The last batch of matches of Matchday Eight of Africa’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying served up contrasting results on Tuesday evening with group leaders Cote d’Ivoire held by closest opponents Gabon with Benin hitting Lesotho 4-0.
Morocco and Tunisia have already booked their ticket to the 2026 finals, but the scrap for the remaining automatic places — and the four best runners-up spots for the play-off — remains fierce.
Leaders in several sections were not in action, handing chasers a chance to close gaps or solidify second place.
Below are results from all Matchday Eight of Africa’s FIFA World Cup 2026:
Mauritania 0–0 South Sudan (Group B)
Mauritania and South Sudan cancelled each other out in a physical encounter that brought seven bookings for the visitors.
Chances were scarce in Nouakchott, with defences on top and both goalkeepers largely untroubled.
Already out of contention, Mauritania move to six points, while South Sudan remain bottom on four.
Angola 3–1 Mauritius (Group D)
Goals: Mbala Mazzola 17’, Freddy Balendi 57’, António Salvador 63’ (Angola); William François 21’ (Mauritius)
Angola returned to winning ways with a controlled victory over Mauritius.
Mbala Mazzola broke the deadlock with a neat finish, only for William François to level within four minutes.
The Palancas Negras reasserted themselves after the interval as Freddy Balendi restored the lead before António Salvador swept in a third to seal it.
Angola stay fourth despite the win, moving to 10 points, with Mauritius fifth on five.
Gabon 0–0 Côte d’Ivoire (Group F)
Leaders Côte d’Ivoire took a valuable point from a tense top-of-the-table meeting in Franceville.
Both sides created half-chances in a frenetic opening and the tempo hardly dipped, but neither could find a decisive touch.
The Elephants remain top on 20 points with two games to play; Gabon, a point back on 19, keep the title race alive heading into the final window.
Gambia 2–0 Burundi (Group F)
Goals: Aliou Vadera (pen) 34’, Ebo Adams 76’
Gambia climbed above Burundi with a professional display in Bakau.
Aliou Vadera converted a first-half penalty after a handball before Ebo Adams wrapped up the points with a composed strike 14 minutes from time.
Both teams sit on 10 points behind Côte d’Ivoire and Gabon, leaving them short of the pace for automatic qualification or a runners-up play-off berth.
Benin 4–0 Lesotho (Group C)
Goals: Steve Mounié 6’, Andréas Hountondji 23’, Hassane Imorou 33’, Junior Olaitan 67’
Benin produced their most emphatic performance of the campaign to overpower Lesotho in Abidjan.
Steve Mounié headed in early to set the tone and Andréas Hountondji doubled the advantage from close range.
Hassane Imorou’s driven finish made it three before the break, with Junior Olaitan adding a fourth after the hour to complete a convincing win.
The result lifts the Cheetahs to 14 points and second place in the group, while Lesotho remain fifth on six.
Cape Verde 1–0 Cameroon
Scorer: Dailon Livramento 52’
Cameroon suffered their first defeat under Marc Brys as Cape Verde took a potentially decisive step towards a maiden World Cup.
In heavy rain on the slick artificial surface in Praia, the Blue Sharks settled quicker: Livramento drew an early stop from André Onana and the hosts appealed for a penalty when Jovane Cabral went down under pressure from Boyomo.
The Indomitable Lions created their best opening on the stroke of half-time, when André-Frank Zambo Anguissa’s header was brilliantly clawed away by Vozinha.
The winner arrived soon after the restart. Livramento surged half the length of the pitch and arrowed a low finish across Onana to ignite the home crowd.
Cameroon pressed — Carlos Baleba twice went close and Onana ventured up for the final set-piece — but Cape Verde were organised and dangerous on the break, with Jamiro Monteiro and Willy Semedo missing chances to settle it.
The result leaves the Blue Sharks four points clear at the summit with two games to play, while Cameroon’s focus turns to securing second, with Libya still in the hunt.
South Africa 1–1 Nigeria
Scorers: William Troost-Ekong (own goal) 25’; Calvin Bassey 44’
A fiercely contested meeting between two heavyweights ended level.
Bafana Bafana struck first when Troost-Ekong turned a left-wing cross into his own net under pressure.
Nigeria responded before the interval: Mbekezeli Mbokazi beat his man down the right and squared for Bassey to convert from close range.
Chances came at both ends after half-time. The Super Eagles carried the greater threat in transition but a disciplined South African back line, buoyed by a loud home support, resisted.
The draw keeps South Africa well placed in the race for the automatic berth, while Nigeria may need a flawless finish to reel in the leaders and, failing that, position themselves for the play-off route.
Burkina Faso 0–0 Egypt
Egypt missed the chance to rubber-stamp qualification in Ouagadougou.
The Pharaohs lost Omar Marmoush early to injury and, despite long spells of control, could not find a way past a robust Burkina Faso.
Mohamed Salah had a first-half effort ruled out for offside and Mostafa Mohamed fired wide late on, while the Stallions — led by Bertrand Traoré — finished the stronger without landing the decisive blow. With two matches remaining, the section remains open.
DR Congo 2–3 Senegal
Scorers: Cédric Bakambu 26’, Yoane Wissa 33’ (DRC); Pape Gueye 39’, Nicolas Jackson 53’, Pape Sarr 87’ (Senegal)
Senegal produced a stirring comeback in Kinshasa to leapfrog DR Congo at the top of Group B.
The Leopards raced into a two-goal lead: Bakambu swept home after a fine move and Wissa doubled the advantage following a handling error by Édouard Mendy.
Teranga Lions hit back before the break through Pape Gueye’s crisp drive, levelled when Jackson reacted quickest to a rebound, and completed the turnaround three minutes from time as Pape Sarr steered in the winner.
They now control the group heading into October’s fixtures against South Sudan and Mauritania.
DR Congo must regroup quickly for meetings with Togo and Sudan to keep their challenge intact.
Togo 1–0 Sudan
Scorer: Sadik Fofana 6’
Already out of contention, Togo earned a morale-boosting first win by defeating Sudan in Lomé.
Fofana’s near-post header from an early corner proved enough as the Sparrowhawks defended stoutly, with chances to double the lead spurned in stoppage time.
Sudan remain third, their qualification hopes fading heading into the final window.
Group F — Kenya 5–0 Seychelles: Stars run riot to revive outside hopes
Scorers: Ogam 7, 38; Sichenje 35; Olunga 45+5 (pen), 67.
Kenya blew away Seychelles in Nairobi to record their biggest win of the campaign and keep themselves in the conversation behind the front two.
Ryan Ogam set the tone with a sharp finish inside seven minutes before centre-back Charles Sichenje doubled the lead on 35 minutes from a set piece.
Ogam struck again three minutes later and Michael Olunga converted a penalty in first-half added time to make it four at the break. Olunga swept in a fifth on 67 minutes to cap a dominant display.
The result lifts Kenya to nine points from eight matches. They remain behind leaders Côte d’Ivoire on 19 and second-placed Gabon on 18, but the margin to third-placed Burundi (10) narrows with two fixtures to come in March.
Seychelles remain winless. For Kenya, the manner of victory — clean sheet, clinical finishing and control — gives Benni McCarthy’s side a dose of momentum ahead of a daunting finish that will likely require perfection and help elsewhere.
Group H — Namibia 3–0 São Tomé and Príncipe: Shalulile hat-trick cements second
Scorers: Shalulile 41, 66, 71.
Peter Shalulile’s first World Cup qualifying hat-trick powered Namibia past São Tomé and Príncipe and kept the Brave Warriors in the runners-up slot behind Tunisia.
The Mamelodi Sundowns forward broke the deadlock on 41 minutes and added a second midway through the half after the restart, before completing his treble with a deft finish on 71 minutes.
With Tunisia clear at the summit after sealing World Cup qualification, Namibia’s victory was about building separation in the chase pack.
They sit second on 12 points after eight matches, one ahead of Liberia (11) and two clear of Equatorial Guinea (10), with Malawi on nine.
São Tomé remain without a point. Collin Benjamin’s side will feel the job for a play-off push is firmly alive, especially with a proven scorer in form and a defence that comfortably handled the visitors.
Group A — Sierra Leone 2–0 Ethiopia: Leone Stars tighten grip on third
Scorers: Kamara 37; Koroma 90+3.
Sierra Leone climbed to 12 points and strengthened their hold on third with a composed win over Ethiopia.
Musa Noah Kamara broke through eight minutes before the interval, turning in Saidu Tarawallie’s cross to settle home nerves. In added time, Alhassan Koroma finished a late break to seal the points.
The Leone Stars now trail second-placed Burkina Faso by two points and leaders Egypt by seven with two games to play. For Ethiopia, defeat leaves them on six points and facing a steep climb to reach the runners-up discussion.
Mohammed Kallon’s men have built their revival on defensive discipline — three straight matches without conceding — and they will need that platform again in a closing run-in that still offers a mathematical route to the play-off bracket.
Group E — Tanzania 0–1 Niger: Ménas spring away-day shock as Atlas Lions stretch clear
Scorer: Sosah 58.
Niger produced the upset of the day in Dar es Salaam, pinching a 1–0 win that dents Tanzania’s grip on second.
Forward Issa Sosah settled a tight contest on 58 minutes, timing his run to meet a low cross and finish at the near post.
From there, Niger sat in a compact block and guarded their box, surviving late pressure and a flurry of set pieces.
The defeat stalls Tanzania on 10 points, leaving them with work to do in the final window to secure the section’s runners-up position.
Niger surge to nine points from six outings and, crucially, still have a game in hand on the Taifa Stars.
Morocco, already qualified, underlined their dominance earlier in the window and have since moved to 21 points after a 2–0 win in Zambia; the rest are now contesting positioning only.
Zambia, on six points, also face a chase with little margin for error.
Group C — Zimbabwe 0–1 Rwanda: Amavubi nick it to keep quarter-turn on leaders
Scorer: Mugisha 40.
Rwanda claimed a valuable away victory to move level on points with second-placed Benin and keep South Africa within sight.
Gil Mugisha pounced five minutes before the break, steering home from close range after a rapid transition.
The visitors then defended stoutly, with Fiacre Ntwari’s back line managing the late aerial bombardment.
The win takes Rwanda to 11 points, level with Benin but behind on goal difference, and one ahead of Nigeria on 10 after the Super Eagles’ weekend defeat of Rwanda.
South Africa remain in control on 16, yet the battle beneath them has tightened markedly. Zimbabwe stay bottom on four points, ruing missed chances in a second half they largely controlled.
SOURCE: CAF ONLINE
