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Recap: No World Cup for Nigeria, Algeria, Egypt lose on penalties again, Morocco thrash D.R. Congo

A quick recap of what happened as Nigeria, Egypt, Algeria, D.R. Congo and Mali all fell along the way
World Cup playoffs - Africa
World Cup playoffs - Africa

The final qualifying round for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar came to a close on Tuesday, with Africa's representatives to Qatar securing their seats in five locations across the continent.

2010 World Cup quarter-finalists Ghana, African champions Senegal, seven-time participants Cameroon, Morocco and Tunisia all picked a ticket.

Here, is a quick recap of what happened as Nigeria, Egypt, Algeria, D.R. Congo and Mali all fell along the way.

Nigeria 1-1 Ghana

(1-1 on aggregate, Ghana qualifies on away goals)

In Abuja, an early goal from Thomas Partey was enough to secure Ghana's place at the 2022 Qatar World Cup at the expense of the Super Eagles.

Nigeria, though, responded well, and when, in the 22nd minute, Ademola Lookman weaved into the box past Daniel Amartey, and Denis Odoi before being bumped over.

William Troost-Ekong then put Nigeria level with the penalty, but it was not enough to stop the Black Stars from recording a famous result, qualifying on away goals after a 1-1 draw in the second leg of the qualifying play-off.

Ghana who move on, and Although they might have some work to do before the tournament in November, Ghana became the first African team to qualify for the 2022 World Cup.

Senegal 1-0 Egypt

(1-1 on aggregate, Senegal qualifies 3-1 on penalties)

In Dakar, Sadio Mane slotted the decisive penalty to send Senegal to the World Cup finals while his Liverpool team-mate Mohamed Salah suffered shoot-out heartbreak for Egypt.

After Hamdi Fathi's fourth-minute own goal brought the hosts level following Egypt's 1-0 triumph in Cairo on Friday night, Mane's spot-kick ended what was a dramatic second leg in the Diamniadio Olympic Stadium.

Senegal dominated the game for the most part and should have seen the Pharaohs off in extra time but couldn't due to a series of incredible stops by Egypt's goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy.

The result was a repeat of the Africa Cup of Nations final two months ago when Mane again scored the winning penalty against the same opponents. 

Algeria 1-2 Cameroon

(2-2 on aggregate after extra time, Cameroon qualifies on away goals)

In Blida, Algeria thought they had booked their place at the 2022 World Cup when Ahmed Touba scored in the 118th minute of their do-or-die playoff.

The celebration raged on for minutes and got stopped in its tracks when Cameroonian forward Karl Toko Ekambi swept home a 124th-minute winner and sent those same Algerian players to the grass in disbelief.

At the final whistle, which came seconds after the match restarted, Djamel Belmadi, Algeria's manager, fell to his knees and covered his face. 

On the field, some Algerian players were seen face down while, others heartbroken, cried as they glanced off into the distance in front of their home fans.

Following the 2-2 aggregate draw, the Indomitable Lions won on the away goals rule, securing their sixth World Cup finals appearance. Algeria won 1-0 in the first leg on Friday, making them heavy favourites to progress.

Morocco 4-1 D.R. Congo

(Morocco qualifies 5-2 on aggregate)

In Casablanca, Morocco’s Atlas Lions sealed their ticket for the 2022 World Cup by beating the Democratic Republic of Congo 4-1 in their second leg match.

A brace from Azzedine Ounahi and two other goals from Tarik Tissoudali and Achraf Hakimi helped Morocco overcome first-half injuries to beat the Congolese at home.

Morocco advanced 5-2 on aggregate after a 1-1 draw in Kinshasa in Friday's first leg and will compete at the finals for the sixth time.

Tunisia 0-0 Mali

(Tunisia qualifies 1-0 on aggregate)

In Tunis, Tunisia qualified for their sixth World Cup finals appearance after a 0-0 draw against Mali at home earning them a 1-0 aggregate victory in Qatar.

Mali, who had never qualified before, were far more daring, but they were unable to break down a typically tight Tunisian defence, as the hosts held on to their lead from the first leg in Bamako last Friday.

With the 1-0 aggregate lead, Tunisia played it safe in the return match securing a place at a second successive World Cup.

However, they will be one of the lesser African teams, having benefited from a fortunate playoff pairing that allowed them to bypass some of the other heavyweights.

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