David GOMBE
Matchday 6 of the FIFA World Cup African qualifiers officially climaxed on Tuesday with several entertaining contests in all the groups.
Algeria, Ghana, Morocco and Egypt consolidating their leads, while Group C and Group B saw late twists that could define qualification hopes.
Group A: Salah’s Egypt in pole position as Ethiopia hit six
Results:
Egypt 1-0 Sierra Leone
Burkina Faso 2-1 Guinea-Bissau
Ethiopia 6-1 Djibouti
Zizo’s 45th-minute strike helped Egypt maintain top spot with a narrow win over Sierra Leone in Cairo. Burkina Faso kept up the chase with a hard-fought 2-1 win away to Guinea-Bissau, while Ethiopia produced a shock performance of the round with a 6-1 demolition of Djibouti.
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: Nigeria slip again as South Africa cruise
Results:
Benin 0-2 South Africa
Nigeria 1-1 Zimbabwe
Rwanda 1-1 Lesotho
Bafana Bafana strengthened their grip on Group C with a composed 2-0 away win in Benin. Nigeria’s hopes were dented by a late equaliser from Zimbabwe, while Rwanda and Lesotho cancelled 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
*Malawi 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: Ivory Coast reclaim top
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: Algeria in control as Okello lifts Uganda
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 as Namibia stumbles
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 2-0 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:
Results:
Ghana 3-0 Madagascar
Mali 0-0 Central Africa Republic
Comoros 1-1 Chad
Ghana who thrashed Madagascar 3-0 on match day 6 top the group while Mali continued to struggle and after being held by CAR. Comoros dropped points against winless Chad.
Standings:
Ghana – 15 pts
Comoros – 12 pts
Madagascar – 10 pts
Mali – 9 pts
Central Africa – 5 pts
Chad – 1pts
Next Fixtures (Matchday 7):
*Chad vs Ghana
*Madagascar vs Central Africa Republic
*Mali vs Comoros
