Ivory Coast, Ghana , Egypt progress in WCup qualifying

Elsewhere, Burkina Faso and Mali both won 2-0 to overturn 2-1 first-leg deficits against Benin and Botswana respectively, while Cape Verde Islands’ 2-0 victory completed the turnaround against Kenya, who had won 1-0 in the first leg.

Ghana – whose quarter-final appearance in 2010 remains the equal best of any African nation at a World Cup – secured their place in the last qualifying stage as strikes from Wakaso Mubarak and Jordan Ayew secured a 2-0 win after a 0-0 first-leg draw against Comoros.

The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon will be pleased that they did enough in the first leg with a 3-0 victory away in Niger, as a goalless stalemate at home on Tuesday would have disappointed the fans who supported their Cameroonian heroes at home, but with the job done in the first leg, the fans will look forward to the group stages.

Kicking off next October, the 20 second-round qualifiers will form five groups of four teams with the winners of each group booking their place at the finals in Russian Federation.

Another of the continent’s heavyweights, Ghana, secured their passage in very similar fashion to Nigeria.

Fullback Faouzi Ghoulam and striker Islam Slimani netted two each as Algeria hammered Tanzania 7-0 for a 9-2 aggregate triumph, while Egypt’s Ahmed Hassan scored twice in 4-0 win over Chad in Alexandria. And just as Swaziland ended their match with 10 men, so too did Comoros when Omar Mdahoma received a second yellow card with eight minutes remaining.

South Africa are safely through to the third round of 2018 Federation Internationale de Football Association World Cup qualifiers following a 1-0 (4-1 on aggregate) win over Angola at the Moses Mabhida Stadium.

Getaneh Kebede’s first-half goal for Ethiopia levelled the aggregate score at 4-4, but Congo goals early in the second half from Francis N’Ganga and Thievy Bifouma put the tie out of reach.

No date has been fixed for the draws, but it is expected to hold before 2015 runs out.

Tunisia beat Mauritania 2-1 at home to match the scoreline from the away leg at the weekend.