2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF first round

Five knockout ties were originally required, involving the ten lowest ranked African countries (based on FIFA rankings as of July 2007). The actual draw was apparently conducted one day before the format was announced by CAF. The pairings were:^[1]

• Madagascar v. Comoros
• Somalia v. Swaziland
• São Tomé and Príncipe v. Central African Republic
• Sierra Leone v. Guinea-Bissau
• Seychelles v. Djibouti

São Tomé and Príncipe and the Central African Republic both withdrew in early September 2007. As a result, Swaziland and Seychelles (the two highest-ranked of the ten nations) were no longer required to play in this round, and the teams they were originally matched against, Somalia and Djibouti, were pitched against each other instead.^[2] The tie was played as a single game in Djibouti; Somalia was not deemed safe due to the ongoing war.^[3]

The winners advanced to the second round.

Summarize Timeline Fact Check

Madagascar won 10 – 2 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.

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Djibouti advanced to the second round. This tie was played as a one leg tie in Djibouti, as Somalia was not deemed suitable for FIFA matches.^{[citation needed]}

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Sierra Leone won 1 – 0 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.

There were 14 goals scored in 5 matches, for an average of 2.8 goals per match.

4 goals

2 goals

1 goal