* Uche spares Nigeria embarrassment
* Libya draw away to Togo
* South Africa held by Ethiopia
By Mark Gleeson
CAPE TOWN, June 3 (Reuters) – Nigeria and South Africa both
left it late on Sunday to salvage points at the start of their
bids to qualify for the World Cup on a day that emphasised the
increasing vagaries of the qualifying competition on the African
continent.
Mali, who finished third at the African Nations Cup finals
earlier this year, lost 1-0 away to Benin in their opening group
game while Libya kept up their recent heroics with a 1-1 draw in
Togo.
There was a dramatic late equaliser for Uganda as they
salvaged a point in Angola in one of seven African qualifiers
played on Sunday.
It completed a weekend of 20 matches at the start of the
group phase of qualifiers for Brazil where little went with the
form book.
Ike Uche delivered a rocket-like shot 10 minutes from time
to spare Nigeria potential blushes against Namibia after he had
earlier missed a host of good chances in Calabar.
Continued…
