JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Ethiopia’s chances of reaching the 2014 World Cup in Brazil became a little more realistic after beating Botswana to open a two-point gap at the top of its group in African qualifying.
Lesotho held Zambia to a 1-1 draw, and Tanzania beat Morocco 3-1 in other positive results Sunday for the continent’s unheralded teams.
Mali halted the trend in Rwanda, but the African Cup of Nations semifinalist had to come from 1-0 down for its 2-1 win to remain in control of its group.
Congo and Libya plus Mozambique and Guinea played to 0-0 draws.
Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Senegal and Tunisia are in good position to qualify for the World Cup after their games on Saturday, while new African champion Nigeria had a setback after a home draw with Kenya.