France, Oct. 14 -- South Africa won the three-horse race on Monday night from African qualifying Group C for a place at next year's World Cup with a 3-0 victory over Rwanda as pacesetters Benin lost 3-0 in Nigeria.

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Going into the final round of games, Benin, second-placed South Africa and Nigeria in third all had the chance to advance to the tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

With a two-point advantage over South Africa, Benin simply needed to match South Africa's result while Nigeria had to beat Benin by at least two goals and hope Rwanda held South Africa to a draw.

But it wasSouth Africawho clinched the berth with their win in front of delirious partisans at the Mbombela Stadium.

In the prelude to the game, the ...