Algeria, Cameroon, Nigeria and Tunisia advance to the final phase of the African World Cup qualifier Qatar 2022

The selections of Algeria, current champion of Africa, Cameroon, Nigeria and Tunisia certified their tickets for the third and last round of the African qualifying phase for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, after the results obtained this Tuesday, at the close of the second group stage.

These four selections they joined Mali, Senegal, Egypt, Morocco, Ghana and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who had previously assured their presence in the last round from which the five African representatives will come out in the next World Cup.

However, the Ghana’s presence in the last qualifying round is still up in the air following the formal protest presented by the South African Federation to FIFA, after the controversial penalty that decided in favor (1-0) of the Black Stars the duel between Ghanaians and South Africans on Sunday.

Equally, doubt hangs over the classification of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, directed by the Argentine Héctor Cuper, after performing in the last minute of regulation time of the decisive match with Benin (2-0) a fourth change, despite having previously exhausted the three mandatory windows.

Who did not give rise to the controversy was the selection of Algeria that achieved the point it needed to secure qualification for the third and last round, after drawing this Tuesday at home 2-2 with Burkina Fasso.

a tie, yes, not exempt from suffering, since Burkina Faso, one of the African teams that have made the most progress in recent years, dreamed of the triumph they needed to stay alive in the World Cup race, after equaling the contest (2-2) with a goal from Issoufou Dayo to there are six minutes to go.

But the quality and experience of the Algerian team, which made the so many by Riyad Mahrez, who opened the scoring for the locals at 21 minutes, and the former Valencia player Sofiane feghouli, who established the momentary 2-1 in the 68th minute, prevented the surprise.

Nor did Nigeria fail, which certified their qualification for the third round, after drawing 1-1 with Cape Verde on Tuesday, in a match in which the Nigerians already won 1-0 at minute of play thanks to a goal from forward Victor Osimhen.

An annotation to which the Cape Verdean defender responded four minutes later It stops, which made the Blue Sharks dream of the victory they needed to enter the next round.

But Nigeria, seeking its fourth consecutive appearance in a World Cup finals, he did not fail and maintained the draw that was enough to access the next round.

For its part, the selection of Cameroon also certified their qualification for the third and last round of the African qualifier after beating Ivory Coast 1-0, who with this defeat definitively said goodbye to the World Cup event.

But Cameroon struggled to prevail over a Ivory Coast, for which a draw was enough to access the next round, despite going ahead after 21 minutes of play on the scoreboard (1-0) with a goal from striker Karl Toko Ekambi.

Somewhat much protested by the Ivorian team who claimed a possible foul by Vincent Aboubakar on defender Maxwell Cornet at the start of the play that gave rise to the former Villarreal player.

Goal to which Ivory Coast was about to respond in the 33rd minute with a shot from Milan midfielder Franck Kessie that forced the local goalkeeper, Ajax goalkeeper André Onana, to a sensational save.

Nevertheless, the Ivorian team, who were never able to connect with forward Sebastien Haller, second top scorer in the Champions League with seven goals, little by little it was diluted in attack.

And when he managed to find Haller, the Ajax forward was either wrong, as happened in the 64th minute, or he lacked fortune, after seeing how his header crashed into the crossbar in the 71st minute.

A lack of success that he joined in the final minutes the increasing nervousness of the Ivorian team, who little by little saw his World Cup options slip away.

In the race for the World Cup in Qatar, the Tunisian team is still very much alive, who did not fail and sealed his ticket for the next round, after defeating Zambia 3-1.

The Aguilas de Cartago left the game sentenced before the break with the goles by Aissa Laidouni, Mohamed Drager and Ali Maaloul.

The 10 teams will reach the third round group winners of the second round. The system will match the selections in five keys to dispute round-trip matches, of which the winners qualify for Qatar 2022. (D)