Haller double helps Ivory Coast down Cameroon

Former West Ham attacker Sebastien Haller scored twice in nine minutes to give the Ivory Coast a 2-1 World Cup qualifying win over Cameroon in Abidjan on Monday. Haller converted a penalty on 20 minutes and later outpaced a defender and fired into the far corner of the net.

Moumi Ngamaleu pulled one goal back from another penalty, on 61 minutes, to set up a tense finish to the Group-D showdown.

Meanwhile, South Africa edged Ghana 1-0 through a 83rd-minute Bongokuhle Hlongwane goal and replaced it as Group- G leader.

Percy Tau, had a first-half headed goal wrongly disallowed for offside.

Evidence Makgopa missed a sitter just after half-time, poking the ball wide of an unguarded goal.

But with time running out and weakened Ghana looking like taking a point home, Hlongwane connected with a low cross and the ball rolled into the net via the far post.

Niger equalled its record for the number of goal scored in a World Cup qualifier by coming from behind to trounce Djibouti 4-2 in Group-A with Victorien Adebayor bagging a brace.

The results: Group A: Djibouti 2 (Ali 32, Hassan 90) lost to Niger 4 (Adebayor 49, 56, Wonkoye 65-pen, Sabo 68); Group C: Central African Republic 0 lost to Liberia 1 (Sherman 86); Group D: Ivory Coast 2 (Haller 20-pen, 29) bt Cameroon 1 (Ngamaleu 61-pen); Group E: Uganda 0 drew with Mali 0;