Matchday 5 - Friday

Group A

Burkina Faso 4-1 Djibouti

Ethiopia 0-2 Egypt

Group B

DR Congo 1-0 South Sudan

Group C

Rwanda 0-2 Nigeria

South Africa 2-0 Lesotho

Group E

Niger 1-2 Morocco

Group G

Botswana 1-3 Algeria

Guinea 0-0 Somalia

Group H

Equatorial Guinea 2-0 São Tomé and Príncipe

Group I

Ghana 5-0 Chad

Matchday 5 - Saturday

Group B

Togo 2-2 Mauritania

Sudan 0-0 Senegal

Matchday 5 - Tables

 

Group A

1. Egypt 5/10 (+11) 13

2. Burkina Faso 5/10 (+5) 8

3. Sierra Leonne 5/10 (+1) 8

24 Guinea-Bissau 5/10 (-1) 6

5. Ethiopia 5/10 (-5) 3

6. Djibouti 5/10 (-11) 1

 

Group B

1. Sudan 5/10 (+6) 11

2. DR Congo 5/10 (+3) 10

3. Senegal 5/10 (+5) 9

4. Togo 5/10 (-1) 4

5. Mauritania 5/10 (-5) 2

6. South Sudan 5/10 (-8) 2

 

Group C

1. South Africa 5/10 (+3) 10

2. Benin 5/10 (+1) 8

3. Rwanda 5/10 (0) 7

4. Nigeria 5/10 (+1) 6

5. Lesotho 5/10 (-1) 5

6. Zimbabwe 5/10 (-4) 3

 

Group D

1. Cape Verde 5/10 (+1) 10

2. Cameroon 5/10 (+6) 9

3. Libya 5/10 (+1) 8

4. Angola 5/10 (+1) 7

5. Mauritius 5/10 (-4) 4

6. Eswatini 5/10 (-5) 1

 

Group E

1. Morocco 4/? (+4) 12

2. Niger 2/? (+2) 6

3. Tanzania 3/? (0) 6

4. Zambia 4/? (-1) 3

 

Group F

1. Ivory Coast 5/10 (+13) 13

2. Gabon 5/10 (+5) 12

3. Burundi 5/10 (+1) 7

4. Kenya 5/10 (+4) 6

5. Gambia 5/10 (0) 4

6. Seychelles 5/10 (-23) 0

 

Group G

1. Algeria 5/10 (+6) 12

2. Mozambique 5/10 (+3) 12

3. Guinea 5/10 (0) 7

4. Botswana 5/10 (-1) 6

5. Uganda 5/10 (-2) 6

6. Somalia 5/10 (-6) 1

 

Group H

1. Tunisia 5/10 (+7) 13

2. Namibia 5/10 (+6) 11

3. Liberia 5/10 (+2) 7

4. Malawi 5/10 (0) 6

5. Equatorial Guinea 5/10 (-4) 6

6. São Tomé and Príncipe 5/10 (-11) 0

 

Group I

1. Ghana 5/10 (+7) 12

2. Madagascar 5/10 (+6) 10

3. Comoros 5/10 (+1) 9

4. Mali 5/10 (+4) 8

5. Central African Republic 5/10 (-5) 4

6. Chad 5/10 (-13) 0

After Matchday 5

 

Qualification:

 

Algeria

Cape Verde

Egypt

Ghana

Ivory Coast

Morocco

South Africa

Sudan

Tunisia

 

Play-Offs:

 

Gabon

Madagascar

Mozambique

Namibia

 

 

We're at the half way stage and, so far, Cape Verde and Sudan are on for shock World Cup places.

Cameroon, Nigeria, Mali and Senegal are the top seeds that are currently not in qualifying positions.

Matchday 6 - Sunday

Group D

Eswatini 3-3 Mauritius

Group F

Kenya 1-2 Gabon

For those looking for different representation in Africa, as I am, Nigeria and surprisingly Senegal are doing the best at making that a reality. In fact, I think South Africa is very much in the driver's seat now in Group C. They haven't been in the World Cup since hosting in 2010.

Matchday 6 - Monday

Group A

Guinea-Bissau 1-2 Burkina Faso

Ethiopia 6-1 Djibouti

Group F

Ivory Coast 1-0 Gambia

Group H

Namibia 1-1 Equatorial Guinea

Liberia 2-1 São Tomé and Príncipe

Group I

Central African Republic 0-0 Mali

Madagascar 0-3 Ghana

Huge results for South Africa's chances today. They won 2-0 at Benin and Nigeria gave up a late goal at home versus Zimbabwe for a 1-1 draw. Now South Africa will be five points up on Benin/Rwanda and six up on Nigeria with four matches to go.

Edited March 25Mar 25 by DJHazey

Matchday 6 - Tuesday

Group A

Egypt 1-0 Sierra Leone

Group B

Sudan 1-1 South Sudan

Mauritania 0-2 DR Congo

Senegal 2-0 Togo

Group C

Benin 0-2 South Africa

Nigeria 1-1 Zimbabwe

Rwanda 1-1 Lesotho

Group D

Angola 1-2 Cape Verde

Cameroon 3-1 Libya

Group E

Morocco 2-0 Tamzania

Group F

Burundi 5-0 Seychelles

Group G

Uganda 1-0 Guinea

Botswana 2-0 Somalia

Algeria 5-1 Mozambique

Group I

Comoros 1-0 Chad

I will post the tables when I finish work tomorrow but some interesting stories taking place!

Matchday 5 - Tables

 

Group A

1. Egypt 6/10 (+12) 16

2. Burkina Faso 6/10 (+6) 11

3. Sierra Leonne 6/10 (0) 8

4. Ethiopia 6/10 (0) 6

5. Guinea-Bissau 7/10 (-2) 6

6. Djibouti 6/10 (-16) 1

 

Group B

1. DR Congo 6/10 (+5) 13

2. Senegal 6/10 (+7) 12

3. Sudan 6/10 (+6) 12

4. Togo 6/10 (-3) 4

5. South Sudan 6/10 (-8) 3

6. Mauritania 6/10 (-7) 2

 

Group C

1. South Africa 6/10 (+5) 13

2. Rwanda 6/10 (0) 8

3. Benin 6/10 (-1) 8

4. Nigeria 6/10 (+1) 7

5. Lesotho 6/10 (-1) 6

6. Zimbabwe 6/10 (-4) 4

 

Group D

1. Cape Verde 6/10 (+2) 13

2. Cameroon 6/10 (+8) 12

3. Libya 6/10 (-1) 8

4. Angola 6/10 (0) 7

5. Mauritius 6/10 (-5) 4

6. Eswatini 6/10 (-5) 2

 

Group E

1. Morocco 5/? (+12) 15

2. Niger 4/? (+2) 6

3. Tanzania 4/? (-2) 6

4. Zambia 4/? (-1) 3

 

Group F

1. Ivory Coast 6/10 (+14) 16

2. Gabon 6/10 (+6) 15

3. Burundi 6/10 (+6) 10

4. Kenya 6/10 (+3) 6

5. Gambia 6/10 (-1) 4

6. Seychelles 6/10 (-28) 0

 

Group G

1. Algeria 6/10 (+10) 15

2. Mozambique 6/10 (+1) 12

3. Botswana 6/10 (+1) 9

4. Uganda 6/10 (-1) 9

5. Guinea 6/10 (-1) 7

6. Somalia 6/10 (-8) 1

 

Group H

1. Tunisia 6/10 (+9) 16

2. Namibia 6/10 (+6) 12

3. Liberia 6/10 (+3) 10

4. Equatorial Guinea 6/10 (-4) 7

4. Malawi 6/10 (-2) 6

6. São Tomé and Príncipe 6/10 (-12) 0

 

Group I

1. Ghana 6/10 (+10) 15

2. Comoros 6/10 (+2) 12

2. Madagascar 6/10 (+3) 10

4. Mali 6/10 (+4) 9

5. Central African Republic 6/10 (-5) 5

6. Chad 6/10 (-14) 0

After Matchday 6

 

Qualification:

 

Algeria

Cape Verde

DR Congo

Egypt

Ghana

Ivory Coast

Morocco

South Africa

Tunisia

 

Play-Offs:

 

Cameroon

Gabon

Namibia

Senegal

 

 

The first three nations are officially knocked out: Seychelles, São Tomé and Príncipe & Chad

Group A - This is going to be Egypt's, no denying that, but Burkina Faso will be trying to position themselves for playoffs.

Group B - Big match in September when Congo DR hosts Senegal and winning that would go a long way to determining an upset qualification over the African powerhouse. Sudan could've really stuck in the race if they hadn't dropped points against their rival South Sudan. Three of their last four matches are on the road, but who knows they also have 12 points.

Group C - South Africa is in the driver's seat. Winning at home against Nigeria in September would be the final steak in Nigeria's side to officially eliminate them for the first time in many years.

Group D - It's all about that Cape Verde vs. Cameroon match in September, being played in Praia. Of course, they can't drop points elsewhere either. What a story it would be.

Group E - zzz, see you in 2026 Morocco. Deservedly so though, they are the best team in Africa right now.

Group F - Another big one. Gabon hosts Ivory Coast. If they want to produce a big surprise they'll need to win that match. to help their cause. Alot of great potential narratives brewing in Africa.

Group G - Algeria should have this though Mozambique is mathematically in it still, but they lost both matches to Algeria already by a combined 7-1 so I don't think so. Algeria is looking closer to their 2014 form than have in recent years.

Group H - Tunisia is up four points on Liberia & Namibia and hosts both nations in the fall. I think it's over. It will be more interesting to see if Namibia gets a playoff spot, since they've still enjoying their glory years right now.

Group I - Ghana looked like they'd be left for dead early on, but they've righted the ship and I think they'll see it through. What is more of story is how Mali managed to screw this up and can they somehow rescue a playoff spot, though unlikely. Seems more likely that island darlings Comoros or Madagascar would do so.

Predicted Qualifiers: Egypt, Congo DR, South Africa, Cameroon, Morocco, Gabon, Algeria, Tunisia, Ghana

Predicted Playoffs: Senegal, Ivory Coast, Cape Verde, Namibia

Edited April 11Apr 11 by DJHazey

After a long break, African qualifying picks back up in September and we finally have a match-day schedule:

Group A

9/4 - Guinea-Bissau vs. Sierra Leone [Bissau]

9/5 - Djibouti vs. Burkina Faso [Bissau]

9/5 - Egypt vs. Ethiopia [Cairo]

9/8 - Guinea-Bissau vs. Djibouti [Bissau]

9/9 - Sierra Leone vs. Ethiopia [Paynesville, Liberia]

9/9 - Burkina Faso vs. Egypt [Ouagadougou]*

*1st vs. 2nd place, though Egypt has a five point lead right now.

Group B

9/5 - South Sudan vs. Congo DR [Juba]

9/5 - Mauritania vs. Togo [Nouadhibou]

9/5 - Senegal vs. Sudan [Diamniadio]*

9/9 - Congo DR vs. Senegal [Kinshasa]**

9/9 - Togo vs. Sudan [Lomé]

9/9 - Mauritania vs. South Sudan [Nouadhibou]

*2nd vs. 3rd place, currently tied in points.

**1st vs. 2nd place, currently Senegal leads by 1 point.

Group C

9/5 - Benin vs. Zimbabwe [Abidjan, Ivory Coast]

9/5 - Lesotho vs. South Africa [Bloemfontein, South Africa]

9/6 - Nigeria vs. Rwanda [Uyo]*

9/9 - Zimbabwe vs. Rwanda [Johannesburg, South Africa]

9/9 - South Africa vs. Nigeria [Bloemfontein]

9/9 - Benin vs. Lesotho [Abidjan, Ivory Coast]

*4th vs, 2nd place, Rwanda is currently 2 points ahead.

Group D

9/4 - Angola vs. Libya [Luanda]

9/4 - Mauritius vs. Cape Verde [Saint Pierre]

9/4 - Cameroon vs. Eswatini [Yaoundé]

9/8 - Libya vs. Eswatini [Benghazi]

9/9 - Cape Verde vs. Cameroon [Praia]*

9/9 - Angola vs. Mauritius [Luanda]

*1st vs. 2nd place, Cape Verde currently leads by 1 point. If you want crazy results/a new World Cup debutant, you need to be rooting for Cape Verde to hold serve at home here (and have not tripped up at Mauritius)

Group E

9/5 - Congo vs. Tanzania [Brazzaville]

9/5 - Morocco vs. Niger [Rabat]

9/8 - Tanzania vs. Niger [Zanzibar]

9/8 - Zambia vs. Morocco [Ndola]

Group F

9/3 - Seychelles vs. Gabon [Saint Pierre, Mauritius]

9/5 - Kenya vs. Gambia [Nairobi]

9/5 - Ivory Coast vs. Burundi [Abidjan]

9/9 - Kenya vs. Seychelles [Nairobi]

9/9 - Gabon vs. Ivory Coast [Franceville]*

9/9 - Gambia vs. Burundi [Nairobi. Kenya]

*2nd vs 1st place, Ivory Coast currently leads by 1 point. Much like the Cape Verde story, we'd need to see Gabon win at home here for a surprise to occur.

Group G

9/4 - Algeria vs. Botswana [Tizi Ouzou]

9/5 - Somalia vs. Guinea [Kampala, Uganda]

9/5 - Uganda vs. Mozambique [Kampala]

9/8 - Mozambique vs. Botswana [Maputo]

9/8 - Uganda vs. Somalia [Kampala]

9/8 - Guinea vs. Algeria [Casablanca, Morocco]

Group H

9/4 - Sao Tome vs. Equatorial Guinea [Oujda, Morocco]

9/4 - Tunisia vs. Liberia [Tunis]

9/5 - Namibia vs. Malawi [Francistown, Botswana]

9/8 - Equatorial Guinea vs. Tunisia [Malabo]

9/8 - Malawi vs. Liberia [Lilongwe]

9/9 - Namibia vs. Sao Tome [Francistown, Botswana]

Group I

9/4 - Chad vs. Ghana [N'Djamena]

9/4 - Madagascar vs. Central African Republic [Casablanca, Morocco]

9/4 - Mali vs. Comoros [Bamako]*

9/7 - Central African Republic vs. Comoros [Meknes, Morocco]

9/8 - Madagascar vs. Chad [Casablanca, Morocco]

9/8 - Ghana vs. Mali [Accra]

*4th vs. 2nd place, Comoros currently leads by 3 points.

Edited August 19Aug 19 by DJHazey

As you say - hoping for Cape Verde and Gabon to get decent results here!

Matchday 7 - Wednesday

Group F

Seychelles 0-4 Gabon

That's the only game today as World Cup qualification gets back underway. Gabon leapfrog Ivory Coast (for now) and set up a mouth-watering, potential qualification-deceding tie against them on Tuesday.

Yup we just needed Gabon not to choke and they didn't. Now it will be big match. Now if Cape Verde takes care of Mauritius we'll have the other one set up with Cape Verde/Cameroon.

Winning that by a convincing 4-0 scoreline shows that Gabon is ready for this. Even though the Seychelles are one of the lowest ranked nations in Africa, any away match is a challenge in this area of the world especially. Even the Nigeria's, Cameroon's, and Ivory Coast's of the world historically come away with a late 1-0 snatch and grab raids in those games.

Those two would be matches I'd try to find a stream of somehow.

Edited Wednesday at 18:002 days by DJHazey

Interesting story in Group C. Both Zimbabwe and Lesotho have had their home stadiums deemed not CAF/FIFA regulation, so have opted to play their remaining home matches in neighboring South Arica. The trouble being South Africa is also in this group and their remaining matches are two home and two away to Lesotho and Zimbabwe, meaning all four of their remaining matches will be played at home. Nigeria and Rwanda have expressed their concerns with CAF about this. South Africa has built a 5-point lead on everyone in the group anyway, so it's not as controversial as it could be.

Oop, Ghana only getting a draw in Chad, does that leave the door open a crack for others in Group I?

Gabon hopefully for an debut appearance at an World Cup.

Cape Verde got their first job done by beating Mauritius today 2-0 at their place, so it has set up that massive match next Tuesday in Praia vs. Cameroon (who still has to host Eswatini today). I doubt there'll be a person in the city who isn't either at the stadium or watching on their TV.

Edited yesterday at 18:371 day by DJHazey