Morocco has become the first African nation to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup after defeating Niger 5-0 in Rabat on Friday night.
The Atlas Lions, who made history by reaching the semi-finals at Qatar 2022, secured their place in the next global tournament with two games to spare, following Tanzania’s 1-1 draw against Congo-Brazzaville earlier on Friday.
Niger’s situation deteriorated rapidly when Abdoul-Latif Goumey received a second yellow card and was sent off after just 26 minutes. Ismael Saibari capitalised on Youssef Belammari’s cross to open the scoring only three minutes later.
From that point onwards, the match became overwhelmingly one-sided.
Saibari doubled the lead before half-time, tapping in a low ball from Achraf Hakimi. Ayoub El Kaabi effectively ended the contest by scoring the team’s third early in the second half, again assisted by a precise delivery from Belammari.
Hamza Igamane, coming off the bench, netted his first international goal from a well-executed corner routine, and Azzedine Ounahi capped off the emphatic victory with a curling effort.
Eight more African group winners will join Morocco withTunisia, Algeria, South Africa, and Egypt are close to sealing their World Cup berths, while while the four best-placed runners-up will also enter play-offs for a chance to compete in the global showpiece.
2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers – Africa results
Wednesday
Seychelles – Gabon 0-4
Thursday
Chad – Ghana 1-1
Angola – Libya 0-1
Guinea Bissau – Sierra Leone 1-1
Madagascar – Central African Republic 2-0
Mauritius – Cape Verde 0-2
Sao Tome – Equatorial Guinea 2-3
Algeria – Botswana 3-1
Cameroon – Eswatini 3-0
Mali – Comoros 3-0
Tunisia – Liberia 3-0
Friday
Somalia – Guinea 0-3
South Sudan – DR Congo 1-4
Kenya – Gambia 1-3
Namibia – Malawi 1-2
Benin – Zimbabwe 1-0
Djibouti – Burkina Faso 0-6
Lesotho – South Africa 0-3
Congo – Tanzania 1-1
Uganda – Mozambique 4-0
Egypt – Ethiopia 2-0
Ivory Coast – Burundi 1-0
Mauritania – Togo 2-0
Morocco – Niger 5-0
Senegal – Sudan 2-0
Saturday
19.00 EAT: Nigeria vs Rwanda
Group Standings as of September 6, 2025
Group A
| Pos | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Egypt | 19 |
| 2 | Burkina Faso | 14 |
| 3 | Sierra Leone | 9 |
| 4 | Guinea-Bissau | 7 |
| 5 | Ethiopia | 6 |
| 6 | Djibouti | 1 |
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | DR Congo | 16 |
| 2 | Senegal | 15 |
| 3 | Sudan | 12 |
| 4 | Mauritania | 5 |
| 5 | Togo | 4 |
| 6 | South Sudan | 3 |
Group C
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Africa | 16 |
| 2 | Benin | 11 |
| 3 | Rwanda | 8 |
| 4 | Nigeria | 7 |
| 5 | Lesotho | 6 |
| 6 | Zimbabwe | 4 |
Group D
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Verde | 16 |
| 2 | Cameroon | 15 |
| 3 | Libya | 11 |
| 4 | Angola | 7 |
| 5 | Mauritius | 5 |
| 6 | Eswatini | 2 |
Group E
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Morocco (qualified) | 18 |
| 2 | Tanzania | 10 |
| 3 | Zambia | 6 |
| 4 | Niger | 6 |
| 5 | Republic of Congo | 1 |
| — | Eritrea (withdrew) | — |
Group F
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ivory Coast | 19 |
| 2 | Gabon | 18 |
| 3 | Burundi | 10 |
| 4 | Gambia | 7 |
| 5 | Kenya | 6 |
| 6 | Seychelles | 0 |
Group G
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Algeria | 18 |
| 2 | Uganda | 12 |
| 3 | Mozambique | 12 |
| 4 | Guinea | 10 |
| 5 | Botswana | 9 |
| 6 | Somalia | 1 |
Group H
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tunisia | 19 |
| 2 | Namibia | 12 |
| 3 | Liberia | 10 |
| 4 | Equatorial Guinea | 10 |
| 5 | Malawi | 9 |
| 6 | São Tomé and Principe | 0 |
Group I
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ghana | 16 |
| 2 | Madagascar | 13 |
| 3 | Mali | 12 |
| 4 | Comoros | 12 |
| 5 | Central African Republic | 5 |
| 6 | Chad | 1 |
Ranking of Runners-Up (as of September 6, 2025)
| Rank | Team | Group | Points | Goal Difference (GD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gabon | Group B | 18 | +10 |
| 2 | Cameroon | Group D | 15 | +11 |
| 3 | Senegal | Group A | 15 | +9 |
| 4 | Burkina Faso | Group I | 14 | +12 |
| 5 | Madagascar | Group B | 13 | +5 |
| 6 | Namibia | Group H | 12 | +5 |
| 7 | Uganda | Group G | 12 | +3 |
| 8 | Benin | Group C | 11 | 0 |
| 9 | Tanzania* | Group E | 10 | +1 |
*Group E is unique due to Eritrea’s withdrawal; its runner-up has played fewer matches, which may affect their ranking.
