Captain Thomas Partey (center) scored Ghana in a duel with Nigeria for Frank Onyeka (left) to the World Cup. After that, angry Nigerian fans stormed the pitch in Abuja.
Photo: AFP/Pius Utomi Ekpei
Before the crucial World Cup qualifying second leg against Egypt, the newspapers in Senegal ran provocative headlines: “Qatar or Dakar?” After a dramatic game on Tuesday evening, it is now clear: the reigning African champions Senegal do not have to stay at home, but instead travel to the World Cup in late autumn Qatar. He won 4-1 on penalties against the Egyptians, who had won the qualifying first leg 1-0 in Cairo last Friday.
Early on in what is arguably the highest-profile game of all five African play-offs, Senegal canceled out the Egyptian advantage with a goal from striker Dia Boulaye in the fourth minute of the first half. In an overall tough game, it went into extra time, in which the Senegalese clearly set the tone – but without any countable success. So it came to a penalty shootout. Superstar Mohamed Salah, who shot the first penalty over the goal, became a tragic figure for the Egyptians. But he wasn’t alone: the first two shooters from both teams didn’t score.
These two teams had previously faced each other in the Africa Cup of Nations final in February. Back then, too, it was a tactically shaped and hard-fought game that ended in a penalty shoot-out. And even then, the last shooter on the Senegalese side was Sadio Mane, Salah’s strike partner at Liverpool FC. And just like at the Africa Cup of Nations, Senegal’s best-known player put the ball in the middle of the goal on Tuesday evening. In doing so, he once again created a historic moment for his country. The »Teranga Lions«, as the players from West Africa are often called, are experiencing only their third World Cup finals in Qatar, but their second in a row.
Seven weeks after winning the Africa Cup of Nations, Senegal is upside down again. In the Stade du Senegal in Diamniadio, which opened just over a month ago, all 50,000 seats were occupied and the atmosphere was boiling. “That certainly got a few percent out of the players,” says Senegalese journalist and football expert Coumba Ndoffène Diouf. The celebrations went deep into the night – including Bengalos and motorcades.
In the run-up to and during the game, however, there were unpleasant scenes. Stones were thrown at Egypt’s team bus, several windows were broken. The Egyptian national anthem was also accompanied by a whistling concert. And when it finally started, the Egyptians were blinded again and again with laser pointers and pelted with cups. Your association therefore appealed to the African Football Confederation that same evening against the classification of the game. The world association announced at least one investigation.
Alongside Senegal, Ghana also qualified for a World Cup for the fourth time on Tuesday evening. The side of German-born coach Otto Addo surprisingly but not undeservedly knocked out the Nigerians thanks to the away goals rule. That was not to be expected after the poor performance at the Africa Cup of Nations, when Ghana had already failed in the preliminary round.
This game was also overshadowed by bad news in the area. Riots erupted in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja. After the hosts were off, angry fans stormed the field, threw objects and destroyed benches. The security forces used tear gas. A tragic incident caused consternation: the doctor Joseph Kabungo died in the stadium. His association from Zambia confirmed on Wednesday that he was on duty as an anti-doping officer. The cause of death was still unclear at the time. So far there is no information on whether he died as a result of the riots or of natural causes.
The other three vacant tickets for Qatar were Morocco, Tunisia and Cameroon. Morocco defeated the completely overwhelmed Congolese 4-1 in Rabat. After the 1:1 draw in the first leg, the hosts ensured clear conditions this time. Tunisia met Mali and after the unspectacular 1-0 win in the first leg, the North Africans were handed a 0-0 draw when they met again.
The Algerians would have liked to travel to Qatar as the third team from the Maghreb. Nothing came of it, however, as they lost 2-1 at home to the tireless Cameroonians. The winning goal came in overtime. Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting from FC Bayern Munich equalized the first-leg defeat with a 1-0 win for Cameroon. Thanks to the away goals rule, he travels with his colleagues to the World Cup in November.
