María Tato, the official responsible for organizing Spain’s bid for the 2030 FIFA World Cup, resigned on Wednesday following serious allegations of manipulating the selection criteria for host cities. 

The controversy erupted after Spanish daily El Mundo published audio recordings in which Tato was heard discussing the alteration of scores in an Excel spreadsheet to favour San Sebastián’s Anoeta Stadium over the Balaídos Stadium in Vigo.

According to the audio, Tato and her team altered values in the spreadsheet, running tests repeatedly until they achieved the desired result. One of the excerpts from the recording reveals Tato saying, “Let’s enter values into Excel to see what we get. This is the first test of 800 we’ll run until we get the result right.”

Following the publication of these recordings, Tato submitted her resignation to Rafael Louzán, president of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), who accepted it.

The scandal centered around the accusation that Tato and her team manipulated the selection process to ensure that Anoeta Stadium in San Sebastián would host World Cup matches, while Vigo’s Balaídos Stadium was excluded from consideration. 

No technical explanation was provided for the score changes, which sparked outrage, particularly in Vigo, where Mayor Abel Caballero and many locals voiced their anger.

Interestingly, sources close to the investigation revealed that although Louzán had fired Tato in December after hearing about the audio recordings, he chose to keep her in the role at that time.

In an exclusive interview with El Mundo after her resignation, Tato defended herself, claiming she was “a scapegoat” in a larger political storm. “I am the victim of a perfect storm, in which political interests and the revenge of the members of the World Cup Committee converge,” Tato said.

She admitted to having initially included Balaídos in the classification but later corrected the scores, citing “a mistake” in her interpretation of the criteria. “I simply corrected some errors in interpretation when applying the criteria, and I didn’t do it alone,” she explained.

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Matchday 6 of the FIFA World Cup African qualifiers delivered pivotal results across the continent, with Algeria, Ghana, Morocco and Egypt consolidating their leads, while Group C and Group B saw late twists that could define qualification hopes.

South Africa took command in Group C, DR Congo leapfrogged rivals in Group B, and Ghana pulled clear in Group I with another dominant win.

There was also heartbreak for Nigeria and Tunisia left it late once again.

Here is the complete breakdown by group:

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Group A: Egypt edge tight encounter as Ethiopia hit six

Results:

• Egypt 1-0 Sierra Leone
• Burkina Faso 2-1 Guinea-Bissau
• Ethiopia 6-1 Djibouti

Zizo’s 45th-minute strike helped Egypt maintain top spot with a narrow win over Sierra Leone in Cairo. Burkina Faso kept up the chase with a hard-fought 2-1 win away to Guinea-Bissau, while Ethiopia produced a shock performance of the round with a 6-1 demolition of Djibouti.

Standings:

1. Egypt – 16 pts
2. Burkina Faso – 11 pts
3. Sierra Leone – 8 pts
4. Ethiopia – 6 pts
5. Guinea-Bissau – 6 pts
6. Djibouti – 1 pt

Next Fixtures (Matchday 7):

• Egypt vs Ethiopia
• Guinea-Bissau vs Sierra Leone
• Djibouti vs Burkina Faso

Group B: DR Congo go top, Senegal and Sudan tied

Results:

• DR Congo 2-0 Mauritania
• Senegal 2-0 Togo
• Sudan 1-1 South Sudan

DR Congo returned to the summit with a composed 2-0 win over Mauritania. Senegal matched them on points after seeing off Togo, while Sudan’s draw with South Sudan dropped them into third place.

Standings:

1. DR Congo – 13 pts
2. Senegal – 12 pts
3. Sudan – 12 pts
4. Togo – 3 pts
5. South Sudan – 3 pts
6. Mauritania – 2 pts

Next Fixtures (Matchday 7):

• Senegal vs Sudan
• South Sudan vs DR Congo
• Somalia vs Guinea

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Group C: South Africa steps ahead as Nigeria slips again

Results:

• Benin 0-2 South Africa
• Nigeria 1-1 Zimbabwe
• Rwanda 1-1 Lesotho
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Bafana Bafana strengthened their grip on Group C with a composed 2-0 away win in Benin. Nigeria’s hopes were dented by a late equaliser from Zimbabwe, while Rwanda and Lesotho cancelled each other out.

Standings:

1. South Africa – 13 pts
2. Rwanda – 8 pts
3. Benin – 8 pts
4. Nigeria – 7 pts
5. Lesotho – 6 pts
6. Zimbabwe – 4 pts

Next Fixtures (Matchday 7):

• Benin vs Zimbabwe
• Lesotho vs South Africa
• Nigeria vs Rwanda

Group D: Cape Verde edge Angola as Cameroon stay close

Results:

• Cape Verde 2-1 Angola
• Cameroon 3-1 Libya
• Mauritius 3-3 Eswatini

Cape Verde snatched a crucial win over Angola, while Cameroon thrashed Libya to stay a point off the top. Mauritius and Eswatini served up a six-goal thriller but shared the spoils.

Standings:

1. Cape Verde – 13 pts
2. Cameroon – 12 pts
3. Libya – 8 pts
4. Angola – 7 pts
5. Mauritius – 5 pts
6. Eswatini – 2 pts

Next Fixtures (Matchday 7):

• Angola vs Libya
• Cameroon vs Eswatini
• Mauritius vs Cape Verde

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Group E: Morocco flawless, Atlas Lions pull clear

Results:

• Morocco 2-0 Tanzania

Morocco kept their perfect record intact with a 2-0 win over Tanzania to make it five wins from five and stay top of Group E.

Morocco are just a match away from picking a World Cup ticket.

Standings:

1. Morocco – 15 pts (5 games)
2. Niger – 6 pts (4 games)
3. Tanzania – 6 pts (5 games)
4. Zambia – 3 pts (4 games)
5. Congo – 0 pts (3 games)
6. Eritrea – 0 pts (0 games)

Next Fixtures (Matchday 7):

• Morocco vs Niger

Group F: Cote d’Ivoire reclaim top, Burundi explode

Results:

• Cote d’Ivoire 1-0 Gambia
• Burundi 5-0 Seychelles
• Kenya 1-2 Gabon

Gabon stayed hot on the heels of Cote d’Ivoire after an impressive 2-1 win over Kenya. Burundi produced a five-star show against Seychelles to rise to third.

Standings:

1. Cote d’Ivoire – 16 pts
2. Gabon – 15 pts
3. Burundi – 10 pts
4. Kenya – 6 pts
5. Gambia – 4 pts
6. Seychelles – 0 pts

Next Fixtures (Matchday 7):

• Cote d’Ivoire vs Burundi
• Kenya vs Gambia
• Seychelles vs Gabon

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Group G: Amoura hat-trick lifts Algeria, Uganda bounce back

Results:

• Algeria 5-1 Mozambique
• Uganda 1-0 Guinea
• Botswana 2-0 Somalia

Algeria produced a commanding performance to dispatch Mozambique with Amoura netting a hat-trick. Uganda edged Guinea while Botswana swept Somalia aside.

Standings:

1. Algeria – 15 pts
2. Mozambique – 12 pts
3. Botswana – 9 pts
4. Uganda – 9 pts
5. Guinea – 7 pts
6. Somalia – 1 pt

Next Fixtures (Matchday 7):

• Algeria vs Botswana
• Uganda vs Mozambique
• Somalia vs Guinea

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Group H: Tunisia leave it late, Namibia stall

Results:

• Tunisia 2-0 Malawi
• Namibia 1-1 Equatorial Guinea
• Liberia 2-1 Sao Tome and Principe

Late goals from Jaziri and Achouri earned Tunisia a win over Malawi. Namibia were held by Equatorial Guinea while Liberia edged Sao Tome.

Standings:

1. Tunisia – 16 pts
2. Namibia – 12 pts
3. Liberia – 10 pts
4. Equatorial Guinea – 7 pts
5. Malawi – 6 pts
6. Sao Tome and Principe – 0 pts

Next Fixtures (Matchday 7):

• Tunisia vs Liberia
• Namibia vs Malawi
• Sao Tome and Principe vs Equatorial Guinea

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Group I: Ghana dominate, Madagascar make gains

Results:

• Ghana 3-0 Madagascar
• Mali 0-0 Central Africa Republic
• Comoros 1-1 Chad

Ghana pulled away at the top with a commanding 3-0 win over Madagascar. Mali were held by CAR while Comoros dropped points against winless Chad.

Standings:

1. Ghana – 15 pts
2. Comoros – 12 pts
3. Madagascar – 10 pts
4. Mali – 9 pts
5. Central Africa – 5 pts
6. Chad – 0 pts

Next Fixtures (Matchday 7):

• Chad vs Ghana
• Madagascar vs Central Africa Republic
• Mali vs Comoros

Top Scorers (after Matchday 6)

1. Mohamed Salah (Egypt) – 6 goals
2. Jordan Ayew (Ghana) – 5 goals
3. Mohamed Amoura (Algeria) – 5 goals
4. Lassina Traoré (Burkina Faso) – 5 goals
5. Trezeguet (Egypt) – 5 goals
6. Denis Bouanga (Gabon) – 5 goals
7. Kamory Doumbia (Mali) – 5 goals

-CAF

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BY KUNLE SOLAJA.

It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for the Super Eagles to qualify for the World Cup 2026.

The moment Zimbabwe’s substitute player, Tawanda Chirewa, sneaked through a Nigerian defence trying to wind down the clock at the dot of regulation time, it was not just an equaliser for the Brave Warriors of Zimbabwe; it was the beginning of the end of Nigeria’s lean chances of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.

After three home matches in the series, the Super Eagles could not pick a win.  They have dropped six valuable points on home ground.

There are just two more home matches against Rwanda and Benin while the other two matches away will be contested in South Africa against the Bafana Bafana and also Lesotho who have adopted South Africa as their home ground.

On account of intense rivalry, it is unlikely that the Super Eagles will get breathing space on South African soil.

Even as the possibility exists that South Africa may suffer a three-point deduction over fielding an ineligible player in their Match Day 5 fixture, Nigeria will not be a direct beneficiary.  South Africa will still retain the leadership of the group.

Rather, Nigeria will drop from the current fourth position to the fifth.

It will be an advantage to Lesotho who will benefit and limp from the fifth position to second as their point haul will rise to 9, just one behind the likely 10 that South Africa will have if three points are deducted.

With Nigeria finding it difficult to win at home, the possibility of beating Rwanda in the 31 August Match Day 7 fixture cannot be guaranteed. Rwanda had beaten Nigeria on home ground before, they will be ambitious to repeat the feat against a team with sagging hopes and epileptic form.  

In a corresponding match, Lesotho may opt out of South Africa to prosecute their home fixture against Bafana Bafana as they are likely to be in contention for Group C leadership.

With just four matches to go and just 12 maximum points at stake, the possibility of getting a comfortable second position and qualifying for a tortious play-off looks remote.

Four best second-placed teams out of nine will go for a play-off that will produce a team for an Intercontinental play-off.

With the current trend, the likelihood of a Group C team qualifying for the play-off is very remote.  After six match days, depending on where the pendulum of FIFA‘s decision swings in the South Africa – Lesotho match, the best a Group C second-placed team will have going into match day 7 will be nine points for Lesotho if points are deducted from South Africa. If not, it will be Rwanda with eight points.

Already, the second-placed team in Group F, Gabon is on 15 points. Groups B, D, G, H and I already have second-placed teams on 12 points. Only in Group E where Morocco will likely pick a World Cup ticket on Match Day 7, has a second-placed team, Niger Republic, with a lower point haul than its counterpart in Group C.

With epileptic form, the chances of Super Eagles are very slim. Flashback to the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, the 1-1 draw on Tuesday with Zimbabwe means that the Super Eagles have won just one World Cup qualifying duel in eight matches.

How the second-placed teams currently rank

Group A – Burkina Faso 11 points

Group B – Senegal – 12 points

Group C – Rwanda – 8 points (Lesotho potentially 9 pending FIFA’s decision)

Group D – Cameroon – 12 points

Group E – Niger – 6 points

Group F – Gabon 15 points

Group G – Mozambique – 12 points

Group H – Namibia – 12 points

Group I – Comoros Islands 12 points

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