Matchday 5 of the African World Cup qualifiers saw Egypt, South Africa, Morocco, Ivory Coast and Ghana strengthen their bids for a place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
With only five matches remaining, the race for qualification is intensifying as teams battle for the top spot and a direct ticket to the expanded 48-team tournament.
Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah was instrumental in Egypt’s 2-0 win over Ethiopia. He calmly opened the scoring before providing an assist for Zizo, securing a crucial victory that puts the Pharaohs five points clear at the top of Group A.
Salah continues his marvelous season with the Pharaohs (Photo Credit Getty Images)
South Africa Seize Group C Lead
South Africa moved to the summit of Group C after a hard-fought 2-0 win over Lesotho, with second-half goals from Relebohile Mofokeng and Jayden Adams sealing the victory.
Nigeria secured a vital 2-0 win over Rwanda in Group C, thanks to a brilliant brace from Victor Osimhen.
Osimhen and Lookman have won the last 2 African best men’s player award. (Photo Credit Getty Images)
The Super Eagles’ triumph sees them move up to fourth place with six points, keeping their qualification hopes alive.
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Ghana delivered a dominant performance in Accra, thrashing Chad 5-0. Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo and Leicester City’s Jordan Ayew were among the goalscorers as the Black Stars moved two points clear in Group I.
The Black stars grabbed yet another African World Cup qualifiers win. (Photo Credit Getty Images)
Morocco left it late to defeat Niger 2-1, with Bilal El Khannouss scoring an injury-time winner. The Atlas Lions, who were hosting the game in Oujda, had to come from behind after Niger took a shock lead early in the second half.
Ivory Coast march on while Algeria reclaim top spot
Ivory Coast maintained their unbeaten run in Group F, edging past Burundi 1-0 thanks to a 16th-minute goal from Evannessand. The reigning African champions now sit one point ahead of Gabon.
Algeria moved back to the top of Group G with a 3-1 victory over Botswana. Mohamed Amoura netted twice, adding to an earlier goal from Amine Gouiri.
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Elsewhere, DR Congo defeated South Sudan 1-0 to move level on points with Group B leaders Sudan, while Equatorial Guinea saw Emilio Nsue return from a six-month ban to score in a 2-0 win over São Tomé and Príncipe.
Friday’s African World Cup Qualifying Results
- Burkina Faso 4-1 Djibouti (Group A)
- Ethiopia 0-2 Egypt (Group A)
- DR Congo 1-0 South Sudan (Group B)
- South Africa 2-0 Lesotho (Group C)
- Niger 1-2 Morocco (Group E)
- Burundi 0-1 Ivory Coast (Group F)
- Botswana 1-3 Algeria (Group G)
- Guinea 0-0 Somalia (Group G)
- Equatorial Guinea 2-0 São Tomé and Príncipe (Group H)
- Ghana 5-0 Chad (Group I)
The battle for qualification continues as teams fight for the top spot in their respective groups, with just five matches left in the campaign.
