea	2	1	1	3	4	-1	3
Sierra Leone	2	0	2	0	3	-3	0


Equatorial Guinea	—	15 Jun	2 – 0	10 Oct
Nigeria	21 Jun	—	11 Oct	2 – 0
Sierra Leone	5 Sep	0 – 1	—	14 Jun
South Africa	4 – 1	6 Sep	21 Jun	—

Sierra Leone could lose the right to host World Cup qualifiers due to the lack of proper stadiums.^[5]

[edit] Group 5

Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Ghana	2	2	0	6	2	+4	6
Libya	2	1	1	1	3	-2	3
Lesotho	1	0	1	2	3	-1	0
Gabon	1	0	1	0	1	-1	0


Gabon	—	14 Jun	TBA	11 Oct
Ghana	22 Jun	—	12 Oct	3 – 0
Lesotho	7 Sep	2 – 3	—	15 Jun
Libya	1 – 0	5 Sep	20 Jun	—

[edit] Group 6

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Senegal	2	1	1	0	1	0	+1	4
Algeria	2	1	0	1	3	1	+2	3
Gambia	2	0	2	0	1	1	0	2
Liberia	2	0	1	1	1	4	-3	1


Algeria	—	20 Jun	3 – 0	5 Sep
Gambia	14 Jun	—	6 Sep	0 – 0
Liberia	12 Oct	1 – 1	—	15 Jun
Senegal	1 – 0	10 Oct	21 Jun	—

Despite reports Gambia could lose the right to host World Cup qualifiers due to the lack of proper stadiums,^[5] this does not appear to have occurred.

[edit] Group 7

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Botswana	2	1	1	0	2	1	+1	4
Côte d'Ivoire	2	1	1	0	1	0	+1	4
Madagascar	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	2
Mozambique	2	0	0	2	1	3	-2	0


Botswana	—	14 Jun	0 – 0	10 Oct
Côte d'Ivoire	22 Jun	—	10 Oct	1 – 0
Madagascar	7 Sep	0 – 0	—	15 Jun
Mozambique	1 – 2	5 Sep	22 Jun	—

On 19 March 2008, FIFA announced the immediate suspension of the Malagasy Football Federation (FMF).^[7] The suspension was lifted on 19 May 2008.^[8]

Despite reports Côte d'Ivoire could lose the right to host World Cup qualifiers due to the lack of proper stadiums,^[5] this does not appear to have occurred.

[edit] Group 8

Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Morocco	2	2	0	7	1	+6	6
Rwanda	2	2	0	5	1	+4	6
Ethiopia	3	1	2	2	5	-3	3
Mauritania	3	0	3	1	8	-7	0


Ethiopia	—	22 Jun	5 Sep	1 – 2
Mauritania	0 – 1	—	1 – 4	6 Sep
Morocco	3 – 0	10 Oct	—	21 Jun
Rwanda	10 Oct	3 – 0	14 Jun	—

[edit] Group 9

Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Burkina Faso	2	2	0	4	1	+3	6
Tunisia	2	1	1	3	2	+1	3
Burundi	2	1	1	1	2	-1	3
Seychelles	2	0	2	0	3	-3	0


Burkina Faso	—	2 – 0	21 Jun	5 Sep
Burundi	10 Oct	—	1 – 0	15 Jun
Seychelles	14 Jun	5 Sep	—	0 – 2
Tunisia	1 – 2	21 Jun	10 Oct	—

[edit] Group 10

Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Mali	2	2	0	6	3	+3	6
Congo	2	1	1	3	4	-1	3
Chad	1	0	1	1	2	-1	0
Sudan	1	0	1	0	1	-1	0


Chad	—	14 Jun	1 – 2	5 Sep
Congo	22 Jun	—	5 Sep	1 – 0
Mali	12 Oct	4 – 2	—	22 Jun
Sudan	TBA	11 Oct	14 Jun	—

On 28 March 2008, FIFA announced the immediate suspension of the Chadian Football Federation (FTFA).^[9]. The suspension was lifted on 7 May.^[10]

Congo and Mali could lose the right to host World Cup qualifiers due to the lack of proper stadiums.^[5] Games have, however, been scheduled in Brazzaville and Bamako respectively.

Chad was disqualified from the 2010 African Nations Cup qualifiers after failing to show up for the away match against Sudan, despite security guarantees. Only matches between Mali, Sudan and Congo will be taken into account for the qualification of the second round of the preliminaries of the African Cup of Nations. However, Chad could still qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.^[11]

[edit] Group 11

Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Swaziland	1	1	0	2	1	+1	3
Togo	2	1	1	2	2	0	3
Zambia	1	0	1	0	1	-1	0


Swaziland	—	2 – 1	15 Jun
Togo	10 Oct	—	1 – 0
Zambia	21 Jun	5 Sep	—

Eritrea withdrew from the qualifiers on 25 March 2008 and were not replaced.^[12]

Despite reports Zambia could lose the right to host World Cup qualifiers due to the lack of proper stadiums,^[5] this does not appear to have occurred.

Togo are barred from hosting qualifiers due to violence during their 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification against Mali.

[edit] Group 12

Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Congo DR	3	2	1	8	2	+6	6
Egypt	2	2	0	6	1	+5	6
Malawi	2	1	1	8	2	+6	3
Djibouti	3	0	3	1	18	-17	0


Congo DR	—	22 Jun	7 Sep	1 – 0
Djibouti	0 – 6	—	0 – 4	5 Sep
Egypt	2 – 1	10 Oct	—	22 Jun
Malawi	11 Oct	8 – 1	14 Jun	—

Despite reports Congo DR could lose the right to host World Cup qualifiers due to the lack of proper stadiums,^[5] this does not appear to have occurred.

[edit] Second Group Round

The 20 remaining sides will be split into five groups of four using the following three criteria:^[13]

The number of points obtained during the group matches of the first round. Most teams will play six matches in this round, with maximum of 18 points available. While no official decision has been communicated on the impact of the withdrawal of Eritrea from Group 11, and how the teams that advance from this group (who will only play 4 matches for a maximum of 12 points possible) will be assessed on this criteria, media releases from CAF suggest that the first three matches in the group (2 for each nation) will count twice for the purposes of comparison. ^[14]
The teams that competed at the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations will be classified from 1 to 16 by their finishing position. The Africa Champion will get 16 points, the runner-up 15 and the team coming at the third place 14 and finally the team coming at the last place will get only one point. Any teams that qualify for the second round but did not qualify for the finals of the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations will each receive one point.
The 20 teams that qualify for the second round will be classified from 1 to 20 in order of their last FIFA ranking before the date scheduled for the second round draw. The top team will be allocated 20 points, the second 19 points and the team coming in 20th place will get one point.

The points attained through each of the above criteria will be added together, and the teams will be ranked according to their points. The first five teams will be placed in Pot 1, the teams from 6 to 10 in Pot 2, the teams from 11 to 15 in Pot 3 and the teams from 16 to 20 in Pot 4.

If South Africa advance to this stage, the team will play in the relevant group and any points won will count towards the 2010 African Cup of Nations qualifiers but not those for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. If Angola advances to this stage then all teams in the group will automatically advance to 2010 African Cup of Nations.

The winners of each group will qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the top three in each group will also qualify for the African Cup of Nations.

[edit] Goalscorers

Scorer	Nation	Total goals	By round
Scorer	Nation	Total goals	P	R1	R2
Moumouni Dagano	Burkina Faso	5	x	5
Faneva Imà Andriantsima	Madagascar	4	4	0
Zola Matumona	Congo DR	3	X	3
Junior Agogo	Ghana		X	3
Esau Kanyenda	Malawi		X	3
Karim Ziani	Algeria	2	X	2
Flávio	Angola		X	2
Razak Omotoyossi	Benin		X	2
Yssouf Koné	Burkina Faso		X	2
Samuel Eto'o	Cameroon		X	2
Lys Mouithys	Congo		X	2
Dieumerci Mbokani	Congo DR		X	2
Ahmed Abdel-Malik	Egypt		X	2
Amr Zaky	Egypt		X	2
Laryea Kingston	Ghana		X	2
Dennis Oliech	Kenya		X	2
Lalaina Nomenjanahary	Madagascar		2	0
Rija Rakotomandimby	Madagascar		2	0
Seydou Keita	Mali		X	2
Frederic Kanoute	Mali		X	2
Abdessalam Benjelloun	Morocco		X	2
Houssine Kharja	Morocco		X	2
Olivier Karekezi	Rwanda		X	2
Saïd Makasi	Rwanda		X	2
Kagiso Dikgacoi	South Africa		X	2
Adekamni Olufade	Togo		X	2
Gilbert Mushangazhike	Zimbabwe		X	2