Tunisia book World Cup ticket, Ghana secure key win

Monday’s action in Africa’s 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers saw Tunisia become the second nation from the continent to book their ticket to the tournament in North America, while Ghana defeated Mali in a key match in Accra.

Ghana edged Group I rivals Mali 1-0 in a tense clash in Accra on Monday night, with Alexander Djiku scoring the only goal of the game early in the second half (49’). The result sees the Black Stars open up a three-point lead at the top of Group I, while the Eagles are out of the running for automatic qualification.

Earlier in the evening, Madagascar had piled the pressure on Ghana with a come-from-behind 3-1 win over Chad that had put them level on points with the Black Stars. Les Sao claimed a surprise lead in Casablanca via Yves Allarabaye (25’), but the Barea turned up the heat in the second half with goals from Warren Caddie (52’), Rayan Raveloson (69’) and Hakim Abdallah (90+3’).

The most significant result in the afternoon block of matches came from Malabo, where Tunisia struck deep in injury time via Mohamed Ben Romdhane (90+4’) to secure a 1-0 away win over Equatorial Guinea. The result guaranteed the Carthage Eagles top spot in Group H, and they thus secured their qualification for next year’s global tournament.

The afternoon also saw Morocco (already qualified) maintain their perfect record in Group E with a 2-0 win away to Zambia in Ndola, secured by goals from Youssef En Nesyiri (7’) and Hamza Igamane (47’), while Mozambique boosted their hopes with a 2-0 home win over Group G rivals Botswana in Maputo – courtesy of strikes from Witi (6’) and Faisal Bangal (71’).

Our 2026 #FIFAWorldCup representatives count is up to 2⃣ as another day of African #WCQ comes to an end. ✅ pic.twitter.com/UM16cJmwgu
— CAF_Online (@CAF_Online) September 8, 2025

Group G saw further intrigue in the early-evening block of matches, with Uganda defeating Somalia 2-0 in Kampala – Allan Okello (6’) and Jude Ssemugabi (39’) with the goals – to sneak ahead of the Mambas in second place on goal difference, but Algeria remain firmly in control with a four-point lead at the top of the standings despite a 0-0 draw away to Guinea in Casablanca.

Also in the early evening, Guinea-Bissau trumped Djibouti 2-0 at home, via goals from Iano Imbene (54’) and Fali Cande (82’), to rise to third in Group A, while Malawi and Liberia played out a 2-2 thriller in their Group H match in Lilongwe. The Lone Stars established a two-goal lead via Ayouba Kosiah’s brace (3’, 62’) but the Flames fought back to salvage a draw through Gabadinho Mhango (72’) and Chawanangwa Kaonga (80’).

In the late evening slot, aside from Ghana’s win, Libya defeated Eswatini 2-0 in Benghazi thanks to goals from Muad Eisay (8’) and Ezoo El Mariamy (19’) to close in on Group D D leaders Cape Verde and Cameroon.

September’s World Cup Qualifying fixtures will conclude on Tuesday with 15 matches across the continent, headlined by South Africa v Nigeria, DR Congo v Senegal, Gabon v Ivory Coast, and Cape Verde v Cameroon.