Salah’s two goals and Adel’s one goal made Egypt the third African country to qualify, after Morocco and Tunisia.
Published October 8, 2025
Egypt defeated Djibouti 3-0 in Casablanca, clinching first place in Group A with one game remaining and qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Liverpool star Mohamed Salah scored twice and Ibrahim Adel scored another on Wednesday as the Pharaohs became the third African nation to qualify for next year’s North American finals, after Morocco and Tunisia.
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Salah scored nine goals in Egypt’s marathon qualifiers, which began two years ago.
Egypt has participated in the last three World Cups but failed to qualify for the 2022 tournament in Qatar, with Morocco achieving their best result in the semi-finals and Tunisia being eliminated in the group stage.
Meanwhile, Thomas Partey was on the scoresheet as Ghana beat Central African Republic 5-0 in Meknes, and they need a point from their final home game against Comoros to qualify.
Other scorers for the Black Stars were Mohamed Salisu, Alexander Zyku, captain Jordan Ayew and Kamarudeen Slemana, who led 1-0 at half-time.
Cape Verde came from two points behind to draw 3-3 with Libya against Tripoli, moving them closer to qualifying for their first World Cup.
The island nation of around 550,000 people off the coast of Senegal will secure first place in Group D if they defeat Eswatini in Praia on Monday.
Cape Verdens, known as the Blue Sharks, are two points ahead of Cameroon, who beat Mauritius 2-0 in St-Pierre, with Manchester United striker Brian Mbeumo among the scorers.
Cape Verde have 20 points after nine matches, two more than Cameroon, whose eight World Cup appearances are an African record.
Cameroon, who were solid favorites to win the group in qualifying, needed to pick up as many points as possible in Mauritius to keep their hopes of overtaking Cape Verde alive, but it took them 92 minutes to ensure success. They finish their schedule at home against Angola in Yaounde and must win to qualify for automatic qualification.
If Cape Verde finishes first, Cameroon hopes to finish in the top four and qualify for the playoffs in November.
The winner of the African mini-tournament, consisting of a single-match semi-final and final, will advance to a six-nation intercontinental play-off next March and earn two World Cup berths.
The 2026 Games will be held from June 11th to July 19th, co-hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
