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| Sunday, July 1, 2001 13:10 EST |
Cameroon gains fifth Cup berth
[Reuters]
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- Cameroon became the first
team to qualify for the 2002 World Cup finals Sunday, beating
Togo 2-0 in Yaounde to make sure of top place in African Group
A.
A 27th-minute goal from Spanish-based striker Samuel Eto'o,
the hero of Cameroon's Olympic victory at last year's Games in
Sydney, set the reigning African champions on their way.
Victory was made sure four minutes after halftime when
French-based midfielder Marc-Vivien Foe netted the second goal.
Cameroon needed just a draw to make sure of their African
record fifth appearance at the finals.
The win gave them 18 points from their seven qualifying
matches, six ahead of second-paced Angola, who were held to a
1-1 draw by Libya in Tripoli on Friday.
The match also marked the first game for new French coach
Robert Corfou, who took over last week after the sacking of
compatriot Pierre Lechantre last week.
Lechantre was fired after Cameroon's poor performance in the
Confederations Cup in Japan last month.
Corfou admitted before Sunday's match that he had little
knowledge of Cameroonian soccer and said he was relying on his
assistants to engineer the win against Togo.
South Africa were hoping to become the second side to
qualify, with their match at Burkina Faso in group E kicking off
two hours after the game in Yaounde.
South Africa need only a draw to ensure top place in their
group.
The first team to reach the finals through qualifying,
Cameroon will join co-hosts Japan and South Korea, along with
cup holders France, in next year's tournament.
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