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Ivory Coast, Gabon continue with flawless WCQ run to put pressure on Harambee Stars

Tuesday, November 21st, 2023 11:10 | By
Ivory Coast celebrate a goal against Gambia. PHOTO/CAFOnline
Ivory Coast celebrate a goal against Gambia. PHOTO/CAFOnline

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.

Harambee Stars celebrate after scoring against Seychelles in WCQ in Ivory Coast. PHOTO/(@Harambee__Stars)/X
Harambee Stars celebrate after scoring against Seychelles in WCQ in Ivory Coast. PHOTO/(@Harambee__Stars)/X

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

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