Nigeria, trying to revive its World Cup qualifying hopes, beat first-place
Liberia 2-0 Saturday behind Nwankwo Kanu's early goal.
In Port Harcourt, Nigeria, Kanu scored in the 12th minute and Victori Agali
added a goal in the 61st off a cross from Finidi George.
Liberia (4-2), led by George Weah, leads Group B with 12 points, two ahead
of Nigeria (3-2-1) and three ahead of Sudan (3-2). The five African group
winners qualify for next year's tournament in Japan and South Korea.
Nigeria, which reached the second round in the 1994 and 1998 World Cups, has
games left at Sudan and at home against Ghana. Liberia is home against Ghana
and at Sierra Leone.
In Freetown, Ghana (1-2-2) gained a 1-1 tie at Sierra Leone (1-4-1).
Kwame Ayew scored for Ghana in the 36th, but Alphajor Bah tied it with a
penalty kick in the 85th.
In other games, South Africa beat visiting Zimbabwe 2-1 in Group E to move
within one point of qualifying, and Tunisia won 2-0 at Madagascar in Group D.
In Asia, Uzbekistan clinched first place in Group Seven, beating Taiwan 4-0
as Turkmenistan beat Jordan 2-1 in the second game of the doubleheader at
Amman.
In Johannesburg, South Africa got goals from Shaun Bartlett in the 17th
minute and Benni McCarthy in the 39th. Peter Ndlovu scored for Zimbabwe in the
53rd.
South Africa (4-0) has a six-point lead over Zimbabwe (2-2) and needs only a
tie in one of its final two games. Burkina Faso (1-2-1) and Malawi (0-3-1) have
been eliminated.
Tunisia (4-0-1) has a three-point lead over Ivory Coast (3-0-1). Madagascar
(1-5) was eliminated.
Uzbekistan joined Bahrain, Iraq, Iran, Qatar and Saudi Arabia in the
10-nation Asian finals, which will produce two qualifiers.
On Sunday, Cameroon (5-0) can become the first team to clinch a berth in
next year's tournament by winning at Angola (2-1-2). Zambia (2-2-1) is at Togo
(0-2-2) in the other Group A game.
Senegal (2-0-3) is at Egypt (1-0-3) in Group C and Congo (2-3) is at
Republic of Congo (1-3) in Group D.
In Asia Group Nine, China (2-0) is at Cambodia (0-3-1) and Indonesia (3-0)
is at Maldives (1-3-1).
AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service
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