Liberia erased a two-goal deficit to beat Gambia 3-2 on aggregate and advanced to the second round of the African World Cup qualifying on Sunday. Ghana took a 5-0 lead after the first leg of their series against Somalia.
Isaac Tondo scored two goals in the second half as Liberia blanked Gambia 3-0 in the second match after losing 2-0 in the first leg.
Ghana got two goals each from Arhin Duah and Isaac Boakye to beat Somalia in Accra, Ghana. Asamoah Djan also scored for Ghana.
The second leg will be played on Wednesday in Kumasi, Ghana.
Also on Sunday, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Cape Verde Islands, Guinea, Libya, Republic of Congo, Sudan, Togo and Uganda advanced to the second round.
On Saturday, Gabon, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, and Zambia advanced, while Algeria, Mali and Zimbabwe reached the second round on Friday.
Burkina Faso also advanced when the Central African Republic withdrew.
The second round consists of five groups of six teams. Each of the preliminary round winners will join Cameroon, Congo (Zaire), Egypt, Côte d’Ivoire, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia in the next phase.
In Monrovia, Liberia, Zizi Roberts opened the scoring for Liberia in the 11th minute after an 18m scramble toward the goal.
Tondo, who came on as a substitute, took a pass from Takrpor Sonkarlay in the 70th to score his first goal, and then added the series-winner in the 85th.
In Benghazi, Libya, Ahmed al-Masli scored three goals as Libya crushed Sao Tome 8-0 to advance with a 9-0 aggregate win.
Tarek al-Taeb added two goals for the hosts, who were playing without Saadi Gadhafi. The son of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi was suspended from playing in Italy’s top league earlier this month for failing a doping test.
Marei al-Ramli, Ahmed Saad and Mohammed al-Kekli also scored for Libya.
In Cotonou, Benin, Omar Tchomogo scored three goals, including a series-winning penalty in injury time, as Benin nipped Madagascar 3-2 and advanced 4-3 on aggregate.
The visitors led 2-0 early in the first half, but Tchomogo scored in the 31st from the penalty spot and equalised in the 62nd before netting the winner, again with a penalty kick.
Jean Jacques Radonamahafalison and Alain Rakotobe scored for Madagascar.
In Freetown, Sierra Leone, Nguie Miem scored in the 69th minute to send the Republic of Congo into the second round after helping his team draw 1-1 with Sierra Leone.
The Republic of Congo, who beat Sierra Leone 1-0 in the first leg, advance with a 2-1 aggregate score.
Ibrahim Koroma had given the hosts the lead with a penalty in the 57th, but Miem’s equaliser was enough to eliminate Sierra Leone and send the visitors to the next round.
In Lome, Togo, Adebayo Sheyi and Salifou Moustapha scored a goal each as Togo advanced after beating Equatorial Guinea 2-0 and 2-1 on aggregate.
Sheyi scored the first goal of the match in the 45th minute and Moustapha added the series-winner in the 52nd, lobbing the ball over the onrushing goalkeeper.
In Port Louis, Mauritius, David Obua scored in the 120th minute to help Uganda advance despite losing 3-1 to Mauritius. Uganda advanced 4-3 on aggregate.
Ricardo Nabodh, Cyrille Mourgine and Jerry Louis scored for Mauritius.
In Asmara, Eritrea, Sudan held the hosts to a 0-0 draw, sending the visitors on to the next round with a 3-0 aggregate win. — Sapa-AP