With the end of the preliminary round matches of the qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Cameroon’s opponents in the second round of the qualifiers are now known. The list was completed by the Democratic Republic of Congo and Togo who picked up their qualification for the second round by butting out Swaziland and Guinea Bissau respectively. The Democratic Republic of Congo walloped Swaziland 5-1 in the away leg and beat them again 3-1 in the return leg to qualify on a 8-2 aggregate. Meanwhile Togo narrowly edged Guinea Bissau 1-0 in the away leg and pulled a one-all draw in the second leg to qualify 2-1 on aggregate. Group I therefore comprises Libya, D.R. Congo, Togo and Cameroon.
Of all the opponents, only Libya has not had a World Cup experience and are gunning for their first World Cup participation to heal the wounds of the nations caused by the recent revolution in that country. The D.R. Congo and Togo on the other hand have had World Cup experiences, the D.R. Congo in 1974 and Togo in 2006 both in Germany. After missing out on the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, both D.R. Congo and Togo are under pressure to wake up from their recent slumber. The matches are going to be full of excitement given that the opponents already know themselves and the stakes involved.
Meanwhile else where on the continent, the Republic of Congo, Namibia, Mozambique, Rwanda, Equatorial Guinea, Tanzania, Kenya and Lesotho also picked up their qualification tickets for the second round qualifying series. In the third round, a draw will split the 10 group winners into five two-leg ties and aggregate winners qualify for 2014 World Cup in Brazil. The second round matches will take place from June 1st to September 10th, 2013 whereas the third round matches are expected to take in September and October 2013.
