CAMEROON scored a late winner to upset the Ivory Coast 3-2 on Sunday and put themselves one win away from a fifth successive World Cup finals. Spain-based striker Achille Webo netted with a brilliant diving header three minutes from time. He reacted first as a long-range free kick cannoned back off the upright to take his country top of Group Three. The goal completed a hat-trick for the striker who kept the home team on the back foot throughout the match. Cameroon will now qualify for the World Cup finals in Germany if they win their final qualifier at home to Egypt in Yaounde on 9 October. Ivory Coast twice came from behind in a tense game full of incident but their dreams of a World Cup finals place now lie in tatters. The Ivorians would have become the first African team to qualify for the 2006 finals if they had won in front of a packed stadium in Abidjan. But Cameroon, who had to win to keep alive their chances, always had the upper hand as Webo gave them the lead on the half hour, swiveling onto a long cross into the area and lobbing in. Chelsea striker Drogba equalised eight minutes later with a trademark goal from close range after Aruna Dindane had rounded defender Pierre Wome on the left wing. Webo restored Cameroon's lead on the stroke of half-time by heading home from close range after Jean Makoun had caught the Ivorian defence by surprise by keeping the ball in play and delivering a cross from the byline. The Ivorians came straight back after the interval and equalised through Drogba's superb long range free kick. Cameroon kept up the pressure, dominating the midfield with Geremi creating endless opportunities down the right wing. The Ivory Coast will now only qualify if the beat Sudan away on 7 October and Cameroon slip up in their final qualifier. In the same group, Libya qualified for the Nations Cup finals for the first time since 1982 after a 0-0 draw against Sudan in Tripoli. The North Africans made sure of a top four finish in Group Three and cannot now be caught by the bottom two teams, Sudan and Benin. Togo crushed Liberia 3-0 in Lome on Sunday to take a giant step towards a maiden World Cup finals. Sheyi Adebayor, Sherif Toure and Coubadja Kader scored the goals that kept the Togolese flame burning. In Chililabombwe, a goal from El Hadji Diouf kept Senegal in the race for a World Cup place when they beat Zambia 1-0. The former African Footballer of the Year scored after 53 minutes to earn Senegal three vital points. The result puts Senegal on top of the standings, just one point ahead of Togo. Should Togo beat Liberia, they would effectively then need only a draw in their last qualifier to make it to Germany 2006. The home defeat effectively ended Zambia's hopes of reaching their first World Cup finals. A place in Germany would be some achievement for Togo's Nigerian coach Stephen Keshi as well as striker Emmanuel Adebayor, who leads the African qualifying goalscoring with eight goals. Nonetheless, the top three teams in Group One look set to qualify for the Nations Cup finals in Egypt next year. Nigeria defeated Algeria 5-2 in Oran to keep up the pressure on Group Four leaders Angola. The victory in a see-saw match lifts the Nigerians to 18 points, the same as the Angolans yet behind them because of a worse head-to- head record. Nigeria need to win at home against Zimbabwe in their final game and hope the Angolans slip up in Rwanda if the Super Eagles are to reach Germany. Yet Angola are within touching distance of the World Cup after thrashing Gabon 3-0 in Luanda. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe qualified for the African Nations Cup finals for only the second time in their history after a 3-1 win over Rwanda. Sunday's victory in Harare ensured that the Warriors finished inside the top three places in qualifying Group Four. It is the second successive time that Zimbabwe have qualified for the Nations Cup finals. Ghana have one foot in next year's World Cup finals after defeating Uganda 2-0 in Kumasi. Thanks to goals from Michael Essien and Matthew Amoah, the Black Stars top Group Two with 18 points, three clear of DR Congo and South Africa. The Ghanaian victory means that 2010 World Cup hosts South Africa can no longer qualify for Germany. Bafana Bafana have a worse head-to-head record than Ghana so can no longer top the table. The only team who can catch the Black Stars are DR Congo's Simbas. Ghana and DR Congo have a matched head- to-head record, after their two fixtures ended in draws, so should Ghana lose in Cape Verde and DR Congo win in South Africa next month, the group would be decided by goal difference. Yet should the Black Stars avoid defeat in Cape Verde, the four-time African champions will qualify for their first World Cup finals. South Africa's hopes of World Cup qualification were ruined when losing 3-1 to Burkina Faso in Ouagadougou. The visitors needed victory to stay in contention for a place in Germany, but they were swept aside by an inspired display from the home team. South Africa coach Stuart Baxter slammed his players after the defeat: "They could not cope with the situation and that was our biggest problem," he said. "A couple of the Burkinabe goals were gifts and I feel extremely disappointed for the people of South Africa." Bafana Bafana lie third in Group Two, behind leaders Ghana and second-placed DR Congo. Tunisia moved to within one point of a third successive World Cup finals after beating Kenya 2-0 behind closed doors in Nairobi on Saturday. The match was played in an empty stadium after Kenya were punished by FIFA for crowd violence which led to the death of a young boy at their last qualifier at home to Morocco in June. Meanwhile, Morocco, who finished runners- up to Tunisia in the 2004 Nations Cup, kept pace with the high-flying Carthage Eagles when they beat Botswana 1-0 in Rabat. The Atlas Lions remain one point behind Tunisia after a second-half goal from Talal Al-Karkouri clinched victory over the Zebras. Al-Karkouri's goal sets up a mouth-watering clash between Morocco and Tunisia in their final qualifying match on 8 October. The Moroccans need a victory to ensure a fourth World Cup finals appearance while Tunisia require only a draw in Rades to reach their third successive finals. Morocco are the only unbeaten African side left in World Cup qualifying.
