 Togo's Hawks are two wins away from their first World Cup finals |
Togo crushed Liberia 3-0 in Lome on Sunday to take a giant step towards a maiden World Cup finals. Sheyi Adebayor, Sherif Toure and Coubadja Kader scored the goals that kept the Togolese flame burning.
In Chililabombwe, a goal from El Hadji Diouf kept Senegal in the race for a World Cup place when they beat Zambia 1-0 on Saturday.
The former African Footballer of the Year scored after 53 minutes to earn Senegal three vital points.
The result puts Senegal on top of the standings, just one point ahead of Togo, who play Liberia on Sunday.
Should Togo win, they would effectively then need only a draw in their last
qualifier to make it to Germany 2006.
The home defeat effectively ended Zambia's hopes of reaching their first World Cup finals.
A place in Germany would be some achievement for Togo's Nigerian coach Stephen Keshi as well as striker Emmanuel Adebayor, who leads the African qualifying goalscoring with eight goals.
Nonetheless, the top three teams in Group One look set to qualify for the Nations Cup finals in Egypt next year.
Also on Saturday, Mali beat Congo 2-0 in Bamako in a match of purely academic interest.
Liverpool's Mohammed 'Momo' Sissoko provided the cross for Abdoulaye Demba to score the first goal three minutes after half-time.
Sissoko then secured the victroy three minutes later as his powerful drive finds its way past Congo goalkeeper Armel Mamouna-Ossila.
MMIX
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Match of the Day - Post-match interviews 