A stampede at a World Cup qualifying soccer match in the Ivory Coast killed at least 22 people and wounded 132 Sunday, the Minister of the Interior announced on state TV. Desire Tagro said fans pushed against each other, setting off a panic that led to the stampede at the game between the Ivory Coast and Malawi. An Associated Press photographer said people began shoving and pushing 40 minutes before the beginning of the game at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny arena. Police fired tear gas into one section of the crowd. Ollo Kambire, a reporter for “Super Sport,” a daily newspaper focusing on sports, said that a wall collapsed under the weight of the fans as they pushed toward the field. “We saw people falling. ... Then there was panic and a stampede,” he said. The stadium has an official capacity of 35,000 but was packed with fans eager to see Ivory Coast's European-based stars such as Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou of Chelsea and Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue of Arsenal play in the World Cup qualifying match. Drogba scored twice and Kalou once in the game which the hosts won 5-0 as the drama unfolded. Adebayor scores Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor marked his comeback from injury with a goal to guide Togo to a 1-0 win over Cameroon in their World Cup qualifier on Saturday. Gabon went joint top in Group A after a shock 2-1 victory in Morocco. In Group E, Moumouni Dagano took his qualifying campaign tally to nine goals with a double in Burkina Faso's 4-2 triumph over Guinea in Ouagadougou. In Group D, Frederic Kanoute netted in Mali's 1-1 draw with Sudan in Khartoum. In Group B, Tunisia recorded a 2-1 victory over Kenya in Nairobi. In Group C, Rwanda and Algeria shared a goalless draw in Kigali. Mexico beats Costa Rica The United States and Trinidad & Tobago snatched dramatic late draws in their CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers on Saturday while Mexico lifted the pressure on coach Sven-Goran Eriksson by beating Costa Rica 2-0. The United States scored twice in the last 15 minutes to draw 2-2 in El Salvador while Trinidad salvaged a 1-1 draw at home to Honduras as goalkeeping misfortunes played a part in both games. The United States top the six-team table with four points from two games, followed by Costa Rica and Mexico on three, El Salvador and Trinidad on two and Honduras on one. The top three teams qualify for South Africa in 2010 and the fourth plays off against the fifth side from South America.
