Burkina Faso’s Aristide Bancé continued his fine form by scoring the only goal of the match in the 36th minute to move the Stallions into second place, to improve his country’s hopes of progressing to the next round of qualification over Group E leaders Congo. In the other Group E game, Gabon dispatched Niger with a 4-1 scoreline, scoring three goals in the 8 minutes added on at the end of the game. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (43, 87, 90+8) was the star of the show as he scored a hat-trick of penalties against the hapless Nigeriens, who had two players sent off in the last 10 minutes of the match. Bruno Écuélé Manga was credited with the other goal three minutes from time, after Ali Yacouba had put the Menas ahead in the 14th minute. Zambia extended their lead at the top of group D to two points with a 1-1 draw against Sudan, meaning Ghana can move top with a win against Lesotho on Sunday. After a goalless first half, the game came alive in the second half and Jacob Mulenga put Chipolopolo ahead in the 70th minute. Their joy, however, was short-lived as Mohamed Abdallah netted the equaliser just two minutes later. In a hard-fought encounter at the Lobatse Stadium, Botswana moved clear off the foot of group A with a 3-2 win over Central African Republic. Nicaise Zimbori opened the scoring for CAR in the 33rd minute. With Calvin Tolmbaye sent off for a challenge in the box, Jerome Ramatlhakwane scored the equaliser from the penalty spot. Playing with 10-men did not hamper the Wild Beasts, with Zimbori grabbing his second of the game five minutes into the second half. However, it all fell apart for them towards the end of the match. First Mogakolodi Ngele netted the equaliser in the 74th minute, before Ofentse Nato scored the winner in the 86th minute. In the only Group B match of the day, Heldon scored the only goal as Cape Verde Islands held on for 1-0 win over Sierra Leone at the Estádio da Várzea. Elsewhere Morocco moved into second place in Group C with a 2-0 win over Gambia Stade de Marrakech, with Tanzania facing off against the Ivory Coast on Sunday. Abdelaziz Barrada opened the scoring in the fourth minute for the Atlas Lions, before highly-rated Montpellier forward Younes Belhanda added a second in the 51st minute. Saturday’s World Cup qualifying results: Botswana 3-2 Central Africa Republic Cape Verde Islands 1-0 Sierra Leone Congo 0-1 Burkina Faso Gabon 4-1 Niger Morocco 2-0 Gambia Zambia 1-1 Sudan