World Cup
Closely contested ties in opening fixtures of Match Day 3 World Cup Qualifiers
The resumption of the FIFA World Cup African qualifiers produced some closely contested fixtures on Wednesday, 05 June as African nations resume their quest to represent Africa at the global showpiece in 2026.
Togo were in action against South Sudan in Lome while Morocco played host to Central African Republic against Chad.
Namibia were against Liberia in a match played in Johannesburg, while Tunisia played host to Equatorial Guinea.
Below is a summary of the 16h00 GMT matches:
Togo 1-1 South Sudan
Goals: K. Narey 61’/ R. Aholou csc 68’
Togo were held to a 1-1 draw at home by a resilient South Sudan side. The hosts took the lead just after the hour mark when Khaled Narey fired them into the lead.
Their joy was short-lived as Roger Aholou silenced the home supporters in the 68th minute to level matters as they escaped with a point.
With this result, Togo is fourth in Group B, with South Sudan at fifth.
Central African Republic 1-0 Chad
Goal: V. Baboula 29’
Geoffrey Kondogbia’s solitary first half strike in the 29th minute was enough for Central African Republic to edge Chad 1-0. The results moves them to third on the table, as Chad remain rooted at the bottom.
Namibia 1-1 Liberia
Goals: T. Karuuombe 8’/ T.Sackor 65’
A good start for the Brave Warriors of Namibia ended in disappointed as they surrendered a lead to share the spoils against Liberia.
Tijpe Karuuombe’s opener in the 8th minute put the Namibians in the driving seat, but a lapse in concentration in the 65th minute saw the Liberians level matters to salvage a point on the road.
Sierra Leone 2-1 Djibouti
Goals: C. Davies 12’, A. Kargbo 51’/ G. Dadzie 35’(P)
Sierra Leone were made to sweat for victory on Wednesday after initially taking a lead in the opening stages of the match for Djibouti to pull one back in just before the break.
The West African side kept their heads high and continued pressing forward to be rewarded with a hard fought 2-1 victory.
-CAF
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Congress rose from its Annual General Meeting in Asaba on Friday and assured the Nigerian Government of its commitment to ensure that the Super Eagles qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
The Nigerian team has had a poor head start in the series and has not won any of the four matches. There are six more matches to be played.
Only one of the the six teams will pick an automatic ticket even as Nigeria sat dangerously fifth in Group C. Their next match is away to group leaders, Rwanda on 17 March next year.
Another drop of points portends deep dangers as the Super Eagles have zero option other than to win all the remaining six matches. Two of those matches are potentially risky. These are the away duels with South Africa on 7 September and Lesotho on 5 October next year.
Both matches will be played in South Africa which also hosts Lesotho home games apart from the fact that Lesotho is geographically completely encircled by South Africa.
The quest to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations is relatively easier as the Super Eagles are in the lead of the quartet that includes Benin Republic, Rwanda and Libya.
Two teams will qualify. Victory over Libya in the back-to-back clashes holding in the next few days will likely qualify Nigeria for Morocco 2025.
Nigeria’s World Cup Qualifying Fixtures
- 17 March 2025 – Rwanda v Nigeria
- 24 March 2025- Nigeria v Zimbabwe
- 1 Sept. 2025 – Nigeria v Rwanda
- 7 Sept. 2025 – South Africa v Nigeria
- 5 Oct. 2025 – Lesotho v Nigeria
- 12 Oct. 2025 – Nigeria v Benin Republic
Nigeria’s AFCON Cup Qualifying Fixtures
- 10 Oct. 2024 – Nigeria v Libya
- 15 Oct, 2024 – Libya v Nigeria
- 11 Nov. 2024 – Benin Republic v Nigeria
- 19 Nov. 2024 – Nigeria v Rwanda
Argentina have been boosted by the return of captain Lionel Messi for their CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers against Venezuela and Bolivia, the country’s football association said on Wednesday, after the 37-year-old recovered from an ankle injury.
Messi, who plays for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami, was left out of Argentina’s squad for their World Cup Qualifiers against Chile and Colombia in August due to the injury which he sustained during the Copa America final.
Argentina beat Colombia 1-0 to win a record 16th Copa America title.
ARGENTINA SQUAD:
Goalkeepers – Geronimo Rulli, Walter Benitez, Juan Musso.
Defenders – Gonzalo Montiel, Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martinez, Nicolas Otamendi, German Pezzella, Leonardo Balerdi, Marcos Acuna, Nicolas Tagliafico.
Midfielders – Rodrigo De Paul, Alexis Mac Allister, Leandro Paredes, Enzo Fernandez, Giovani Lo Celso, Thiago Almada, Guido Rodriguez, Nico Paz.
Forwards – Nicolas Gonzalez, Lautaro Martinez, Alejandro Garnacho, Julian Alvarez, Valentin Carboni, Valentin Carboni, Paulo Dybala and Lionel Messi.
Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano “Dibu” Martinez has been suspended for two matches by FIFA for “offensive behaviour”, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) said in a statement on Friday.
Martinez will miss Argentina’s next South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup against Venezuela and Bolivia in October.
The Aston Villa goalkeeper has been suspended over incidents in matches against Chile and Colombia earlier this month.
In the Chile game, his first since winning the Copa America in the United States, Martinez celebrated by making a lewd gesture with the trophy, as he did after winning the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
After the loss to Colombia, the 32-year-old hit a local television camera.
“Damian Emiliano Martinez is being held responsible for his offensive behaviour and violation of the principles of fair play,” the AFA said in a statement, adding that it disagreed with the FIFA Disciplinary Committee’s decision
-Reuters
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