Tunisia seal 2026 World Cup slot, Algeria delayed, Ghana earn crucial win

Tunisia became the second Africa country to qualify for the 2026 World Cup after a dramatic late 1-0 win over Equatorial Guinea in Malabo on Monday.

Ben Romdhane scored the winning goal in the last minute of the game to take the Carthage Eagles to 22 points in group H with second placed Namibia on 12 points.

The Carthage Eagles join Morocco who sealed qualification in the last round and they remain unbeaten in eight matches and the only country yet to concede a goal in the campaign so far (GF 13).

Equatorial Guinea, whose campaign was affected earlier forfeits remain on 10 points from eight and, like Liberia and Malawi (9 pts, 7 GP), are now relying on a strong finish and the ranking of runners-up to keep qualification hopes alive while São Tomé and Príncipe prop up the group without a point.

Equatorial Guinea could climb second place on the table with 16 points should they succeed with their appeal against Fifa’s decision to impose two forfeits for fielding an ineligible player earlier in the campaign.

In group G, Algeria missed out on qualifying with two rounds to play after drawing goalless with Guinea.

The result, coupled with wins for Uganda (2-0 vs. Somalia) and Mozambique (2-0 vs. Botswana) leave the Desert Foxes on 19 points, just four ahead of both chasers with six points to play for.

Elsewhere, Ghana held on for maximum points in the 1-0 over Mali to open a three-point gap at the top with 19 points.

Madagascar and Comoros who face off in the next round are lurking in second and third place with 16pts and 15pts respectively.

Elsewhere, Morocco maintained their 100% record in group E as goals from Youssef En-Nesyri and Hamza Igamane gave the Atlas Lions a 2-0 victory in Zambia.

Match round eight concludes on Tuesday with several high-profile matches including Nigeria and South Africa, Burkina Faso and Egypt, DR Congo vs. Senegal and Cameroon away to Gabon.

Egypt will qualify for the finals if the Pharaohs secure all three points in Burkina Faso in group A while Bafana Bafana could also their place in group C if they beat Super Eagles.