Zambia- S. Africa 1-4 Sept 21 Ethiopia- Uganda 2-0 Sept 22 Tanzania-Zimbabwe 0-5 Sept 21 Angola- RD Congo 1-0 Sept 22 Gabon-Cameroon 1-1 Sept 21 Senegal-Ghana 3-0 Sept 22 Mali- Morocco 0-0 Sept 22 Second Round will be played between the 10th and 13th of October.
Wow, some surprises in there - most notably Senegal smearing Ghana 3-0. Are the Senegalese women ready to make waves like their men have recently? Morocco and Cameroon being held to draws (albeit away from home) by Mali and Gabon is a bit of a surprise as well (with Morocco not scoring so away goals could hurt them if they get held at home and Mali score). Hopefully, this is a sign of improving women's soccer in Africa.
Quite surprised about the Ghana Result. Maybe the women of Senegal have been lifted up by their men's side. Cameroon is one of those teams ready to leap into the forefront of African Soccer just like the men have been for a long time. Away from home might have been the key. Same thing for Morocco who are a rather inconsistent side too. I thought Zambia might challenge South Africa but that was a false hope. South Africa should be the side along with Nigeria that goes to the World Cup. In the qualification for World Cup 99, South Africa lost to both Ghana and Cameroon. Cameroon were unfortunate to play Nigeria in the semis(Lost 6-0). They had already played Ghana who they lost to by 3-1. So revenge will certainly be on their minds if they meet again especially if they will play Nigeria in the final. Could be a repeat of the last time the two teams met back in November of 2000. Zimbabwe is another team to watch. Uganda losing to Ethiopia is an upset as well albeit a minor one. However, things are certainly improving throughout the continent when it comes to women's soccer.
2nd leg results have come in from the last couple of days: Zambia 0-4 South Africa Ethiopia 2-2 Uganda 2nd leg Oct 13] Tanzania 0-5 Zimbabwe 2nd leg Oct 13] Angola 0-1 Congo-Kinshasa [aet, 5-4 pen] [2nd leg Oct 11] Gabon 0-4 Cameroon Mali 0-0 Morocco [aet, 5-4 pen] [2nd leg Oct 11] Senegal 0-3 1-3 Ghana That's right. Ghana won both legs of the match against Senegal. The CAF homepage had this score wrong. But the pool is certainly getting deeper in Africa. Zambia 0-4 South Africa goals: Joanne Solomons, Mapule Nteso, Nandipha Mlomo, Veronica Phewa Senegal 0-3 Ghana (First leg) Goals: Basilia Keteh (24th and 55th) and Memina Dark 29th The 8 finalists will be: Nigeria (hosts and holders) South Africa Mali Ghana Angola Ethiopia Zimbabwe Cameroon
CAF has the draw and schedule up for the Final Tournament of the African Championship. http://www.cafonline.net/news.asp?id=175 Group 1: Nigeria, Ghana, Mali, Ethiopia Group 2: South African, Cameroon, Angola, Zimbabwe Semifinals: First Place Group 1 vs. Second Place Group 2; First Place Group 2 vs. Second Place Group 1. It looks like Nigeria and South Africa were seeded. I think Ghana has better grounds for being seeded than South Africa. They have been a consistent top-four finisher in African competition. I think that South Africa broke into the top four for the first time with their second place finish in the 2000 competition (which they hosted). All in all, a tough draw for Ghana, but at least they are absolutely, positively guaranteed not to meet Nigeria in the semifinals. On a related note, DennisM writes But the pool is certainly getting deeper in Africa. This is true, but there is one disturbing countertrend within this positive trend. For the first time ever, no North African team made it to the final tournament. Regular early round participants Egypt and Algeria didn't even field teams this time around, and Morocco, which has regularly reached the final tournament, got knocked out by Mali.
That certainly is true. The North African teams have been a bit of a mystery lately. The fact that Mali defeated Morocco is mysterious enough. But the fact it that there are some countries like Zimbabwe and Angola that are starting new leagues and encouraging more women to play whereas other countries seem to be falling behind like some of the North African countries. Egypt is an exception. They are building up their women's program but why they decided not to enter this competition is beyond me.
How on earth were South Africa seeded over Ghana? I'm sure Nigeria and Ghana like the draw just fine, it's the semifinal matchups that are the most important (as far as WC quals go) and they know they won't face each other. Ethiopia and Mali are the big losers in this draw.
South Africa won the CoSAFA Cup earlier this year. Also they are a team on the rise. They beat Zimbabwe in the final. They are likely to become the third team of African Women's Soccer after Nigeria and Ghana. But this draw is better for the Semis and for Ghana since they won't be playing Nigeria in a semi. The two finalists will advance and that just may be South Africa and Nigeria or Nigeria and Ghana. Should be interesting.