World Cup
Cote d’Ivoire enjoy goal feast but Cameroon labour to victory
Cote d’ivoire enjoyed a goal rout at the start of their World Cup qualifying campaign but fellow African heavyweights Cameroon, Ghana and Tunisia made heavy work of home games against lowly opposition on Friday.
The Ivorians, who will host January’s Africa Cup of Nations, won 9-0 at home to the Seychelles in their Group F opener in a bright start to their bid for a place at the 2026 finals when the World Cup will be co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the U.S.
Teenage striker Karim Konate and substitute Hamed Traore both scored twice in a game that might have seen a bigger victory had it not been for some fine saves by Carlos Simoen.
Tunisia captain Youssef Msakni was among the scorers as they won 4-0 at home to 186th ranked Sao Tome e Principe in Group H.
Cameroon, who have been to more World Cups than any other African nation, had to battle for a 3-0 win against Mauritius, 134 places below them in the FIFA rankings.
Bryan Mbuemo’s close-range finish on the stroke of halftime opened the scoring and the Indomitable Lions added two more late goals in their Group D game in Douala.
There was an even more laboured home win for Ghana, who finally broke the deadlock six minutes into stoppage time at home to Madagascar in Group I as former Spain international Inaki Williams scored his first goal for the Black Stars.
The Comoros Islands won 4-2 in the same group against the Central African Republic at home in Moroni, while 30-year-old debutant Youssoufou Niakate was among the scorers as Mali beat Chad 3-1 in Bamako in their game in the section.
Patson Daka scored twice as Zambia began their Group E campaign with a 4-2 home win over Congo in Ndola, fighting back from a 2-1 deficit after 15 minutes.
POOR FACILITIES
Seydouba Cisse netted four minutes into stoppage time to hand Guinea a 2-1 win over Uganda in Group G in a match played in Berkane, Morocco.
Guinea are among the 19 African countries forced to move their home qualifiers to neutral venues because of poor facilities or concern over the security situation in their country.
Despite the absence of skipper Naby Keita, Guinea took an early lead but Uganda, with Belgian coach Paul Put in charge for the first time, levelled through Fahad Bayo on the half hour.
Eswatini hosted their Group D clash over the border in Nelspruit, South Africa but lost to Libya for whom Ahmed Ekrawa scored the only goal early in the second half.
In Group H, Malawi won 1-0 in Liberia as substitute Chifundo Mphasi scored in Monrovia and there was another away upset in Group A where Guinea Bissau held Burkina Faso to a 1-1 draw.
A further three qualifiers will be played on Saturday to complete the first round of matches in the African zone.
There are nine groups in the African preliminaries where the winner qualifies for the 2026 finals. The four best runners-up get a further chance to qualify in a two-tier playoff system.
-Reuters
Canada Soccer cheekily courted Italy’s crestfallen supporters on Saturday, urging them to swap their Azzurri blue strips for maple leaf red after the four-time champions suffered another World Cup failure.
“Dear Italian soccer fans, don’t wait four more years. Swap your jersey for Canada,” the sports governing body posted on X on Friday, directing fans to gather outside Cafe Diplomatico, a popular restaurant in Toronto’s Little Italy neighbourhood.
The light-hearted appeal followed Italy’s third consecutive failure to qualify for the World Cup after a playoff defeat by Bosnia on Tuesday, a setback that led to the resignations of coach Gennaro Gattuso and federation president Gabriele Gravina.
Canada, who will co-host the World Cup alongside Mexico and the United States, seized the moment to call for fans to support their country instead.
Local media reported hundreds of supporters queued for the Italy-for-Canada jersey exchange, though the offer proved more symbolic than transactional. Canada Soccer handed out 2026 shirts and posters to fans — and did so without collecting a single Italian jersey in return.
-Reuters
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World Cup
Nigeria and Other Top-Ranked Teams Missing At 2026 World Cup Raise Questions Over Global Football Balance
By Kunle Solaja.
Despite the expansion of the FIFA World Cup to 48 teams, several high-profile nations—including some ranked within the top 30 globally—will not feature at the 2026 finals in the United States, Mexico and Canada, underlining the increasingly unforgiving nature of modern qualification.
The most striking absence is the four-time world champions Italy national football team, who failed to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup after losing on penalties to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the European playoffs.
Once a permanent fixture at the global showpiece, Italy’s continued absence has triggered widespread criticism at home, with many describing the situation as a national sporting crisis.
Europe’s Big Casualties
Italy are not alone among Europe’s elite in missing out. Countries such as Denmark’s national football team, Poland’s national football team and Serbia’s national football team, all of whom have consistently hovered around the top tiers of FIFA rankings in recent years, also failed to make the cut.
Poland’s elimination is particularly significant, as it likely marks the end of World Cup ambitions for veteran striker Robert Lewandowski, while Denmark’s absence comes after years of steady progress on the international stage.
Serbia, boasting a generation of technically gifted players, were also among those eliminated during the qualification process.
African Heavyweights Left Out
Africa will send a record number of teams to the expanded tournament, yet notable absentees remain.
Three-time African champions Nigeria national football team and five-time AFCON winners Cameroon national football team both failed to qualify after disappointing campaigns.
Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions are among Africa’s big names missing at the World Cup.
Nigeria’s absence is particularly glaring given the quality of players such as Victor Osimhen, while Cameroon fell short despite a squad featuring several Europe-based stars.
South American Decline
In South America, the Chile national football team continue their dramatic fall from grace. Once Copa América champions, Chile finished bottom of the CONMEBOL qualifying table, extending their World Cup absence to three editions.
Emerging Pattern: Expansion Without Guarantees
The absence of these established football nations highlights a key reality: even with 48 slots, World Cup qualification remains fiercely competitive.
While debutants such as Cape Verde, Curaçao and Uzbekistan have secured historic places at the finals, traditional powers have faltered under pressure.
Analysts note that this shift reflects a broader trend in global football—greater parity, improved development structures in smaller nations, and declining dominance of traditional heavyweights.
A World Cup Without Familiar Faces
The 2026 tournament will therefore present a unique landscape—one where emerging nations share the stage while several established powers watch from home.
For fans, it promises freshness and unpredictability. For the absent giants, however, it serves as a stark reminder that reputation alone is no longer enough to secure a place at football’s biggest event.
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By Kunle Solaja.
A remarkable storyline is emerging ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, as no fewer than seven countries have secured returns to the global football showpiece after prolonged absences spanning decades.
Leading the list are Haiti and DR Congo, both of which are back on the World Cup stage after an astonishing 52-year absence. Haiti last featured at the tournament in 1974, the same year DR Congo, then known as Zaire, made their only previous appearance.
European sides Scotland national football team, Norway national football team and Austria national football team are also ending 28-year waits.
Scotland’s last outing came in 1998, while Norway and Austria have similarly endured long spells away from the competition despite periods of promise in European football.
South America will see the return of the Paraguay national football team, who are back after a 16-year hiatus, having last appeared at the 2010 finals in South Africa.
On the African continent, the South Africa national football team will make a long-awaited comeback after 16 years, their previous participation coming when they hosted the tournament in 2010.
The wave of returning nations highlights the expanding opportunities created by the enlarged 48-team format for the 2026 World Cup, which will be staged across Canada, the United States and Mexico.
For many of these countries, qualification marks not just a sporting achievement but a generational milestone, rekindling national pride and offering a new era of players the chance to perform on football’s biggest stage after decades in the wilderness.
With traditional powers and returning underdogs set to collide, the 2026 tournament is already shaping up to be one of the most diverse and unpredictable in World Cup history.
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