First African qualifying ties for Qatar 2022 completed on Sunday
Four teams win through to the second round
Ethiopia, Tanzania, Equatorial Guinea and Liberia the quartet in question
The first four ties in the first round of the African qualifying competition for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ were completed on Sunday.
Ethiopia led the way courtesy of a 1-1 draw in Lesotho, a result that saw them advance on the away goals rule.
While the Ethiopians were celebrating, Tanzania and Burundi were battling it out in extra time after playing out 1-1 draws in each leg. The tie eventually went to penalties, where Burundi’s waywardness from the spot allowed the hosts to record a 3-0 shootout win and book their place in the second round.
Joining them there will be Equatorial Guinea thanks to Emilio Nsue’s solitary strike in their return leg against South Sudan, the two sides having played out a 1-1 draw in the first.
The day’s final qualifiers were Liberia, who were indebted to their 18-year-old goalkeeper Ashley Williams. With Sierra Leone leading 1-0 on the night and needing another goal to go through on the away-goals rule, the teenager pulled off a magnificent injury-time penalty save to ensure the Lone Stars progressed 3-2 on aggregate.
Results
Lesotho 1-1 Ethiopia (1-1 on aggregate, Ethiopia win on away goals)
Tanzania 1-1 Burundi (2-2 on aggregate, Tanzania win 3-0 on penalties)
Sierra Leone 1-0 Liberia (Liberia win 3-2 on aggregate)
Equatorial Guinea 1-0 South Sudan (Equatorial Guinea win 2-1 on aggregate)
This week’s other ties
Tuesday 10 September 2019
Matches to be streamed LIVE on FIFA.com
Namibia-Eritrea (2-1 agg.)
Eswatini-Djibout (1-2 agg.)
Angola-Gambia (0-1 agg.)
Mozambique-Mauritius (1-0 agg.)
Sudan-Chad (3-1 agg.)
Rwanda-Seychelles (3-0 agg.)
Zimbabwe-Somalia (0-1 agg.)
Malawi-Botswana (0-0 agg.)
Guinea-Bissau-Sao Tome e Principe (1-0 agg.)
Togo-Comoros (1-1 agg.)
Follow the action LIVE at FIFA.com and on YouTube
FIFA’s digital platforms are giving fans the chance to follow Africa’s Qatar 2022 qualifying competition up close: between 4 and 10 September they will be streaming the first-round matches live and also offering highlights. Follow all the action at FIFA.com and on FIFA TV on YouTube.