Ghana nudged closer to finals

... Burkina Faso 3-1 South Africa
... Bafana Bafana kiss the World Cup goodbye.
A 3-1 Burkina Faso win over South Africa improved Ghana's chances of qualifying for her first ever World Cup finals. The four-time African champions will qualify for Germany if she can beat Uganda in Kumasi on Sunday and Congo does not win against Cape Verde.

The Black Stars will look to captain Stephen Appiah and midfielder Michael Essien to deliver the goods.

Both Ghana and Bafana Bafana have fifteen points, yet the Black Stars top the group because of a better head-to-head record in the two qualifiers contested by the sides.

Burkina 3 South Africa 1

OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) - South Africa's slim hopes of reaching the 2006 World Cup finals were all but over on Saturday after a 3-1 defeat away to Burkina Faso.

South Africa, the hosts for the 2010 tournament, needed to win the Africa zone Group Two qualifier to keep pace with leaders Ghana in the race for a place in Germany but were swept aside by an inspired performance from the Burkinabe.

Montpellier striker Abdoulaye Cisse scored twice and Bordeaux junior Kebe Yahia got the other as Burkina Faso ran rampant against a lacklustre South African side.

South Africa pulled one goal back through substitute Sibusisoo Zuma.

Ghana now need just four points from their last two matches to win the group. They host Uganda on Sunday and finish with a match against the Cape Verde Islands on October 8.

South Africa, equal on points with Ghana but with an inferior head-to-head record, have one match left at home to DR Congo on October 7.

Cisse got the first goal after some sloppy defending, tapping in from close range in the 32nd minute before Yahia added a second seven minutes later on the breakaway, finishing with an expert chip over goalkeeper Hans Vonk.

Burkina Faso increased their lead just two minutes after halftime when Mbulelo Mabizela brought down Cisse, who got up to convert the penalty.

Zuma scored South Africa's consolation goal in the 75th minute after a sleek set of passes involving Benni McCarthy and Steven Pienaar.

But the visitors never looked likely to force a dramatic recovery and the final whistle set off wild celebrations for the home crowd.

"To beat South Africa 3-1 is a fantastic result for us. We had a great match and played some good football. It's a happy night for us," said Burkina Faso's French coach Bernard Simondi.

His jubilant mood contrasted with that of South Africa's English coach Stuart Baxter, whose continued tenure had been the subject of much speculation in recent weeks as his team ceded their dominant position in the group.

"My players didn't cope with the pressure and that is really disappointing. If we had lost at least playing some football it would have been palatable. But we gifted them two goals and looked shaky whenever we were under pressure. I'm very down and disappointed," said Baxter.

The Stallions still have a mathematical chance of qualifying for next year's Nations Cup finals in Egypt.

The remaining tie in the group sees Cape Verde travelling to Kinshasa on Sunday, where victory for the small island nation would boost its hopes of reaching a first Nations Cup finals.
DR Congo, who can still make the World Cup finals should both Ghana and South Africa dramatically stumble, are unbeaten at home in their qualifying campaign.