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Africa: Road to 2026 World Cup - Africa's Qualifying Story So Far

Africa: Road to 2026 World Cup – Africa’s Qualifying Story So Far


The nine group winners will qualify automatically for the FIFA World Cup 2026. The four best runners-up will then compete for one place at the FIFA Play-Off Tournament.

After a dramatic round in CAF qualifying for the FIFA World Cup, South Africa extended their lead at the top of Group C with victory over Benin after match day 6, while Group D pace-setters Cape Verde recorded another impressive win against Angola.

Cameroon are hot on their heels after seeing off Libya, while Nigeria suffered a bitter blow in conceding a last-gasp equaliser to Zimbabwe.

South Sudan struck an incredible 98th-minute leveller against neighbours Sudan, and Egypt are sitting pretty at the Group A summit after beating Sierra Leone.

Algeria flexed their scoring muscles in a top-of-the-table tussle with Mozambique, while Comoros, Congo DR, Morocco and Senegal boosted their hopes with clean-sheet victories.

The nine group winners will qualify automatically for the FIFA World Cup 26. The four best runners-up will then compete for one place at the FIFA Play-Off Tournament.

Here is the complete breakdown by group:

Group A – Egypt stay top as Ethiopia hit Djibouti for six

Results:

Egypt 1-0 Sierra Leone

Burkina Faso 2-1 Guinea-Bissau

Ethiopia 6-1 Djibouti

Egypt kept their unbeaten record intact with a narrow 1-0 victory over Sierra Leone, thanks to a first-half strike from Zizo.

Burkina Faso remained in contention with a tight win over Guinea-Bissau, but the performance of the round came from Ethiopia, who mauled Djibouti with an emphatic 6-1 victory.

Standings:

Egypt – 16 pts

Burkina Faso – 11 pts

Sierra Leone – 8 pts

Ethiopia – 6 pts

Guinea-Bissau – 6 pts

Djibouti – 1 pt

Next Fixtures (Matchday 7):

Egypt vs Ethiopia

Guinea-Bissau vs Sierra Leone

Djibouti vs Burkina Faso

Group B: DR Congo go top, Senegal and Sudan tied

Results:

DR Congo 2-0 Mauritania

Senegal 2-0 Togo

Sudan 1-1 South Sudan

DR Congo returned to the summit with a composed 2-0 win over Mauritania. Senegal matched them on points after seeing off Togo, while Sudan’s draw with South Sudan dropped them into third place.

Standings:

DR Congo – 13 pts

Senegal – 12 pts

Sudan – 12 pts

Togo – 3 pts

South Sudan – 3 pts

Mauritania – 2 pts

Next Fixtures (Matchday 7):

Senegal vs Sudan

South Sudan vs DR Congo

Somalia vs Guinea

Group C: South Africa strengthen hold, Nigeria stumble again

Results:

Benin 0-2 South Africa

Nigeria 1-1 Zimbabwe

Rwanda 1-1 Lesotho

South Africa firmly took control of Group C with a confident 2-0 victory over Benin, extending their lead at the top.

Nigeria, however, suffered another blow, as Zimbabwe struck a stoppage-time equaliser to deny them much-needed points. Rwanda and Lesotho played out a 1-1 stalemate, keeping the middle of the table tightly contested, and cancelling each other out.

Standings:

South Africa – 13 pts

Rwanda – 8 pts

Benin – 8 pts

Nigeria – 7 pts

Lesotho – 6 pts

Zimbabwe – 4 pts

Next Fixtures (Matchday 7):

Benin vs Zimbabwe

Lesotho vs South Africa

Lesotho vs Nigeria

Group D: Cape Verde edge Angola as Cameroon stay close

Results:

Cape Verde 2-1 Angola

Cameroon 3-1 Libya

Mauritius 3-3 Eswatini

Cape Verde snatched a crucial win over Angola, while Cameroon thrashed Libya to stay a point off the top. Mauritius and Eswatini served up a six-goal thriller but shared the spoils.

Standings:

Cape Verde – 13 pts

Cameroon – 12 pts

Libya – 8 pts

Angola – 7 pts

Mauritius – 5 pts

Eswatini – 2 pts

Next Fixtures (Matchday 7):

Angola vs Libya

Cameroon vs Eswatini

Mauritius vs Cape Verde

Group E: Morocco flawless, Atlas Lions pull clear

Results:

Morocco 2-0 Tanzania

Morocco kept their perfect record intact with a 2-0 win over Tanzania to make it five wins from five and stay top of Group E.

Standings:

Morocco – 15 pts (5 games)

Niger – 6 pts (4 games)

Tanzania – 6 pts (5 games)

Zambia – 3 pts (4 games)

Congo – 0 pts (3 games)

Eritrea – 0 pts (0 games)

Next Fixtures (Matchday 7):

Morocco vs Niger

Group F: Cote d’Ivoire reclaim top, Burundi explode

Results:

Cote d’Ivoire 1-0 Gambia

Burundi 5-0 Seychelles

Kenya 1-2 Gabon

Gabon stayed hot on the heels of Cote d’Ivoire after an impressive 2-1 win over Kenya. Burundi produced a five-star show against Seychelles to rise to third.

Standings:

Cote d’Ivoire – 16 pts

Gabon – 15 pts

Burundi – 10 pts

Kenya – 6 pts

Gambia – 4 pts

Seychelles – 0 pts

Next Fixtures (Matchday 7):

Cote d’Ivoire vs Burundi

Kenya vs Gambia

Seychelles vs Gabon

Group G: Amoura hat-trick fires Algeria to top, Uganda bounce back

Results:

Algeria 5-1 Mozambique

Uganda 1-0 Guinea

Botswana 2-0 Somalia

Algeria produced a commanding performance to dispatch Mozambique with Amoura netting a hat-trick. Uganda edged Guinea while Botswana swept Somalia aside.

Standings:

Algeria – 15 pts

Mozambique – 12 pts

Botswana – 9 pts

Uganda – 9 pts

Guinea – 7 pts

Somalia – 1 pt

Next Fixtures (Matchday 7):

Algeria vs Botswana

Uganda vs Mozambique

Somalia vs Guinea

Group H: Tunisia leave it late, Namibia stall

Results:

Tunisia 2-0 Malawi

Namibia 1-1 Equatorial Guinea

Liberia 2-1 Sao Tome and Principe

Late goals from Jaziri and Achouri earned Tunisia a win over Malawi. Namibia were held by Equatorial Guinea while Liberia edged Sao Tome.

Standings:

Tunisia – 16 pts

Namibia – 12 pts

Liberia – 10 pts

Equatorial Guinea – 7 pts

Malawi – 6 pts

Sao Tome and Principe – 0 pts

Next Fixtures (Matchday 7):

Tunisia vs Liberia

Namibia vs Malawi

Sao Tome and Principe vs Equatorial Guinea

Group I: Ghana dominate Madagascar

Results:

Ghana 3-0 Madagascar

Mali 0-0 Central Africa Republic

Comoros 1-1 Chad

Ghana pulled away at the top with a commanding 3-0 win over Madagascar. Mali were held by CAR while Comoros dropped points against winless Chad.

Standings:

Ghana – 15 pts

Comoros – 12 pts

Madagascar – 10 pts

Mali – 9 pts

Central Africa – 5 pts

Chad – 0 pts

Next Fixtures (Matchday 7):

Chad vs Ghana

Madagascar vs Central Africa Republic

Mali vs Comoros

Top Scorers (after Matchday 6)

Mohamed Salah (Egypt) – 6 goals

Jordan Ayew (Ghana) – 5 goals

Mohamed Amoura (Algeria) – 5 goals

Lassina Traoré (Burkina Faso) – 5 goals

Trezeguet (Egypt) – 5 goals

Denis Bouanga (Gabon) – 5 goals

Kamory Doumbia (Mali) – 5 goals



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