CAPE TOWN: African kings Nigeria were rescued by a last-gasp equalizer on Saturday while other heavyweight contenders Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Tunisia won their games to remain on course for World Cup qualification.
Samuel Eto’o scored twice to lead Cameroon to a 2-1 victory in Yaounde against Togo who were without Tottenham Hotspur striker Emmanuel Adebayor.
Captain Adebayor, involved in an on-off spat with coach Didier Six, did not play after failing to show up at Togo’s training camp during the week.
Substitute Nnamdi Oduamadi scored three minutes into stoppage time as Nigeria scraped a 1-1 home draw with bottom team Kenya.
The African Nations Cup champions have five points from three games, level at the top of Group F with Malawi who beat Namibia 1-0 in Windhoek.
Cameroon, aiming to qualify for Brazil 2014 after missing out on the last two Nations Cup tournaments, are top of Group I with six points from three games following victory over Togo.
The role of Eto’o was the subject of media speculation before the game but his two goals restored his status as leader of the team.
Wilfried Bony (penalty), Yaya Toure and Salomon Kalou struck as Ivory Coast defeated Gambia 3-0 without Galatasaray forward Didier Drogba who was left out of the squad for the Group C encounter in Abidjan.
The Ivorians are top with seven points, four ahead of second-placed Tanzania who have a game in hand.
Tunisia maintained their 100 percent record in Group B by beating Sierra Leone 2-1.
Queens Park Rangers defender Christopher Samba, playing his first competitive game for Congo after a lengthy break from international football, notched the only goal in a 1-0 win over Gabon that put his team in a strong position in Group E.
Congo have nine points after winning all three of their qualifiers.
Second-placed Burkina Faso continued the form that took them to the Nations Cup final in February by hammering Group E rivals Niger 4-0 in Ouagadougou.
It was their first win of the campaign and they have much to do to stand any chance of progressing to the final round playoffs at the end of the year.
South Africa, World Cup hosts in 2010, are first in Group A after overcoming Central African Republic 2-0 in Cape Town.
Senegal, top of Group J, suffered a surprise setback as they were held 1-1 by Angola who are second.
Ethiopia snatches win
Ethiopia snatched a dramatic 1-0 home victory over Botswana yesterday to keep alive hopes of a first appearance at the World Cup in Brazil next year.
Substitute Getaneh Kebede, who replaced fellow-striker Adane Girma for the second half in Addis Ababa, snatched the lone goal two minutes from time in the high-altitude east African city.
Tanzania scored three second-half goals to thrash four-time World Cup qualifiers Morocco 3-1 in Dar es Salaam and climb to within a point of Group C pacesetters Ivory Coast.
Mozambique and Guinea drew 0-0 in a dour Group G clash in Maputo, leaving leaders Egypt with the possibility of opening a five-point gap should they beat generally poor travelers Zimbabwe in Alexandria on Tuesday.
Mali fought back to overcome Rwanda 2-1 in Kigali and rise two places to the Group H summit.