NEW DELHI: Senegal and Ivory Coast won convincingly on Tuesday to fill the last automatic places reserved for Africa at FIFA World Cup 2026.
Senegal was the more impressive winner, hammering Mauritania 4-0, while Ivory Coast beat Kenya 3-0.
The duo will join Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia and South Africa at the global showpiece in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon and Nigeria kept alive hopes of swelling the African representation to 10 nations by finishing as the four best-ranked runners-up.
They will meet in two single-match semifinals and a final in Morocco during November, and the winner advances to inter-continental play-offs in March with two World Cup places up for grabs.
Former Liverpool star Sadio Mane scored just before and after half-time for Group B table-topper Senegal, with Iliman Ndiaye and Habib Diallo also netting for the Teranga Lions.
Senegal finished with 24 points, two more than DR Congo, which edged Sudan 1-0 in Kinshasa through a Theo Bongonda goal.
Manchester United winger Amad Diallo completed the scoring for the Ivory Coast, which led from the seventh minute in a convincing triumph over Kenya in Abidjan.
Franck Kessie put the reigning African champion ahead and Yan Diomande added the second goal soon after half-time.
Ivory Coast topped Group F with 26 points, one more than Gabon. Gambia overwhelmed the Seychelles 7-0 to come third.
In another result, Morocco set a new record of 16 successive victories by a national team as it completed its qualifying campaign with 1-0 home win over Congo.
Youssef En-Nesyri scored in the 63rd minute in Rabat to ensure Morocco finished its Group E programme with eight wins from eight matches, the only side in the African preliminaries with a 100 per cent record.
The victory saw it go past the record of 15 that Spain set over 12 months between June 2008 and June 2009.
Morocco last failed to win an international when they drew 0-0 with Mauritania in a friendly in March 2024 but have since posted victories in seven World Cup qualifiers, six qualifiers for this year’s Africa Cup of Nations finals and three friendlies. Agencies
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