Morocco became the first African nation to secure a spot at next year’s World Cup on Friday, sealing qualification with a dominant 5-0 victory over Niger in Rabat. The win guaranteed them top place in Group E and extended their perfect run in the qualifiers to six matches.
Ismael Saibari struck twice, while Ayoub El Kaabi, Hamza Igamane and Azzedine Ounahi also found the net, ensuring Morocco’s 100% record. Their closest challengers, Tanzania, were held to a 1-1 draw by Congo earlier in the day, leaving them on 10 points from six games compared to Morocco’s 18.
The Atlas Lions, who made history in 2022 as the first African team to reach a World Cup semi-final, have remained Africa’s highest-ranked side ever since.
Elsewhere on a busy night of 14 qualifiers across the continent, Egypt maintained control of Group A with a 2-0 home win over Ethiopia. Mohamed Salah converted from the spot for his seventh goal of the campaign, before Omar Marmoush added a second penalty. Burkina Faso stayed five points behind after thrashing Djibouti 6-0, with braces from Dango Ouattara and Edmond Tapsoba.
In Group F, African champions Ivory Coast returned to the summit after a narrow 1-0 win over Burundi, courtesy of a third-minute strike by Vakoun Bayo. They now sit a point above Gabon, who they will face away on Tuesday.
Group B remains finely poised, with just one point separating leaders DR Congo and Senegal. Cedric Bakambu’s double and a Yoane Wissa goal helped DR Congo beat South Sudan 4-1, while Senegal overcame Sudan 2-0 in Dakar thanks to Kalidou Koulibaly and Pape Matar Sarr. The two giants meet in Kinshasa on Tuesday.
South Africa stayed firmly in control of Group C, five points clear of Benin. Burnley’s Lyle Foster scored as Bafana Bafana swept aside Lesotho 3-0, while Steve Mounie’s goal gave Benin victory over Zimbabwe. Nigeria, struggling so far, remain in contention but must win their upcoming fixtures against Rwanda and South Africa.
In Group G, Algeria’s chances improved significantly after second-placed Mozambique were thrashed 4-0 in Uganda, while in Group H Namibia’s defeat to Malawi means Tunisia can book their place if they beat Equatorial Guinea away on Monday.
Winners of all nine groups qualify automatically for the 2026 World Cup in North America. The four best runners-up will advance to a playoff in November, offering one additional route to the finals.
Britain stepped up its sanction regime on Russia, targeting its two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, along with 44 tankers from the so-calle...
Türkiye has appointed a former head of its disaster management agency to oversee its aid efforts in Gaza, a Foreign Ministry source said....
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is facing its first lawsuits in the United Kingdom over claims that its talc-based products cause cancer, as it continues to b...
French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu survived two no-confidence votes in parliament on Thursday, winning crucial backing from the Socialist Party....
Thousands of mourners briefly stormed Nairobi's international airport on Thursday, interrupting a ceremony for the body of veteran opposition leader R...
Britain stepped up its sanction regime on Russia, targeting its two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, along with 44 tankers from the so-called “shadow fleet” in an effort to choke Kremlin revenue funding the war in Ukraine.
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is facing its first lawsuits in the United Kingdom over claims that its talc-based products cause cancer, as it continues to battle tens of thousands of similar cases in the United States.
French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu survived two no-confidence votes in parliament on Thursday, winning crucial backing from the Socialist Party.
Thousands of mourners briefly stormed Nairobi's international airport on Thursday, interrupting a ceremony for the body of veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga, with crowds also flooding nearby roads and trying to breach parliament.
Video from the USGS (United States Geological Survey) showed on Friday (19 September) the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii erupting and spewing lava.
At least 69 people have died and almost 150 injured following a powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Cebu City in the central Visayas region of the Philippines, officials said, making it one of the country’s deadliest disasters this year.
Authorities in California have identified the dismembered body discovered in a Tesla registered to singer D4vd as 15-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who had been missing from Lake Elsinore since April 2024.
A tsunami threat was issued in Chile after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck the Drake Passage on Friday. The epicenter was located 135 miles south of Puerto Williams on the north coast of Navarino Island.
The war in Ukraine has reached a strategic impasse, and it seems that the conflict will not be solved by military means. This creates a path toward one of two alternatives: either a “frozen” phase that can last indefinitely or a quest for a durable political regulation.
Britain stepped up its sanction regime on Russia, targeting its two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, along with 44 tankers from the so-called “shadow fleet” in an effort to choke Kremlin revenue funding the war in Ukraine.
Türkiye has appointed a former head of its disaster management agency to oversee its aid efforts in Gaza, a Foreign Ministry source said.
French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu survived two no-confidence votes in parliament on Thursday, winning crucial backing from the Socialist Party.
Thousands of mourners briefly stormed Nairobi's international airport on Thursday, interrupting a ceremony for the body of veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga, with crowds also flooding nearby roads and trying to breach parliament.
Renewed border clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan have left at least 18 people dead and more than 360 injured, the United Nations has reported, amid growing calls for an urgent ceasefire to protect civilians.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment