Senegal, Gabon, Egypt and Morocco remain in battle for London 2012 spots

gabon v_ivory_coast_05-12-11

By David Gold

December 5 – Four African teams remain in the hunt for a place at the London 2012 Olympic Games football tournament, with Senegal facing Gabon and Egypt taking on hosts Morocco in the crucial semi-finals.

The winners of both games will book their place in London, whilst the losers will face each other in the third place play off for an Olympics berth.

The team which finishes fourth will take on an Asian team next year in Coventry for a final chance to qualify for London.

Group A saw Senegal recover from an opening day defeat to Algeria to qualify after beating Nigeria 2-1 and Morocco 1-0.

Algeria exited the tournament after falling to a 4-1 defeat to Nigeria, who also miss out on London.

In Group B Gabon stunned the Ivory Coast 3-1 to make it to the last four, finishing second to Egypt, who beat South Africa 2-0.

The semi-finals will be played on Tuesday and Wednesday in Tangier and Marrakech respectively, with the third place game and final being held on Saturday night.

Contact the writer of this story at zib.l1734905549labto1734905549ofdlr1734905549owedi1734905549sni@d1734905549log.d1734905549ivad1734905549

Related stories
November 2011: Hosts Morocco on winning streak at London 2012 football qualifiers
November 2011: African London 2012 Olympic qualifiers get under way in Morocco
November 2011: Rift between Morocco and Nigeria overshadows African Olympic qualifiers
October 2011: PSL bids to improve South African Olympics chances
October 2011: Morocco set to host London 2012 Olympic qualifiers after Egypt pull out