JOHANNESBURG: Cameroon coasted to a 2-0 win in Morocco and clinched a record sixth appearance for an African team at the World Cup.

The ‘Indomitable Lions’ took a one-point lead over Gabon into the final round of Group A fixtures and stretched it to four by full-time as their only rivals for a place at the 2010 finals in South Africa fell 1-0 away to Togo. Achille Webo put Cameroon ahead on 18 minutes in Fes and three-time African Footballer of the Year Samuel Eto’o added a second soon after half-time against a poor Moroccan team.

Qualification was a personal triumph for French coach Paul Le Guen, who took over last August from German Otto Pfister with Cameroon bottom of the table having secured one point from two outings. But the highly successful former Lyon coach steered the four-time African champions to four consecutive victories and top place with 13 points followed by Gabon (nine), Togo (eight) and Morocco (three).

Cameroon booked a passage to South Africa a few hours after Nigeria topped Group B by winning 3-2 in Kenya and they join hosts South Africa, Ghana and Ivory Coast as African representatives.

Later, Emad Moteab scored five minutes into stoppage time to earn Egypt a 2-0 victory over Algeria and a 2010 World Cup lifeline. The result left the bitter North African rivals level on points and goal difference at the top of Group C so they will meet again next Wednesday in Sudan to decide which country goes to South Africa.

Reigning African champions Egypt could not have wished for a better start with Amr Zaki giving them a second-minute lead before a sell-out 75,000 crowd at the Cairo Stadium. But the ‘Pharaohs’ failed to build on their early fortune and Algeria missed several good chances to equalise in a clash between two of the fiercest rivals.

Moteab replaced Zaki after 65 minutes and when all seemed lost, he rose to head the ball into the far corner of the net past goalkeeper Lounes Gaouaoui. The build-up to the match had been marred by hostility, including stones being thrown at the Algerian team bus as it drove from Cairo airport to their hotel.