Gabon grabbed the headlines as Round 3 of the Africa Zone qualifying competition for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ began. Alain Giresse's men secured a remarkable 2-1 win away to Morocco in Group A, while Togo saw off Cameroon in Accra in the other game in the section.
In Group B Tunisia edged out Kenya, while Burkina Faso overcame Group E rivals Guinea. In the day's two remaining games Rwanda and Sudan were held to home draws by Algeria and Mali respectively.
FIFA.com rounds up the day's highlights in Africa.
Game of the day
Togo 1-0 Cameroon
Goal: Emmanuel Adebayor 11
Togo fans made light of the continuing ban on Lome's Kegue Stadium by travelling in force to Ghana to cheer on their heroes against the Indomitable Lions. Despite the baking heat at the Ohene-Djan Stadium in Accra, Jean Thissen's side made a lively start and were rewarded for their positive approach when the inevitable Adebayor put them ahead. Although the 2008 African Footballer of the Year blotted his copybook by missing a penalty 13 minutes from time - the prelude to a late siege by the Cameroonians - his early strike proved enough to give the Sparrowhawks three precious points.
Surprise of the day
Morocco 1-2 Gabon
Goals: Mounir El Hamdaoui 84 (Morocco); Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 34 and Roguy Meye 45 (Gabon)
Gabon upstaged the Togolese just a few hours later when they pulled off a sensational win in Casablanca. Shrugging off the absences of star strikers Daniel Cousin and Eric Mouloungui, the Panthers stunned their hosts by surging into a 2-0 lead before the break. Urged on by a crowd of nearly 70,000, the Moroccans dominated the second half but could only pull a late goal back. The defeat was their first home reverse in a FIFA World Cup qualifier since 11 November 1981, when they fell 2-0 to Cameroon, leaving them with much to do in what promises to be a fiercely competitive section.
Player of the day
Moumouni Dagano (Burkina Faso)
The centre-forward, who plays his club football for Qatari side Al-Khor, scored twice in his side's 4-2 win over Guinea, cementing his status as top scorer in the Africa Zone. With nine goals in seven games, the former Sochaux front man is now three clear of Frederic Kanoute (Mali), Razak Omotoyossi (Benin) and Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon).
The stat
65 - The number of months Algeria have now gone since winning away in either a friendly or competitive match. The Desert Foxes last won on their travels on 11 October 2003, downing Niger 1-0 in a Germany 2006 qualifier.
What they said
"We conceded a very early goal and that's one of the worst things that can happen to you in football. We still managed to dominate the game, though, but as soon as we equalised Tunisia scored again and we just didn't have enough time to get back into the game again. Overall I'm satisfied with the performance of my players. The only thing was, our opponents scored at just the right time for them." Kenya coach Antoine Hey.
Saturday's results:
Kenya 1-2 Tunisia
Rwanda 0-0 Algeria
Togo 1-0 Cameroon
Sudan 1-1 Mali
Burkina Faso 4-2 Guinea
Morocco 1-2 Gabon
(From Website : http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/newsid=1042760.html#gabon+stun+morocco+togo+triumph)
