THIÈS, Senegal
Liverpool talisman Sadio Mane opened the scoring and Paris Saint-Germain defender Abdou Diallo scored his first goal for Senegal in their 2-0 triumph over Togo on Wednesday at Stade Lat-Dior stadium in Thies.
After blazing over the bar in the first half, Mane played a neat
one-two before poking home just before the hour as the Liverpool star opened
the scoring.
While Mane is free to play since his two matches are in countries
that are not on the British government's Covid red list, club colleague Mohamed
Salah could not play at
home to Angola on Wednesday as Egypt is on the list.
Unburdened by the threat of having to quarantine for 10 days
upon his return to England, Mane was lively throughout in a game wrapped up
when Abdou Diallo lashed home after a corner nine minutes from time.
The victory represents a modicum of revenge for the Senegalese,
who could not beat Togo as the Sparrowhawks pipped them to the 2006 World Cup
when they last met at this stage.
Senegal travel to Congo on Tuesday, while Togo seek their first
points at home to Namibia on Sunday.
Without their star man in an empty yet cavernous Cairo
arena, Egypt had to rely on a fifth-minute penalty from Mohamed Magdy
Morsy against a busy Angolan side who fought to the very end.
The visitors will rue missed chances and a vain penalty claim as
they failed to take advantage of the notable absence of Salah, who could play
in Gabon next week.
While the Pharaohs' place at the top of Group F may be little
surprise, that of Libya is but the North Africans earned a
much-savoured 2-1 win against Gabon on the plastic pitch of Benghazi.
The visitors led early through Andre Biyogo Poko only for Libya
to respond through Ali Alamami near the half hour before Sand Masaud netted a
dramatic last-minute winner.
The win was masterminded by Javier Clemente who returned earlier
this year to a role he served between 2013-2016, during which he won Libya's first African title.
Elsewhere, it ended 1-1 as neighbours Guinea-Bissau and Guinea met
in a World Cup qualifier for the first time in 25 years.
The game should have been played in Bissau but as the stadium
there was deemed unfit by the Confederation of African Football (Caf) last month,
it took place in Mauritania.
An available Liverpool player was again in the thick of the
action as Naby Keita - available for both Guinea's games - teed up Francois
Kamano for the opener before Joseph Mendes earned both sides a point in Group
I.
Earlier, Central African Republic (CAR) - also barred
from using their stadium - drew 1-1 with Cape Verde as the Group C
game marked the very first in Africa's second round.
Contesting the second qualifying round for only the second time
in their history, CAR earned a vital point as Tresor Toropite fired home from
close range after 53 minutes.
This levelled the scores after Julio Tavares had neatly
side-footed Cape Verde in front nine minutes before the break, with the
visitors then missing two decent chances to extend their advantage.
The match was played in the Cameroonian city Douala after the
national stadium in CAR capital Bangui was deemed unfit to host international
matches by Caf.
When they last contested the second round, CAR impressed in
their opening game - when registering their sole World Cup qualifying win to
date - before losing their remaining five matches.
The next game in Group C takes place on Friday when Nigeria host
Liberia.
Finally, to Group E where Mali was another side to be
barred from playing at home yet secured a narrow 1-0 win against Rwanda thanks
to Adama Traore's 19th-minute strike.
Like others, Mali should have been playing the game on home soil
but instead took to the field in the Moroccan city Agadir after their stadium
also failed Caf standards.
Mali built new stadiums to host the Africa Cup of Nations in 2002 but none are now deemed suitable.
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