(Reuters): Ivory Coast qualified for a third straight World Cup tournament by beating Senegal 4-2 on aggregate in a play-off for next year’s finals in Brazil after a 1-1 draw in the second leg on Saturday.Moussa Sow’s 77th minute penalty in Casablanca set up a dramatic finish as Senegal tried to claw back a two-goal deficit from last month’s 3-1 first leg defeat but Salomon Kalou struck a last-gasp equaliser on the night as the Ivorians went through.
Ivory Coast’s qualification followed that of Nigeria, who earlier in the day became the first African country to reach the finals after beating Ethiopia 2-0 for a 4-1 aggregate triumph. Three more teams from Africa will qualify by Tuesday.
Ivory Coast competed in the last two World Cups in Germany and South Africa but failed to get past the first round.