Captain Mohamed Salah found Egypt’s net as he defeated Ethiopia 2-0 in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers on Friday.
Meanwhile, Morocco, the 2022 semi-final player, had to rely on Bilal El Khannous’s late goal to surpass Niger.
Egypt expanded its lead in Group A to five points midway through the qualifiers, and Zizo added a second goal to block their victory.
Burkina Faso earlier beat Jibouti 4-1, promoting them to second place in the group.
In nine qualifying matches, each group champion will earn a direct position in the World Cup finals in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Meanwhile, four best runners-ups will face a tough intercontinental playoff at the last available berth.
Morocco played designated matches against Niger in Oujda as Niger lacked the proper stadium for international competitions.
Despite this advantage, Morocco found itself behind until Ismael Saibari equalized on the hour mark and El Khannouss won the victory in downtime.
This result puts them ahead of Niger.
Mo Salah scored and assisted against Ethiopia in the first half.
That’s what he did 👑 pic.twitter.com/0pgcifiqnr
– B/R Football (@brfootball) March 21, 2025
South Africa faced a tough challenge in its proximity to Lesotho at home, but ended up winning 2-0. Relebohile Mofokeng and Jayden Adams both scored their first international goals, sending their team to Group C.
They will next head to neutral Abidjan for a crucial match against second-place Benin on Tuesday, where victory can expand the lead.
Nigeria finally broke their winning streak in the qualifying round, beating Rwanda 2-0 in Kigali’s match. Victor Osimhen scored two shots to raise Nigeria’s points to six, although they still trailed by four points.
Ghana is not eligible for the upcoming Morocco African Cup of Nations, and he performed 5-0 in Chad in Accra.
Antoine Semenyo, Inaki Williams, Jordan Ayew, Mohammed Salisu and Ernest Nuamah all entered the scoring slice, at I.
Ivory Coast Moving Top
In a match held in Morocco, Ivory Coast climbed Burundi and after defeating Burundi, Ivory Coast climbed to the top of their team. Evann Guessand scored his first international goal and won.
Algeria stood out in Group G with goal-scoring missed goals after defeating Botswana 3-1. Mohamed Amoura hit twice, while Amine Gouiri opened the score for visitors.
Guinea’s qualifications hope to be hit in a meaningless match against neutral Abidjan against mean Somalia.
Elsewhere, the Democratic Republic of Congo defeated South Sudan 1-0 with a 1-0 victory, thanks to the first half strike by Theo Bongunda. The victory puts them second in Group B, behind Sudan, which faces Senegal on Saturday.
Emilio Nsue won the victory back to Equatorial Guinea squad, defeating Sao Tome and Principe 2-0. Despite being the leading scorer in the country’s history, NSUE has been implementing a ban for the six-month FIFA due to qualification issues.
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