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Group 4 African Qualifiers F.I.F.A World Cup Germany 2006

Submitted by Neville Nixon on Sun, 04/09/2005 - 23:06.

Angola, Nigeria and Zimbabwe, continue to battle it out in their congested African World Cup Qualifying Group 4.

Zimbabwe are the latecomers hoping to cause an upset, whereas Angola and Nigeria see qualification as rightfully theirs, however recent performances have suggested otherwise. In what is now essentially a three horse race, Zimbabwe, who have the easiest run in, may well prove to be the 'dark horses' of the group.

Results:
Algeria 2 - 5 Nigeria
Angola 3 - 0 Gabon

Angola are one win away from qualifying for the FIFA World Cup finals for the first time after a 3-0 home victory over Gabon on Sunday.

African zone Group Four leaders Angola are now three points clear of their nearest challengers Nigeria, who were playing away against Algeria later on Sunday, and Zimbabwe.

A win in their final qualifier in Rwanda on October 9 will secure a place in Germany for the Angolans, who survived an early penalty appeal before beating Gabon.

Frantic appeals for handball were turned down by the referee before Gabon's Rene Nsi Akoue deflected an effort from Mendonca into his own net for Angola's opening goal in the 22nd minute.

Benfica striker Mantorras added a second just before halftime with substitute Ze Kalanga scoring the final goal at the final whistle.

Zimbabwe 3 - 1 Rwanda

Zimbabwe qualified for the CAF African Cup of Nations finals on Sunday by beating Rwanda 3-1 in Harare to make sure of a place at next January's tournament.

Sunday's win ensured that Zimbabwe finished inside the top three places in their FIFA World Cup qualifying group, which is also serving as the qualifiers for next year's Nations Cup finals.

Zimbabwe dominated the match against the bottom side in Group 4, scoring early through Shingarai Kawondera before a mix-up in defence saw South African-based defender Zvenyika Makonese net an own goal just after the half-hour mark.

But Auxerre striker Benjani Mwaruwari restored Zimbabwe's lead just before half-time and substitute Ashley Rambanapasi, playing in just his fourth international, scored 15 minutes from the end to make sure of the win.

It is the second successive time that Zimbabwe have qualified for the Nations Cup finals and Sunday's win means they also keep up their mathematical chance of making the finals in Germany.


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