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Tunisia earn ticket to World Cup finals
Africa's fifth berth for the World Cup finals was decided as Tunisia hosted Morocco at the Rades Stadium in Tunis on Saturday.
- Indo-Asian News Service
- Updated: February 25, 2007 09:52 AM IST
Read Time:2 min
Tunis:
Africa's fifth berth for the World Cup finals was decided as Tunisia hosted Morocco at the Rades Stadium in Tunis on Saturday. Coming into the game Tunisia topped Group E with 20 points, and needed just a draw to book their place, while Morocco - a point behind - needed victory to win the group and qualify. The Moroccans took the lead after just three minutes, 21-year-old Marouane Chamakh tapping in after a misjudged back header from fullback Hatem Trabelsi let in Badr El Kaddouri. Tunisia pulled level in the 16th minute, after Moroccan captain fouled Talal El Kakouri fouled his counterpart Riadh Bouazizi in the penalty area - Brazilian-born fullback Clayton converting from the spot. But two minutes before half-time Morocco went back in front - El Karkouri making amends for the penalty by getting the final touch ahead of Chamakh to a loose ball in the Tunisian area. Defeat, and failure to qualify, would have been desperately harsh on Tunisia, though. And, having dominated most of the game's possession, they got the reward their efforts deserved in the 68th minute. Adel Chedli's cross caught goalkeeper Nadir Lamyaghri out of position. El Karkouri attempted a bicycle kick to clear, but instead only succeeded in putting it over the line. 2-2 the final score, Tunisia winning Group E, a point ahead of Morocco. Roger Lemerre's side join Togo, Ghana, the Ivory Coast and Angola as Africa's qualifiers for next year's World Cup tournament. (AP)Topics mentioned in this article
Football World Cup 2011
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