Egypt Secures 2026 World Cup Spot with Dominant Win; Ghana Nears Qualification After Thrashing Central African Republic
Wednesday’s 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifying in Africa saw Egypt punch their ticket to the global showpiece, while Ghana can all but begin planning a trip to North America next year after an emphatic triumph over the Central African Republic. Here is wrap of all the action.
Egypt’s Commanding Performance
The Pharaohs, inspired by a standout performance from Mohamed Salah, secured a straightforward 3-0 win against Djibouti in Casablanca. Salah netted two goals, leading Egypt to finish at the top of Group A. This victory marks Egypt’s fourth appearance in a World Cup, adding to their previous qualifications in 1934, 1990, and 2018.
Ghana’s Impressive Triumph
In a Group I clash, Ghana’s Black Stars delivered an impressive 5-0 victory over the Central African Republic in El Jadida. Goals from Mohammed Salisu, Thomas Partey, Alexander Djiku, Jordan Ayew, and Kamaldeen Sulemana showcased their offensive prowess. With this win, Ghana now holds a three-point lead over nearest challengers Madagascar, who defeated Comoros 2-1. With a significantly better goal difference (+16 to +8), Ghana is on the brink of qualification; only a catastrophic loss at home to Comoros on Sunday could derail their plans for North America 2026.
Other Key Matches
In addition to wins for Egypt, Ghana and Madagascar, the early evening also saw Mali triumph 2-0 away to Chad in N’Djamena (Group I), and Burkina Faso edged Sierra Leone 1-0 in Paynesville (Group A) to boost their hopes of being one of the top-ranked runners up.
The late matches were from Group E, with Niger leapfrogging into second place (behind already-qualified Morocco) thanks to a 3-1 triumph over Congo in Ouagadougou – taking full advantage of a 1-0 win for Zambia away to Tanzania in Zanzibar City. Daniel Sosah, Youssef Oumarou and Victorien Adebayor scored for the Menas, while Chipolopolo’s goal came from Fashion Sakala.
The afternoon block of matches focused on Group D and Cape Verde’s push to secure qualification with a game to spare. The Blue Sharks needed to win away to Libya at the Tripoli International Stadium, but found themselves 3-1 down after an early own goal and strikes by Ezoo El Mariamy and Mahmoud Al Shalwi.
However, the island nation fought back to salvage a 3-3 draw via late goals from Sidny Cabral and Willy Semedo – they were unable to find a winner at the death, but remain two points clear at the top of the standings and firm favourites to beat Eswatini next Monday and punch their ticket.
Two points behind Cape Verde is Cameroon, who laboured to a 2-0 away win over minnows Mauritius in Saint Pierre after goals from Nicolas Moumi Ngamaleu and Bryan Mbeumo.
Angola came from two down to hold hosts Eswatini 2-2 in Lobamba, while a Group A clash in neutral Kigali saw Ethiopia defeat Guinea-Bissau 1-0 courtesy of Ramkel James’s first-half header.
Matchday 9 continues with six games on Thursday, headlined by Algeria looking to secure a ticket to the World Cup for the first time since 2014.
2026 Fifa World Cup Qualifiers (CAF/Africa)
Results, Wednesday, 8 October
Libya 3-3 Cape Verde
Mauritius 0-2 Cameroon
Ethiopia 1-0 Guinea-Bissau
Eswatini 2-2 Angola
Chad 0-2 Mali
Comoros 1-2 Madagascar
Sierra Leone 0-1 Burkina Faso
Central Africa Republic 0-5 Ghana
Djibouti 0-3 Egypt – Egypt secured qualification
Tanzania 0-1 Zambia
Niger 3-1 Congo
