Ivory Coast loved a purpose rout firstly of their World Cup qualifying marketing campaign however fellow African heavyweights Cameroon, Ghana and Tunisia made heavy work of residence video games in opposition to lowly opposition on Friday.
The Ivorians, who will host January’s Africa Cup of Nations, gained 9-Zero at residence to the Seychelles of their Group ‘F’ opener to create a document successful margin for a World Cup qualifier in Africa and make a brilliant begin to their bid for a spot on the 2026 finals when the World Cup might be co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the US.
Borussia Dortmund ahead Sebastien Haller began the purpose rush on 20 minutes and Karim Konate from Salzburg accomplished it 5 minutes into added time.
Konate and Hamed Traore scored two targets every and Haller, Ibrahim Sangare, Simon Adingra, Seko Fofana and Jean-Philippe Krasso one apiece in a sport that may have seen an even bigger victory had it not been for some fantastic saves by Carlos Simoen.
Seychelles, a vacationer vacation spot off the east coast of Africa, are 195th within the FIFA rankings, 121 locations beneath the Ivory Coast.
Earlier than the Abidjan purpose deluge, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya and Algeria shared the document with eight-goal successful margins.
Whereas the Ivorians scored freely, fellow west Africans Ghana needed to wait 96 minutes earlier than Inaki Williams snatched the purpose that earned a 1-Zero win in opposition to Madagascar in Group ‘I’.
The Bilbao ahead probably saved the job of under-fire Ghana coach Chris Hughton by heading a Gideon Mensah cross previous goalkeeper Melvin Adrien in Kumasi.
“This goal is very dear to me because my family was in the stadium,” stated Spain-born Williams after scoring his first for the nation of his mother and father.
Former Premier League supervisor Hughton has been beneath enormous strain since pleasant losses to Mexico and the US final month.
The Comoros Islands gained 4-2 in the identical group in opposition to the Central African Republic at residence in Moroni, whereas 30-year-old debutant Youssoufou Niakate was among the many scorers as Mali beat Chad 3-1 in Bamako of their sport within the part.
Cameroon, whose eight World Cup appearances is an African document, struggled for a lot of a Group ‘D’ residence match with minnows Mauritius earlier than a few late targets accomplished a 3-Zero win.
Brentford ahead Bryan Mbeumo’s close-range end on the stroke of halftime opened the scoring in Douala and Georges N’Koudou and Frank Magri netted when the guests drained.
Tunisia, who’ve certified six instances for the worldwide showpiece, additionally gained comfortably at residence, beating Sao Tome e Principe 4-Zero in Group H in Rades with captain Youssef Msakni among the many scorers.
Patson Daka scored twice as Zambia started their Group ‘E’ marketing campaign with a 4-2 residence win over Congo in Ndola, combating again from a 2-1 deficit after 15 minutes.
Seydouba Cisse netted 4 minutes into stoppage time handy Guinea a 2-1 win over Uganda in Group ‘G’ in a match performed in Berkane, Morocco.
Guinea are among the many 19 African nations pressured to maneuver their residence qualifiers to impartial venues due to poor amenities or concern over the safety scenario of their nation.
Regardless of the absence of skipper Naby Keita, Guinea took an early lead however Uganda, with Belgian coach Paul Put in cost for the primary time, levelled by way of Fahad Bayo on the half hour.
Eswatini hosted their Group ‘D’ conflict over the border in Nelspruit, South Africa however misplaced to Libya for whom Ahmed Ekrawa scored the one purpose early within the second half.
Burkina Faso, who hope to problem Egypt for the primary place and automated qualification for the 2026 finals from Group ‘A’, suffered a setback when held 1-1 by Guinea-Bissau.
In Group ‘H’, Malawi gained 1-Zero in Liberia as substitute Chifundo Mphasi scored in Monrovia.
There are 9 teams within the African preliminaries the place the winner qualifies for the 2026 finals. The 4 finest runners-up get an extra probability to qualify in a two-tier playoff system.
