In a stroke of remarkable fortune, Bafana Bafana enjoys a distinctly advantageous position heading into the remaining four fixtures of the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign.

Neighbours Lesotho and Zimbabwe play their home fixtures in South Africa, so these matches become home fixtures for Bafana Bafana. The gods are smiling on Bafana, significantly boosting their chances of a 2026 World Cup ticket. Presently Bafana lead Group C by five points ahead after six games.

In the other two matches, South Africa will host Nigeria and Rwanda. After last week’s match in Benin, the campaign continues with a game against hosts Lesotho on September 1. Very likely Lesotho will choose the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. A few days later, Bafana will host Nigeria in their eighth (out of 10) group match.

Qualifiers restart in early October when Zimbabwe host South Africa. Zimbabwe have chosen Durban and Orlando Stadium as their home venue for past fixtures. South Africa’s group phase play ends when they host Rwanda a week later.

No one ever thought that drawing fellow COSAFA countries in the same group would end up being so advantageous for Bafana.

It is pointless doing projections of what points tally South Africa need to win Group C and gain automatic selection to next year’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. South Africa is waiting to hear if they will be punished for playing an ineligible player in a match against Lesotho next week.

Lesotho Football Association (LEFA) Secretary General Mokhosi Mohapi yesterday informed SAFA that his association has written to FIFA, saying they are withdrawing the “issue against the South African Football Association”.

Although this is good news it still does not mean that FIFA will not pursue the matter. There are cases in which countries have defaulted, and FIFA took action even though countries did not lodge protests.

As the clock ticks down to the qualifiers’ conclusion, the excitement and uncertainty surrounding Bafana will undoubtedly engage fans across the country, eager to see if fortune does indeed favour the brave.

Meanwhile, retired Johannesburg referee Victor Gomes became the first South African to be appointed to the Technical Advisory Panel of the International Football Association Board for the next two-year cycle. They advise IFAB on matters related to the Laws of the Game, including potential changes and improvements.

-AOL

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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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