Ivory Coast, Gabon continue with flawless WCQ run to put pressure on Harambee Stars
Ivory Coast and Gabon continued with their flawless runs during the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers with wins over Gambia and Burundi, respectively.
The match between Ivory Coast and Gambia was played in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, as the latter do not have a CAF-approved stadium to host games in their backyard. Christian Kouame and Seko Fofana were the scorers for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) champions, who are now on top with six points.
Gabon, who are second with the same points but with an inferior goal difference compared to Ivory Coast, defeated Burundi 2-1 in a game that was also played in Dar es Salaam.
On the other hand, Kenya registered their first win in the qualifiers after thumping Seychelles 5-0 in Abidjan. Although the win is a welcome boost for Harambee Stars' World Cup qualification dream, the victories by Gabon and Ivory Coast just put them under pressure.
With only nine direct World Cup spots available to African nations, winning away should be a primary goal for each country vying for those tickets.
In other matches, Equatorial Guinea edged 10-man Liberia 1-0, with the former scoring via captain Emilio Nsue's early goal. Nsue was the scorer in their previous game against Namibia.
Guinea-Bissau and Madagascar were victors over their group rivals Djibouti and Chad, while Mali failed to register another win after they were held to a one-all draw by the Central African Republic.
November 21 WCQ
Somalia v Uganda (Group G) | 1400 | Berkane, Morocco
Botswana v Guinea (Group G) | 1500 | Francistown, Botswana
Malawi v Tunisia (Group H) | 1500 | Lilongwe, Malawi
Eswatini v Cape Verde (Group D) | 1500 | Nelspruit, South Africa
Rwanda v South Africa (Group C) | 1500 | Butare, Rwanda
Lesotho v Benin (Group C) | 1500 | Durban, South Africa
South Sudan v Mauritania (Group B) | 1600 | Diamniadio, Senegal
Togo v Senegal (Group B) | 1600 | Lome, Togo
Sao Tome e Principe v Namibia (Group H) | 1700 | Agadir, Morocco
Libya v Cameroon (Group D) | 1800 | Benina, Libya
Comoros v Ghana (Group I) | 1900 | Moroni, Comoros
Niger v Zambia (Group E) | 2000 | Marrakesh, Morocco
Mauritius v Angola (Group D) | 2000 | Saint Pierre, Mauritius
Ethiopia v Burkina Faso (Group A) | 2000 | El Jadida, Morocco
Tanzania v Morocco (Group E) | 2200 | Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
