Black Stars Secure 2026 World Cup Ticket, Burkina Faso Win to Keep Play-offs Hopes Alive
Ghana have become the latest African team to book their place at the 2026 Fifa World Cup, after they defeated Comoros in a Group I qualifier played at the Accra Stadium on Sunday night.
The evening also featured a key win for Burkina Faso in their hopes of reaching the playoffs, while Egypt closed out their campaign unbeaten.
The Black Stars already had one foot in the 2026 finals thanks to a powerful position at the top of Group I, and they ensured a fifth qualification for the World Cup (adding to 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2022) with a 1-0 win over Comoros – secured by a goal early in the second half from Mohammed Kudus.
Elsewhere in Group I, Madagascar’s hopes of moving up the runners-up rankings were given a massive blow, as they suffered a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Mali in Bamako.
The Eagles triumphed thanks to goals from Lassine Sinayoko (two), Dorgeles Nene and Gaoussou Diarra, effectively ending the Barea’s hopes of appearing in next month’s playoffs.
Burkina Faso, on the other hand, do have a genuine hope of being one of the top-four runners-up, after they defeated Ethiopia 3-1 in a Group A match in Ouagadougou.
The Stallions needed some heroics from substitute Pierre Kabore, who came off the bench just after the hour mark and netted a hat-trick to see them to a key three points.
Group A’s top spot was already in the bag for Egypt, who closed out their campaign with an unbeaten record by defeating Guinea-Bissau 1-0 in Cairo – with an early goal from Mohamed Hamdi.
Elsewhere, Sierra Leone defeated Djibouti 2-1 in Casablanca. The Lone Stars came from behind to triumph courtesy of strikes from Juma Bah and Sallieu Tarawallie.
In the afternoon, Niger secured a 1-0 away win over Zambia in Ndola to lock down second place in Group F courtesy of a goal from Daniel Sosah, while an early-evening Group I game from N’Djamena saw the Central African Republic triumph 3-2 away to Chad, with a last-gasp winner from Karl Namnganda.
Matchday 10 will continue with eight fixtures on Monday 13 October, headlined by Tunisia v Namibia, Cameroon v Angola and Cape Verde v Eswatini.
2026 Fifa World Cup Qualifiers (CAF/Africa)
Results, Sunday 12 October
Zambia 0-1 Niger
Chad 2-3 Central African Republic
Djibouti 1-2 Sierra Leone
Mali 4-1 Madagascar
Ghana 1-0 Comoros
Egypt 1-0 Guinea-Bissau
Burkina Faso 3-1 Ethiopia
