Road to 2026 World Cup: Africa’s qualifying story so far

After a dramatic round in CAF qualifying for the FIFA World Cup, South Africa extended their lead at the top of Group C with victory over Benin after match day 6, while Group D pace-setters Cape Verde recorded another impressive win against Angola.

Cameroon are hot on their heels after seeing off Libya, while Nigeria suffered a bitter blow in conceding a last-gasp equaliser to Zimbabwe.

South Sudan struck an incredible 98th-minute leveller against neighbours Sudan, and Egypt are sitting pretty at the Group A summit after beating Sierra Leone.

Algeria flexed their scoring muscles in a top-of-the-table tussle with Mozambique, while Comoros, Congo DR, Morocco and Senegal boosted their hopes with clean-sheet victories.

The nine group winners will qualify automatically for the FIFA World Cup 26. The four best runners-up will then compete for one place at the FIFA Play-Off Tournament.

Here is the complete breakdown by group:

Group A – Egypt stay top as Ethiopia hit Djibouti for six

Results:
Egypt 1-0 Sierra Leone
Burkina Faso 2-1 Guinea-Bissau
Ethiopia 6-1 Djibouti

Egypt kept their unbeaten record intact with a narrow 1-0 victory over Sierra Leone, thanks to a first-half strike from Zizo.

Burkina Faso remained in contention with a tight win over Guinea-Bissau, but the performance of the round came from Ethiopia, who mauled Djibouti with an emphatic 6-1 victory.

Standings:
Egypt – 16 pts
Burkina Faso – 11 pts
Sierra Leone – 8 pts
Ethiopia – 6 pts
Guinea-Bissau – 6 pts
Djibouti – 1 pt

Next Fixtures (Matchday 7):
Egypt vs Ethiopia
Guinea-Bissau vs Sierra Leone
Djibouti vs Burkina Faso

Group B: DR Congo go top, Senegal and Sudan tied

Results:
DR Congo 2-0 Mauritania
Senegal 2-0 Togo
Sudan 1-1 South Sudan

DR Congo returned to the summit with a composed 2-0 win over Mauritania. Senegal matched them on points after seeing off Togo, while Sudan’s draw with South Sudan dropped them into third place.

Standings:
DR Congo – 13 pts
Senegal – 12 pts
Sudan – 12 pts
Togo – 3 pts
South Sudan – 3 pts
Mauritania – 2 pts

Next Fixtures (Matchday 7):
Senegal vs Sudan
South Sudan vs DR Congo
Somalia vs Guinea

Group C: South Africa strengthen hold, Nigeria stumble again

Results:
Benin 0-2 South Africa
Nigeria 1-1 Zimbabwe
Rwanda 1-1 Lesotho

South Africa firmly took control of Group C with a confident 2-0 victory over Benin, extending their lead at the top.

Nigeria, however, suffered another blow, as Zimbabwe struck a stoppage-time equaliser to deny them much-needed points. Rwanda and Lesotho played out a 1-1 stalemate, keeping the middle of the table tightly contested, and cancelling each other out.

Standings:
South Africa – 13 pts
Rwanda – 8 pts
Benin – 8 pts
Nigeria – 7 pts
Lesotho – 6 pts
Zimbabwe – 4 pts

Next Fixtures (Matchday 7):
Benin vs Zimbabwe
Lesotho vs South Africa
Lesotho vs Nigeria

Group D: Cape Verde edge Angola as Cameroon stay close

Results:
Cape Verde 2-1 Angola
Cameroon 3-1 Libya
Mauritius 3-3 Eswatini

Cape Verde snatched a crucial win over Angola, while Cameroon thrashed Libya to stay a point off the top. Mauritius and Eswatini served up a six-goal thriller but shared the spoils.

Standings:
Cape Verde – 13 pts
Cameroon – 12 pts
Libya – 8 pts
Angola – 7 pts
Mauritius – 5 pts
Eswatini – 2 pts

Next Fixtures (Matchday 7):
Angola vs Libya
Cameroon vs Eswatini
Mauritius vs Cape Verde

Group E: Morocco flawless, Atlas Lions pull clear

Results:
Morocco 2-0 Tanzania

Morocco kept their perfect record intact with a 2-0 win over Tanzania to make it five wins from five and stay top of Group E.

Standings:
Morocco – 15 pts (5 games)
Niger – 6 pts (4 games)
Tanzania – 6 pts (5 games)
Zambia – 3 pts (4 games)
Congo – 0 pts (3 games)
Eritrea – 0 pts (0 games)

Next Fixtures (Matchday 7):
Morocco vs Niger

Group F: Cote d’Ivoire reclaim top, Burundi explode

Results:
Cote d’Ivoire 1-0 Gambia
Burundi 5-0 Seychelles
Kenya 1-2 Gabon

Gabon stayed hot on the heels of Cote d’Ivoire after an impressive 2-1 win over Kenya. Burundi produced a five-star show against Seychelles to rise to third.

Standings:
Cote d’Ivoire – 16 pts
Gabon – 15 pts
Burundi – 10 pts
Kenya – 6 pts
Gambia – 4 pts
Seychelles – 0 pts

Next Fixtures (Matchday 7):
Cote d’Ivoire vs Burundi
Kenya vs Gambia
Seychelles vs Gabon

Group G: Amoura hat-trick fires Algeria to top, Uganda bounce back

Results:
Algeria 5-1 Mozambique
Uganda 1-0 Guinea
Botswana 2-0 Somalia

Algeria produced a commanding performance to dispatch Mozambique with Amoura netting a hat-trick. Uganda edged Guinea while Botswana swept Somalia aside.

Standings:
Algeria – 15 pts
Mozambique – 12 pts
Botswana – 9 pts
Uganda – 9 pts
Guinea – 7 pts
Somalia – 1 pt

Next Fixtures (Matchday 7):
Algeria vs Botswana
Uganda vs Mozambique
Somalia vs Guinea

Group H: Tunisia leave it late, Namibia stall

Results:
Tunisia 2-0 Malawi
Namibia 1-1 Equatorial Guinea
Liberia 2-1 Sao Tome and Principe

Late goals from Jaziri and Achouri earned Tunisia a win over Malawi. Namibia were held by Equatorial Guinea while Liberia edged Sao Tome.

Standings:
Tunisia – 16 pts
Namibia – 12 pts
Liberia – 10 pts
Equatorial Guinea – 7 pts
Malawi – 6 pts
Sao Tome and Principe – 0 pts

Next Fixtures (Matchday 7):

Tunisia vs Liberia
Namibia vs Malawi
Sao Tome and Principe vs Equatorial Guinea

Group I: Ghana dominate Madagascar

Results:
Ghana 3-0 Madagascar
Mali 0-0 Central Africa Republic
Comoros 1-1 Chad

Ghana pulled away at the top with a commanding 3-0 win over Madagascar. Mali were held by CAR while Comoros dropped points against winless Chad.

Standings:
Ghana – 15 pts
Comoros – 12 pts
Madagascar – 10 pts
Mali – 9 pts
Central Africa – 5 pts
Chad – 0 pts

Next Fixtures (Matchday 7):

Chad vs Ghana
Madagascar vs Central Africa Republic
Mali vs Comoros

Top Scorers (after Matchday 6)
Mohamed Salah (Egypt) – 6 goals
Jordan Ayew (Ghana) – 5 goals
Mohamed Amoura (Algeria) – 5 goals
Lassina Traoré (Burkina Faso) – 5 goals
Trezeguet (Egypt) – 5 goals
Denis Bouanga (Gabon) – 5 goals
Kamory Doumbia (Mali) – 5 goals