Five African nations made it through to the World Cup final qualifiers with one round remaining until the end of the group stage. Egypt edged Mozambique 1-0 in Maputo to maintain a 100% winning record and clinch top spot of Group G, despite Guinea 2-0 victory over Zimbabwe. In Group A, Ethiopia produced the biggest upset of the qualifiers by beating South Africa 2-1 and claiming an unfancied ticket to the final round. The dramatic victory came after a horrendous own goal by Bafana striker Bernard Parker, who was the one who opened the scoring for his side in Addis Ababa. In Dar Es Salaam, Ivory Coast clinched an expected berth to the finals with a 4-2 victory over Tanzania, courtesy of a double by star man Yaya Toure. The fourth team to qualify were Tunisia, who made it after holding Equatorial Guinea to a 1-1 draw in Malabo, thanks to an Oussama Darragi penalty. Finally, Algeria claimed the fifth spot in the final qualifiers after beating Rwanda 1-0 in Kigali, followed by a 2-2 draw for rivals Mali against Benin. Algeria's precious win came with a goal by midfielder Saphir Taider. Benin's upset to Mali was helped by a crucial goal from Zamalek striker Razak Omotoyossi.
