African champion Nigeria and surprising Ethiopia reached the final playoffs for the World Cup after winning last-round African group games on Saturday.
Burkina Faso also kept its World Cup hopes alive by beating Gabon and overtaking Republic of Congo in the race to make the 10-team matches starting next month. Five teams will eventually emerge from the playoffs in October and November to represent Africa in Brazil next year.
Top-ranked African team Ivory Coast, Egypt and Algeria had already qualified for the playoffs. Tunisia, Cameroon and Senegal are favorites to claim other places.
