A crucial World Cup qualifying match that dented both nations’ chances of reaching the finals in North America has been overshadowed by a horrific offside decision and a ‘suspicious’ goal
Libya and Cape Verde were involved in one of the most controversial World Cup qualifiers of all-time on Wednesday.
The two nations drew 3-3 at the 11 June Stadium in Tripoli in a match that dented both countries’ chances of reaching the finals in North America next summer, and has been hit with accusations of ‘suspicious’ decision making.
Cape Verde sit top of Group D, and a win would have secured the nation’s first time qualifying for the World Cup finals. Meanwhile, Libya needed three points to stay in touching distance of Cameroon in second place.
The hosts led 3-1 before Cape Verde scored twice in the last 15 minutes to level the game. However, the Blue Sharks were robbed of a golden opportunity to win the game deep in stoppage time in a four on one counter attack.
As the player in possession drew in the remaining Libya defender, he squared the ball to his team-mate to run clear on goal with two more forwards to his right-hand side.
But the linesman’s flag was immediately raised, despite the attacker not even remotely close to being in an offside position. The incorrect call robbed Cape Verde the chance to seal their qualification, causing the substitutes to furiously swarm the official.
However, the way Cape Verde got back into the game in the first place is also heavily under the microscope, as a horrific goalkeeping error halved the deficit to 3-2.
In the 76th minute, Blue Sharks defender Sidny Cabral played a hopeful driven ball through the defensive line from just inside the Libya half, hoping one of his team-mates would latch onto it.
The misplaced pass instead bounced through to goalkeeper Murad Al Wuheeshi, but the Libya stopper allowed the harmless ball to creep through him and roll into the empty net.
Fans took to social media to blast Al Wuheeshi, with some even suggesting the goal was so soft that the goalkeeper meant to let the ball in. One fan accused: “An international keeper doing that? No way, bro that guy is involved in some shady businesses”
A second said: “Suspicious. That goal was what helped Cape Verde recover from two goals down to draw the game.”
According to African football journalist Micky Jnr, the Libyan Federation have launched an immediate review of the match against Cape Verde following Al Wuheeshi’s errors.
Just like Cape Verde, Libya have never qualified for the World Cup, and the draw in their penultimate Group D match all but ends their hopes of reaching the finals.
The Mediterranean Knights are now three points behind Cameroon and have a 10-goal worse goal difference.