IFFHS CONTINENTAL NEWS - CAF
Picture : Mohamed Salah scored again in Guinea !
Unusual happenings mark CAF World Cup 2026 days 3 & 4 qualifiers.
The main unusual happening came from Cameroon where two rival technical benches accompanied the Indomitable Lions for the binary challenge. The federation appointed a parallel technical staff, although maintaining the head coach appointed by the sports minister after exploiting lapses in a nine year old convention signed by both parties on the strength of which the minister had taken the lead to choose a Belgian, Marc Peter Brys who had not been part of the federation’s shortlist. While on both days the minister’s list accompanied the team in camp, none was present in the dugout on match days. Rather, only the head coach and his assistants he came to the country with featured on the bench, while the federation’s list spied on the Cameroon opponents’ camp on day 4. In spite of the gimmick, Cameroon made the resounding showing by trouncing Carbo Verde in Yaounde 4-1 before later being pulled to a 1-1 draw by Angola in Luanda.
Elsewhere, a number of minnows silenced pikes in wake-up calls. Nigeria, under former Eagles great, George Finidi was humbled at home by Benin, under former Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr 2-1 on day 4. Guinea travelled to pip Algeria 2-1. Sudan hit hosts Mauritania 2-0. Ivory Coast were held to a 0-0 draw by Kenya on day 4. And Morocco trounced Congo on day 4, 6-0.
Other results included: Day 3: Namibia 1 1 Liberia; Togo 1 1 south Sudan; Sierra Leone 2 1 Djibouti; Central African Republic 1 0 Chad; Tunisia 1 0 equatorial Guinea; Malawi 3 Sao tome & Principe 1; Guinea Bissau 0 0 Ethiopia; Libya 2 1 Mauritius; Mauritania 0 2 Sudan; Mali 1 2 Ghana; Senegal 1 1 DR Congo; Benin 1 0 Rwanda; Egypt 2 1 Burkina Faso; Kenya 1 1 Burundi; Moçambique 2 1 Somalia; Zimbabwe 0 2 Lesotho; Angola 1 0 Eswatini; Uganda 1 0 Botswana;Madagascar 2 1 Comoros; Ivory Coast 1 0 Gabon; Morocco 2 1 Zambia; Nigeria 1 1 South Africa; Gambia 5 1 Seychelles.
Day 4: Seychelles 1 3 Burundi; Gabon 3 2 Gambia; South Africa 3 1 zimbabwe; Carbo Verde 1 0 Libya; Zambia 0 1 Tanzania; Lesotho 0 1 Rwanda; Chad 0 2 Comoros; Mauritius 2 1 Eswatini; Madagascar 0 0 Mali; South Sudan 0 3 Sudan; Guinea 0 1 Moçambique; Burkina Faso 2 2 Sierra Leone; Ghana 4 3 Central African Republic; Guinea Bissau 1 1 Egypt; Uganda 1 2 Algeria; Somalia 1 3 Botswana; Equatorial Guinea 1 0 Malawi; Namibia 0 0 Tunisia; Djibouti 1 1 Ethiopia; Mauritania 0 1 senegal; DR Congo 1 0 Togo; Sao Tomé e Principe 0 1 Liberia.
Before days 5 and 6 of the qualifiers slated for 17-25 March 2025, this is how the teams cue up on the tables:
G-A: Egypt 10pts +9; Guinea Bissau 6pts +1; Burkina Faso 5pts +2; Sierra Leone 5pts -1; Ethiopia 3pts -3; Djibouti 1pt -8;
G-B: Sudan 10pts +6; Senegal 8pts +5; DR Congo 7pts +2; Togo 3pts -1; South Sudan 2ts -7; Mauritania 1pt -5.
G-C: Rwanda 7pts +2; South Africa 7pts +1; Benin 7pts +1; Lesotho 5pts +1; Nigeria 3pts -1; Zimbabwe 2pts -4.
G-D: Cameroon 8pts +3; Libya 7pts -1; Carbo Verde 7pts 0; Angola 6pts -1; Mauritius 4pts -3; Eswatini 0pt -5.
G-E: Morocco 9pts +9; Tanzania 6pts 0; Niger 3pts 0; Zambia 3pts -1; Congo 0pt -8; Erytrea (general forfeiture).
G-F: Ivory Coast: 10pts +12; Gabon 9pts +2; Burundi 7pts +2; Kenya 5pts +4; Gambia 3pts 0; Seychelles 0pt -20.
G-G: Algeria 9pts +4; Moçambique 9pts +1; Botswana 6pts +1; Guinea 6pts 0; Uganda 6pts 0; Somali 0pt -6.
G-H: Tunisia 10pts +6; Namibia 8pts +5; Liberia 7pts +3; Malawi 6pts +1; Equatorial Guinea 3pts -6; Sao Tomé e Principe 0pt -9.
G-I: Comoros 9pts +4; Ghana 9pts +2; Madagascar 7pts +3; Mali 5pts +1; Central African Republic 4pts -2; Chad 0pt -8.