Fairy tale endings still open

Major contenders such as Côte d'Ivoire, Morocco and continental champions Egypt look well placed to progress to the last phase of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ preliminaries, but there might yet be a fairy tale or to two to tell after Sunday's contests in the Africa.

Swaziland, for example, are aiming to reach uncharted territory by beating Togo, while Burkina Faso aim to finish ahead of mighty Tunisia in their section, underlining once again the unpredictability of football in Africa. FIFA.com continues its focus on the weekend's matches, across the 12 groups, with a preview of games in groups seven to 12.

Group 7: It would be one of the biggest upsets in the history of FIFA World Cup qualifying in Africa were Côte d'Ivoire to be beaten in their last group game and have their chance to take top spot stymied. A home encounter against Madagascar is likely to deliver the point that the Elephants need to win the group, given they beat the islanders 6-0 at home last year. Chelsea ace Didier Drogba misses the match again through injury but there is still an overwhelming amount of attacking talent available to the Ivorians. Botswana and Mozambique chase second place when they meet in Gaborone. Both sides can still progress to the next phase but it is a must-win encounter for both the Mambas and the Zebras.

Group 8: With the expulsion of Ethiopia, the group has been reduced to three and Rwanda have completed their campaign with a credible nine points from a possible 12. However, they are still likely to be usurped at the head of the standings by Morocco, who host Mauritania in Rabat in the final game on Saturday. A single-goal win would be enough for Morocco to take top place in a successful start to the reign of veteran French coach Roger Lemerre.

Group 9: Burkina Faso and Tunisia are both likely to advance to the next stage, as either group winner or among the best-placed runners-up. The Burkinabe will seek to finish in a morale-boosting first but play away from home in Bujumbura against Burundi while Tunisia seek a goal fest in their game against Seychelles, who have lost all five of their qualifying games to date. Injury-hit Tunisia are to start Saturday's match at Rades with Racing Lens striker Issam Jomaa in attack alongside newcomer Mohamed Selliti.

Group 10: Mali sit in the driving seat in the group, sharing top place with Congo, but with potentially a much easier finish. Mali's star-studded squad, including the Spanish-based trio of Frederic Kanoute, Mahamadou Diarra and Seydou Keita, host bottom-placed Chad in Bamako on Saturday and should finish top. Congo are away at Sudan, who are three points behind in third place and can still grab second spot from their visitors if they win by two goals. Mali coach Stephen Keshi told FIFA.com: "This generation has the potential to provide Mali with what they have been looking for for the last 30 years. A place in the World Cup finals."

Group 11: Tiny Swaziland are living a dream, hoping they will get further than ever before in the FIFA World Cup preliminaries. The southern African kingdom can take top place in the group if they beat Togo in their final match, being played on neutral turf in Accra, Ghana. The odds are in their favour, with Togo's star Emmanuel Adebayor continuing his one-man boycott of the side. Swaziland's performances, meanwhile, have gone from strength to strength since Ephraim Mashaba took over as coach.

Group 12: Egypt are almost certain to finish top of the standings as they take on lowly Djibouti in their final game in Cairo on Sunday. It leaves Malawi and Congo DR to chase second place in Saturday's meeting in Blantyre. Malawi's Flames have home advantage and their two foreign-based strikers Russel Mwafulirwa and Esau Kanyenda return after missing their last game through injury. The Leopards, however, are also a formidable side, with a rich tradition in qualifying.

Tim Howard: There's no perfect game

Tim Howard's rise to the top tier of club and international football has been nothing short of meteoric. Plucked from the semi-pro leagues as a teenager in New Jersey, the spring-heeled keeper became an icon in New York with the MetroStars (now Red Bulls), went on to succeed Fabien Barthez at Manchester United before settling in at Everton.

Now 29, the undisputed USA No1 sits down for an exclusive chat with FIFA.com ahead of a decisive qualifier with Cuba on Saturday. Touching on the Americans' perfect start to qualifying and the Toffees' troubled start to the current campaign, Howard is ever hopeful, never satisfied and wise beyond his years.

FIFA.com: The US is top of their group with three wins from three games. Obviously the results are right, but how do you feel about the way the team's been playing?
Tim Howard: You can't complain about results like those, but all coaches and players are perfectionists and we know we can always play better. After each game, we sit down and dissect it and find ways to improve. There is no perfect game; you can always make improvements.

How hard is it to get focused and ready to play with only a week of preparation, and with everyone jetting in from their clubs?
Obviously the longer we're together, the better it is. The easiest answer is that it's hard to get yourself prepared in such a short space of time. The responsibility falls on the coaches, but also on the players. We, as players, need to forget about everything that's going on at our clubs and leave our English, French, Spanish mindsets behind, and come and perform for our national team. This team gets along really well on and off the field, so that helps too.

Can you comment on the defence's performance so far? You have not conceded a single goal.
As a goalkeeper, you're only as good as the defenders in front of you. Carlos (Bocanegra) and Oguchi (Onyewu) have been amazing in the games so far, but so have our midfielders and forwards. We've been defending in packs and pushing the other teams into positions they don't want to be in. We've been clicking defensively and doing well to not let our opponents get comfortable.

Clicking, that's a pretty good way to describe the last performance, a 3-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago in Chicago on 10 September.
It was our best game so far. It's the perfect example of keeping a team off-balance and away from the danger zones.

A win against Cuba in DC this weekend would put you in the final round of North, Central American and Caribbean qualifying. Do you enter a game like that with a special mindset?
We'll be playing Cuba for a second time now, and at home, so the onus is on us to take the game to them. We know what's at stake, but at the same time we can't get consumed with it. We just need to dictate the pace of the game and aim for the three points.

From the days of Tony Meola, through to Brad Friedel and Kasey Keller, the USA always seems to produce strong goalkeepers. Why do you think this is?
(Laughs) I get this question a lot, and I don't really know the answer. We have managed to do well exporting players in the goalkeeper position. I think at the end of the day it's about producing good athletes in America, and good athletes tend to become good goalkeepers.

Being a fellow Jersey boy, was your boyhood idol Tony Meola?
I didn't really have a soccer idol growing up. It wasn't like it is today, where you have soccer on TV all the time. I had to take my sporting heroes from other sports.

It's been a long road for you, from semi-pro ball in New Jersey, to (MLS) to Manchester United and now Everton, it's all happened pretty fast. Do you now look back and put it all in perspective?
While it was all happening, it was hard to really focus on what was going on. It was all I could do to keep my head above water and survive and try to improve enough to keep my place. Things just kept happening year after year. But now, in my third season with Everton, I can look back on just what a wild ride it's been. And to be honest, I am pleased with where I am right now, with my development and the level I'm at.

Speaking of Everton, it's been a rough start, eliminated from the UEFA and League Cups and without a home win. All this after two years of sustained success.
It's true, we're having a rough start to the season. In the top leagues in the world, you have to get off to a good start, and we haven't. Now we need to fight our way out of it and we have the guys to do it. We all understand that we have no divine right to finish fourth or fifth, and we are going to have to sort out a way to get out of this. But we have the spirit, as we've shown in the last two seasons.

Lastly, you've not had the chance to be the No1 at a FIFA World Cup. Do you let yourself look that far ahead, maybe to South Africa?
Inevitably, yes. I think about it just like you write about it. But there are a lot of things between now and that opportunity. First, we have to qualify; I have to keep my spot. Nobody in our team is untouchable; no one has a right to their spot. And that's a great thing. Playing in a World Cup is a great goal of mine and it's something I'm working toward, but it's important to keep your feet on the ground.

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