08/06/2008
The national football teams of Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco all posted wins in the second series of qualifying matches for the 2010 African/World Cup. Competing without injured player Brahim Hemdani, Algeria still managed to beat Liberia 3-0 at home in Blida on Friday (June 6th). Two minutes after Rafik Djebbour of Greek team Panionios opened the scoring, Olympic Marseilles midfielder Karim Ziani produced a goal. Early in the second half, he netted another one on a penalty shot, giving Algeria their first Group 6 points. Les Fennecs will next play Gambia on June 14th.
In Group 9, Tunisia rebounded from last weekend's surprise loss to Burkina Faso by defeating the Seychelles 2-0 on Saturday in Victoria. France-based striker Issam Jomaa put away Tunisia's first goal early in the match. Chaouki Ben Saada scored at halftime to rack up the first qualifier points for the Carthage Eagles. The team is now back on track for qualification.
Morocco topped Group 8 after beating Mauritania 4-1 on Saturday in Nouakchott. Portugal-based Tarik Sektioui opened the scoring, followed by goals by Abdessalam Benjelloun, Youssef Safri and Houssine Kharja. Mauritania scored a consolation goal in the 82nd minute after Dominique Da Silva converted a spot kick. Next weekend, the Atlas Lions will be in Rwanda while Mauritania will host Ethiopia.
Also on Saturday, Libya defeated Gabon 1-0 in Group 5, becoming second in the group with three points after two matches.