The Gambia Scorpions have arrived in Algiers, capital of Algeria, yesterday, ahead of their return leg against the Desert Warriors in matchday four of the joint 2010 World Cup and Nations Cup qualifier competitions. The crucial fixture is scheduled for Friday, June 20, at 18:00 hours, at Blida.

Belgian Paul Put, who travelled with a 20-man squad, maintained all the eighteen players that were named in the squad that down the Northerners in Banjul last weekend.

The two new faces added to the squad are Finland-based defender, Abdoulie Paco Corr, whose two-match suspension elapsed last weekend and left full-back, Pa Saikou Kujabi, who missed last weekend’s match after picking up two yellow cards in Scorpion first two matches against Liberia and Senegal.

The Scorpions, who are still unbeaten in the qualifying, are level on points with Senegal in Group 6 table, while Algeria are third with three points.
 
Liberia, who will be travelling to Dakar after Sunday’s dramatic 2-2 draw in Monrovia, are at the bottom with two points from three matches.

The joint qualifier will determine the five teams that will represent Africa in South Africa 2010 World Cup finals and the 16 teams in the Nations Cup finals to be hosted in Angola.

The group winners and 8 best runners-up in the 12-group  qualifying will advance to the second group stage.  The 20 teams will be put into 5 groups of 4, with group winners advancing to the World Cup finals and top three nations in each group advancing to the 2010 African Cup of Nations.

The Gambia’s 20-man squad to Algeria

Goalkeepers
Musa Bajaha, Robert Badjie

Defenders
Abdou Jammeh, Matthew Mendy, Lamin Conateh, Abdoulie Paco Corr, Pa Modou Jagne, Pa Saikou Kujabi

Midfielders
Mustapha Jarju, Ebrima Sohna, Tijan Jaiteh, Yankuba Ceesay

Strikers
Ousman Jallow, Abdoulie Mansally, Ebou Sillah, Edrissa Sonko, Aziz Corr Nyang, Njogu Demba, Assan Jatta, Ebrima Sawaneh.

The African continent was rocked by quakes from north to south as major superpowers were brought to their knees by countries quietly referred to as minnows.

Egypt, Ghana, Cameroon, and Ivory Coast, amongst others, did not exactly get the result they bargained for, finding themselves stunned as the qualification path took another twist..

Group 1

The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon remain top of Group 1 despite playing out a barren draw against the Taifa Stars of Tanzania in Dar-Es-Salaam on Saturday.

The Lions had no response for the inspirational display of the Marcio Maximo-led Tanzanian team, who were in desperate need of results after a dismal performance so far in the competition.

The other game in the group saw the Cape Verde Islands secure a vital 1-0 away victory against Mauritius in Curepipe to remain second with a four point gap between themselves and third placed Tanzania.

The only goal of the game came from the penalty spot courtesy of Osasuna man Dady, 34 minutes into the encounter.

The 26-year-old kept his composure to tuck the ball in the back of the net and secure victory for the Central African team.

Group 2

The Harambee Stars of Kenya leapt to the top ofG group 2 of the ongoing 2010 World Cup/Nations Cup qualifying campaign after they defeated the Warriors of Zimbabwe 2-0 in Nairobi.

McDonald Mariga put the home side ahead after just 13 minutes of play before Dennis Oliech added the second for the team late in the second half.

In the other match, the Syli Stars of Guinea grabbed their first win of the campaign after they grabbed a hard fought 2-1 victory away to Arie Schans' Brave Warriors of Namibia in Windhoek.

Ismael Bangoura opened the scoring for the Guinean side after only fifteen minutes of play. Rudolf Bester drew level for the Namibians five minutes before the break, but Saint-Etienne man Pascal Feindouno secured victory for the Guineans on the stroke of half time.

Group 3

The Cranes of Uganda crushed 2006 World Cup contenders Angola 3-1 in their third match.

The Ugandan team gave their home fans reason to cheer within the first twenty minutes as they raced to a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Eugene Sepuya and a brilliant strike from Andrew Mwesigwa.

The Angolans tried to reply to the early assault from the Cranes but found the defence of the home team too hard to penetrate.

The Cranes confirmed their victory with only ten minutes left in the game with a third goal off the boots of Dan Wagaluka.

The Angolans finally found a way round the Ugandan defence through Pedro Mantorras in the final minute of the game, but it could only serve as a consolation for the team from the Southern Part of the Continent.

The result puts the Ugandan team on the same points with the Palancas Negras, but the Cranes are still second due to a lesser goal difference.

In the other game of the group, the Squirrels of Benin had to provide an improved second half display to defeat their counterparts from Niger 0-2 in the Nigerien capital of Niamey.

Seidath Tchomogo opened the scoring for the visitors on the hour mark, and Swedish based striker Razaq Omotoyossi added a second for the West Africans five minutes later.

The result puts the Beninoise team on the same points as Angola and Uganda, but they have a better goals difference than the West African side.

Group 4

The Leone Stars of Sierra Leone finally got their first points of the 2010 World Cup/Nations Cup qualifying campaign thanks to a 1-0 victory over the visiting Bafana Bafana of South Africa on Saturday in Freetown.

The only goal of the encounter was scored from the spot by former Inter Milan striker Mohammed Kallon in the 22nd minute of the encounter.

With the result, the South Africans have won only one game from the three they have played so far, and are in danger of not making it to the next round of the qualifying campaign. A situation that would see the World Cup host missing out on the 2010 African Cup of Nations in Angola.

A third minute strike from defender Joseph Yobo gave the Super Eagles of Nigeria a 1-0 victory over the Nkala National from Equatorial Guinea.

The Nigerian team without their inspirational strike captain Kanu Nwankwo dominated the game played at the Stade Malabo and should have won by a larger margin, had the Nigerian strikers been more effective upfront.

Group 5

The Black Stars of Ghana were on Saturday in Libreville stunned 2-0 by the Panthers of Gabon in a group five 2010 World Cup/ Nations Cup qualifying game.

The host team sent the capacity crowd at the Libreville stadium into wild ecstasy with a goal just at the stroke of halftime from Roger Meye.

The Ghanaian team parading all their stars including Michael Essien, Sulley Muntari, and Junior Agogo could not fashion a response to the entertaining brand of football Alain Giresse men had on parade.

Gabon confirmed their dominance in the encounter by scoring their second of the evening through Stephane Nguema.

The result ensures that Gabon have bounced back to reckoning in the qualifying race and now have a chance of making it out of the group stages should they pick up enough results in their remaining three fixtures.

Libya joined the Black Stars of Ghana at the top of group 6 after they were able to secure a 1-0 victory over Lesotho in Bloemfontein. The only goal of the encounter was scored in the 81st minute of the encounter through Ahmed Osman.

Libya now have six points same with Ghana, but are behind on goal difference.

Group 6

The Teranga Lions of Senegal threw away a two goal lead to play out a 2-2 draw with the Lone Stars of Liberia in a dramatic game played at the Samuel Doe stadium in Monrovia.

Bolton Wanderers striker, El Hadji Diouf gave the visitors the lead few minutes after the restart. Cheikh Gueye added the second for the Senegalese eight minutes later.

However  the home side, who are yet to get a win in the qualifying campaign were not ready to drop points at home either, and rallied back through Dioh Williams in the 78th minute, and Oliver Makor with two minutes left in normal time.

The result means that Senegal are now placed second in the group behind Gambia.

The Scorpions of Gambia defeated the Desert Warriors of Algeria 1-0 in one of the surprise results of the third round of matches of the ongoing 2010 World Cup/Nations Cup qualifying matches.

The game, played in the Gambian capital of Banjul, saw Mustafa Jarju score the only goal of the game in the 19th minute after he coolly converted a penalty kick.

Group 7

The Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire were on Saturday held to a 1-1 draw for the second straight game in their 2010 World Cup/Nations Cup qualifying game against the Zebras of Botswana in Gaborone.

The Zebras went ahead half way through the first half with a goal from Dipsy Selowane.

The Elephants had to rally back in the second half with an equalizer from Kanga Akale in the 64th minute of the encounter.

With the victory, The Zebras of Botswana lead the group on goals difference, while the elephants still without their talismanic captain Didier Drogba have managed to amass only 5 points from their three games so far.

In the other game of the group, Mozambique held out for a 1-1 away draw against Madagascar in Antananarivo.

Dario put the visitors ahead in the 33rd minute of the encounter, before Guy Mamihasindrahona’s last minute equalizer ensured the home side shared the spoils, and deny the Mozambicans their first victory of the campaign.

It would be the third draw Madagascar would be amassing in as many games played.

The Zebras of Botswana remain atop the group.

Group 8

The Amavubi Stars of Rwanda retained top spot in group 8 of their 2010 World Cup/ Nations Cup qualifying campaign thanks to an incredible 3-1 victory over the Atlas Lions of Morocco in Kigali.

Elias Ntaganda opened the scoring for the Wasps in the 14th minute of the encounter, as the home side ran riots in the Moroccan half of the pitch.

In the 58th minute Bogota Labama doubled the advantage for the home side with a second goal.

On the 80th minute of play, Youssef Safri gave the Moroccans some form of hope as he found a way around the Rwandese defense to bury the ball in the back of the net.

However, the home side made sure of victory in the final minute of the game through a stunning goal from Olivier Karekezi.

The other game of the group saw Ethiopia on Friday grab a late winner in Nouakchott against the under-performing Mauritanian team to hand them their first points of the qualifying campaign.
 
Group 9

The Stallions of Burkina Faso had to rely on a Hat-trick from Moumouni Dagano to defeat the Seychelles Island 3-2 in their third game of the ongoing 2010 World Cup/ Nations Cup qualifiers played on Saturday in the Seychelles capital of Victoria.

Moumouni Dagano put the visitors ahead in the first half, but Seychelles made a rally early in the second half with two quick goals from Don Annacoura and Philip Zialor to lead the game for the first time.

However Dagano scored two goals afterwards to give the Stallions their third victory in as many matches in the qualifying campaign.

The Stallions lead group 9 with nine maximum points,

Radhi Jaidi’s 66th minute strike gave the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia their second away victory of the qualifying campaign as they defeated Burundi 1-0 at the Stade Prince Louis Rwagasore stadium in Bujumbura.

It was Coach Humberto Coelho’s first game in charge of the team.
 
Group 10

The Nile Crocrodile of Sudan brought their 2010 World Cup/ Nations Cup campaign alive with an inspired 3-2 home victory over the Eagles of Mali in Khartoum on Saturday.

The Sudanese playing only their second game in the campaign, got ahead in the game through Amir Damar Kuku just before the half time break.

Sevilla of Spain striker, Frederic Kanoute drew the West African level moments after the restart. The Sudanese however added two more goals before Kanoute got a late consolation for the visitors, who are suffering their first defeat under their new Nigerian coach.

The other game in the group also saw Chad record their first points of the qualifying campaign thanks to a 2-1 victory over the Azingo Stars of Congo in N’djamena.

They however had to come back from a goal down, after Congo took the lead on the half hour mark through Gervais Batota’s strike.

The Chadian team rallied back ten minutes later through Hillaire Kedigui, and Armand Djerabe scored the winner at the start of the second half.
 
Group 11

Swaziland maintained their stronghold on the zenith of group 11 despite being held to a 1-1 draw by the Chipolopolo boys of Zambia at the Somhlolo National Stadium in Mbabane.

The Zambians remains at the bottom of the three man group, but could go top of the group this weekend if they defeat Swaziland in the return fixture.

Group 12

Reigning African Champions, the Pharaohs of Egypt were given a rude shock to their current status as African kings when they fell 1-0 to the Flames of Malawi in Blantyre in their group twelve 2010 World Cup/ Nations Cup qualifying game.

The only goal of the encounter came late on in the game off the boots of Chiukepo Msowoya after both teams look set to end the affair in a barren draw.

The result puts the flames on top of the group, on the same points with Egypt and DR Congo. However the Malawians have a better goals difference thanks to an 8-1 drubbing of Djibouti in their opening group fixture.

Djibouti suffered their third loss in the ongoing 2010 World Cup/ Nations Cup on Friday that effectively seals their chances of making it to the next round of the competition, after they went down 6-0 to the visiting Simba's of DR Congo in Djibouti in their group 12 clash.

Zola Matumona (40th and 49th minute)  and Dieumerci Mbokani (25th and 48th minute) both scored a brace each to give the Central African team their biggest win in almost two years.

Former Monaco of France striker Shabani Nonda (31st minute) and Mabi Mputu (79th minute) added the other two goals to keep the Simbas on the same points with Malawi and Egypt on the table.