African qualifiers’ early stages fail to disappoint

The first two rounds of fixtures in the African zone qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup looked fascinating on paper, and they certainly did not disappoint.

From 15 to 21 November, the 53 nations involved in the African qualifying campaign kicked off their quest to secure one of the nine automatic spots up for grabs at football's most illustrious event.

Ahead of the third and fourth matchdays of the World Cup qualifiers in June 2024, FIFA looks back at these initial encounters by highlighting four stories that emerged from an action-packed week.

Ivory Coast set new bar

By defeating the Seychelles 9-0 in Group F, Ivory Coast set a new record winning margin in an African World Cup qualifier. Sebastien Haller scored first to open the floodgates, and he was followed by Ibrahim Sangare, Simon Adringa, Karim Konate (2), Seko Fofana, Hamed Junior Traore (2) and Jean-Philippe Krasso.

"I'd asked my players to respect our opponents and show their clinical side," Jean-Louis Gasset, coach of Les Elephants, said in a post-match interview.

The previous holders of the record were Congo DR, who beat Djibouti 9-1 in the qualifiers for Korea/Japan 2002 at the Stade des Martyrs. That one-sided clash still remains the CAF qualifying match with the highest number of goals.

Slimani climbs chart

On the opening matchday, Algeria's Islam Slimani equalled the record for most goals scored (18) in the African qualifiers, drawing level with a trio of national icons, Ivory Coast's Didier Drogba, Cameroon's Samuel Eto'o and Burkina Faso's Moumouni Dagano.

"It that right?" asked the veteran forward in the mixed zone, when informed of the news by a journalist. "That's great!"

Comoros claim historic wins

In their opening group game, Comoros collected three points for the first time ever in a World Cup qualifier via a 4-2 victory over Central African Republic.

Comoros forward Myziane Maolida celebrates after win against Central African Republic at the Stade de Moroni in Comoros on November 17, 2023. Photo: X

Up until Friday, the islanders had recorded six defeats and four draws. "I feel proud on behalf of the Comorian people. If we were able to bring them a bit of joy this afternoon, then that's important," their Italian coach Stefano Cusin told Africa Top Sports.

Four days later, Comoros built on their initial success by pulling off a shock 1-0 win over Ghana.

Nigeria stumble

Deprived of talismanic striker Victor Osimhen through injury, Nigeria did not lose their first two matches, but they did not win them either.

Jose Peseiro's men registered two disappointing 1-1 draws, at home against Lesotho and away to Zimbabwe, coming from behind on both occasions.

The Super Eagles will console themselves with the fact that they have now gone an incredible 46 matches without losing a World Cup qualifier.