Any notion that the final phase of African Zone qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ would be a perfunctionary exercise was quickly dispelled at the weekend, confirming the prospect of another absorbing campaign over the next six months. From the kick-off of the first of the ten weekend games to the conclusion of the last, the form book was thrown out of the window and surprise results quickly brought about the conclusion that this will be a final run-in of much intrigue.
Almost all of the 20 sides proved their competitiveness in the opening games of the final group phase of Africa's preliminaries. Togo began the weekend with a shock victory over Cameroon, on neutral ground in Accra, with Emanuel Adebayor announcing his return from a hamstring injury with the game's only goal.
The last game on Sunday night saw the traditional order again shaken up again as African champions Egypt were held at home by Zambia. The Pharaohs, among the favourites to qualify for South Africa 2010, let a first-half lead slip and eventually had to share the points in a disappointing 1-1 home draw with Zambia.
But the biggest upset of the weekend was reserved for Casablanca on Saturday night, when Gabon beat Morocco 2-1. It is a result that has suddenly catapulted the Azingo Nationale into the continent's conscience, and set them up as potential spoilers in their group.
