Super Eagles
Nigeria’s Super Eagles bounced back from conceding a shock early goal to hosts, Liberia to battle to a 2-2 draw in their South Africa 2013 qualifier played in Monrovia.
Omega Roberts had stunned the visitors with a seventh minute goal to send the fans in the Samuel Kanyon Doe Stadium into raptures while silencing the Nigerian bench.
However, rather than crumble after this early setback, the Eagles rallied and within nine minutes were back on level terms with the Lone Star after Real Betis man, Nosa Igiebor fired home.
The Super Eagles were to take the lead four minutes later after being gifted a penalty which was expertly tucked home by Ike Uche.
But on 66th minutes the Lone Stars were back on level terms courtesy of Omega Roberts.
Try as they did, both teams have to settle for a share of the points after they could not break the deadlock.
Meanwhile, Zambia made a winning start to their defence of the African Nations Cup after captain Chris Katongo scored the only goal of their home qualifier against Uganda in Ndola on Saturday.
However, the 1-0 win puts them in something of a precarious position, with a return leg to come in Kampala next month to decide a place at the 2013 finals in South Africa.
Katongo, who has now scored in the qualifiers or finals of five successive Nations Cup tournaments, put Zambia ahead after 20 minutes.
He found the net again before halftime, but his effort was disallowed for offside. Uganda were denied a late equaliser when Zambia goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene made a fine save from Emmanuel Okwi.
Zambia won the last Nations Cup in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon earlier this year. The Nations Cup is usually held every two years but because of a switch from every even to every odd year, it is being played again within 12 months.
RESULTS
Zambia 1-0 Uganda
CAR 1-0 Burkina Faso
Gabon 1-1 Togo
Ghana 2-0 Malawi
Sierra Leone 2-2 Tunisia
Sudan 5-3 Ethiopia
Mali 3-0 Botswana
Cape Verde 2-0 Cameroon
CIV 4-2 Senegal
: Liberia 2-2 Nigeria