* The Carthage Eagles scored late in the 87th minute after Seifallah Ltaeif was brought down inside the penalty box
* Namibia also share three points with the Flames but are third following their 2-0 triumph over Sao Tome e Principe
By Duncan Mlanjira
Following their last minute goal through Youssef Msakni penalty spot striker, beating Malawi Flames 1-0, Tunisia tie on six points with Equatorial Guinea but top 2026 World Cup qualifying Group H through goals scored.
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Tunisia first beat São Tomé e Principe 4-0 in Match Day 1 last week, while Equatorial Guinea overcame also edged Namibia 1-0 last Wednesday and Liberia 1-0 on Monday to garner the 6 points.
Namibia also share three points with the Flames but are third following their 2-0 triumph over Sao Tome e Principe on Tuesday.
The Match Days began from November 13-21 and the next match days will be held on June 3-11, 2024; March 17-25, 2025; September 1-9, 2025; October 6-14, 2025; and November 10-18, 2025.
The 23rd edition of the FIFA World Cup tournament is through a complex qualification as the final — to be hosted jointly by the United States of America, Mexico and Canada — will have 48 participating countries instead of the conventional 32 giving an advantage for Africa to field more teams.
The top team from each group after Match Day 10 shall earn an automatic qualification for the 2026 World Cup finals and additionally, the four best second-placed teams from all nine groups will engage in a continental playoff, determining a single victor who will then proceed to a second and final playoff.
This final stage will comprise six teams from various confederations, with the top two emerging as qualified participants, ultimately making up the 48 competing teams.
In what was a very competitive tussle, the Carthage Eagles broke the deadlock in the 87th minute after Lawrence Chaziya brought down Seifallah Ltaeif inside the penalty box and referee from Togo, Aklesso Gnama awarded the penalty.
Goalkeeper Brighton Munthali was completely beaten when he dived to his right while Msakni’s perfect strike was aimed to his right of the posts.
And in the additional minutes, the Tunisians almost scored but Munthali was up to the task and avoided further damage and he had been in total control of his penalty box until Munthali’s foul on Ltaeif.
On three occasions, Munthali stopped dangerous goal-bound shots when Malawi’ defense was caught napping.
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Though the Flames troubled the visitors at some points, Tunisia enjoyed ball possession and attacked with intent but they couldn’t break a resolute defence of Chaziya, Dennis Chembezi, Tatenda M’balaka and Stanley Sanudi.
In the second half, Mabedi brought in Zambia-based Chifundo Mphasi, who scored on Friday against Liberia in Monrovia and his presence improved Malawi’s attacking prowess — but still couldn’t break the Carthage Eagles’ experience defence.
Meanwhile, Morocco made a winning start to their qualifying but several African heavyweights endured humbling results on Tuesday.
A report by CAFonline says Hakim Ziyech scored a sublime 40-yard drive as the Atlas Lions defeated 10-man Tanzania 2-0 on to launch their bid for the 2026 World Cup.
Ziyech lit up a dominant Moroccan display by firing home a dipping long-range strike on 28 minutes in Dar es Salaam. An own goal made it 2-0 after the break.
The Atlas Lions ultimately cruised but Zambia suffered a shock 2-1 loss away to Niger in the same group as veteran coach Avram Grant tasted his first defeat in charge of Chipolopolo.
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However, the likes of Ghana, South Africa and Cameroon dropped points as Ghana were beaten 1-0 by Comoros while South Africa crashed 0-2 to Rwanda.
Guinea fell 1-0 to Botswana while Uganda edged Somalia by the same scoreline while Cote d’Ivoire continued their flawless start by defeating Gambia 2-0 away on Monday with Guinea-Bissau, Kenya and Madagascar recorded emphatic away victories over Djibouti, Seychelles and Chad respectively.
Guinea-Bissau earned a 1-0 win against Djibouti, Madagascar breezed past Chad 3-0 while Kenya’s Michael Olunga bagged a double inside six minutes as the Harambee Stars thrashed Seychelles 5-0.
Mali, who beat Chad 3-1 on Match Day 1, drew 1-1 home at home with Central African Republic.
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Results so far:
Group A
Ethiopia 0-0 Sierra Leone
Egypt 6-0 Djibouti
Burkina Faso 1-1 Guinea Bissau
Sierra Leone 0-2 Egypt
Djibouti 0-1 Guinea Bissau
Ethiopia 0-3 Burkina Faso
Group B
Sudan 1-1 Togo
Senegal 4-0 South Sudan
Sudan 1-0 Congo DR
South Sudan 0-0 Mauritania
Togo 0-0 Senegal
Group C
Rwanda 0-0 Zimbabwe
Congo DR 2-0 Mauritania
Nigeria 1-1 Lesotho
South Africa 2-1 Benin
Zimbabwe 1-1 Nigeria
Rwanda 2-0 South Africa
Lesotho 0-0 Benin
Group D
Cape Verde 0-0 Angola
Eswatini 0-1 Libya
Cameroon 3-0 Mauritius
Libya 1-1 Cameroon
Eswatini 0-2 Cape Verde
Mauritius 0-0 Angola
Group E
Zambia 4-2 Congo
Niger 0-1 Tanzania
Niger 2-1 Zambia
Tanzania 0-2 Morocco
Group F
Burundi 3-2 The Gambia
Gabon 2-1 Kenya
Côte d’Ivoire 9-0 Seychelles
Burundi 1-2 Gabon
Seychelles 0-5 Kenya
The Gambia 0-2 Côte d’Ivoire
Group G
Botswana 2-3 Mozambique
Algeria 3-1 Somalia
Mozambique 0-2 Algeria
Guinea 2-1 Uganda
Botswana 1-0 Guinea
Somalia 0-1 Uganda
Group H
Equatorial Guinea 1-0 Namibia
Liberia 0-1 Malawi
Tunisia 4-0 Sao Tome e Principe
Liberia 0-1 Equatorial Guinea
Malawi 0-1 Tunisia
Sao Tome e Principe 0-2 Namibia
Group I
Ghana 1-0 Madagascar
Comoros 4-2 Central African Republic
Mali 3-1 Chad
Mali 1-1 Central African Republic
Chad 0-3 Madagascar
Comoros 1-0 Ghana
* Additional reporting by CAFonline
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