CAF World Cup Qualifying Review: Niger thump Somalia

Niger confirmed their place in the second round of CAF World Cup qualification with a resounding 4-0 victory over Somalia.

Francois Zahoui’s men took a two-goal advantage into the second leg thanks to a double from Moussa Maazou – and he replicated that performance on Tuesday.

Following Mahamane Cisse’s opener in the 13th minute, Changchun Yatai striker Maazou added the second five minutes later.

The 27-year-old struck once again with 32 minutes played before Cisse capped the result with his second and Niger’s fourth in the 68th minute, completing a 6-0 triumph on aggregate and setting up a second-round tie with Cameroon.

Central African Republic looked ready to turn around their 3-0 first-leg deficit against Madagascar by taking the lead inside seven minutes. However, Madagascar quickly recovered to earn a 2-2 draw that pits them against Senegal in the next phase.

William Jebor scored a hat-trick to ensure Liberia’s progression to the second round – where they will face African champions Ivory Coast – with a 3-1 victory and 4-2 aggregate success over Guinea-Bissau, while Ghana will play Comoros, who had to rely on away goals to eliminate Lesotho.

Burundi will face Democratic Republic of Congo after a second-half double from Abdoul Razak Fiston sent them into the second round at the expense of Seychelles, while Namibia bounced back from Pa Dibba’s early strike to progress beyond Gambia and secure a date with Guinea.

Egypt await Chad after they scored a crucial away goal against Sierra Leone, who were forced to play their home leg in the Nigerian city of Port Harcourt due to the Ebola outbreak, to progress despite a 2-1 loss that saw Constant Madtoingue dismissed in second-half stoppage time.

South Sudan failed to advance in their first World Cup qualifying tie as fell to a 4-0 defeat away at Mauritania, who will face Tunisia in the second round.

Botswana will face Mali as a 3-1 victory comfortably saw them past Eritrea, who took the lead through former Almeria striker Henok Goitom, while Swaziland’s clash with Djibouti, who trailed 6-0 from the first leg, was postponed as the latter failed to arrive at the scheduled time.