Cape Verde shock Tunisia to reach World Cup playoffs

Sept 7 (Reuters) - Tiny Cape Verde Islands continued a year of giant-killing by beating Tunisia 2-0 away on Saturday to move into the final stage of World Cup qualifying just weeks after they thought they were eliminated.

Cape Verde were out of the running in Group B before being handed a reprieve in July when they were awarded three points after Equatorial Guinea were found to have used an inelligible player in an earlier group match.

First-half goals from Platini, who plays club football in Cyprus, and Heldon helped the island archipelago, with a population of just over half a million, finish on 12 points, one clear of Tunisia.

They will now be among 10 group winners to compete in a final round of playoff matches over the next two months to determine Africa's five places at the World Cup.

They were surprise qualifiers for a first African Nations Cup finals appearance at the start of the year, reaching the quarter-finals against expectations.