Nigeria and Ivory Coast have qualified for the World Cup.
The Nigerians became the first African team to qualify for next year’s showcase, beating Ethiopia 2-0 in the second leg of their playoff Saturday. Nigeria, playing at home Calabar, won 4-1 on total goals.
Ivory Coast played to a tense 1-1 draw with Senegal for a 4-2 total-goals victory in neutral Casablanca, Morocco. Ivory Coast won the first leg 3-1. It made its World Cup debut in 2006 and will be going to the tournament for the third straight time.
Cameroon, on the other hand, whipped Tunisis by 4 goals to 1 in Yaounde after a goalless encounter in the first round that was played in Tunisia. This is the seventh time that Brazil will be going to the world cup.
Five teams will represent Africa in Brazil, with two remaining playoffs.
Burkina Faso leads Algeria 3-2 entering second-leg games that will be played on Tuesday. Burkina Faso has never been to the World Cup. Egypt hosts Ghana also on Tuesday and needs a major upset to reach the World Cup for the first time since 1990. Ghana won the first leg 6-1.
If Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Algeria and Ghana qualify, Africa will be represented by the same five teams that made it to South Africa’s World Cup.
