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African group qualifiers finish as last three teams book FIFA World Cup berths

Published

2 weeks ago

October 15, 2025

Ivory Coast, Senegal and South Africa on Tuesday completed the list of group winners in African qualification and the lineup of nine automatic qualifiers for next years World Cup.

Ivory Coast beat Kenya 3-0 at home in Abidjan to finish one point ahead of Gabon in Group F, while Sadio Mane’s double put Senegal on course for a 4-0 win over Mauritania in Dakar and a two-point lead over runners-up Democratic Republic of Congo in Group B.

South Africa topped Group C, shrugging aside a three-point penalty but needing a helping hand from Nigeria to book their first World Cup appearance since hosting the 2010 finals.

Morocco and Tunisia qualified last month while Egypt and Algeria made sure of their progress with one round left to complete last week.

Ghana and Cape Verde booked their places with home wins on Sunday and
Monday respectively.

The completion of the group phase of the qualifiers also settled the four best runners-up — Cameroon, DR Congo, Gabon and Nigeria — who will playoff next month to decide a single winner to go on to the inter-continental playoffs in March where the last two World Cup berths will be decided.

Ivory coast score early

Captain Frank Kessie had the Ivorians ahead after seven minutes but they squandered a hatful of chances before teenager Yan Diomande added a second in the 54th minute.

Amad Diallo buried an 84th minute free-kick into the corner for the third goal amid a torrential downpour.

Gabon were a point behind going into Tuesdays last fixtures and without suspended Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for the home game against Burundi, which they won 2-0 with two late efforts.

Senegal took until first-half stoppage time before talisman Mane curled in a long-range free-kick to give them the lead and he added a second three minutes after the break.

Iliman Ndiaye dribbled his way through for a superb third in the 64th and Habib Diallo added the fourth near the end.

South Africa beat Rwanda 3-0 in Nelspruit to finish first in Group C as Benin, who had a two-point lead going into the final round, tumbled from top to third after being thumped 4-0 by Nigeria, for whom Victor Osimhen grabbed a hat-trick.

South Africa finished on 18 points, with Nigeria runners-up ahead of Benin on goal difference as both ended with 17 points.

South Africa had three points deducted last month after being found guilty of fielding a suspended player in an earlier qualifier in March, a mistake they admitted.

Points deduction likely to be forgotten

But that will be largely forgotten now as Thalente Mbatha scored after five minutes, Oswin Appollis netted the second in the 26th minute and Evidence Makgopa made it 3-0 in the 72nd with a header from a corner.

For Nigeria, Osimhen opened his account in the third minute from a through pass by Samuel Chukwueze, who then crossed for the striker to head home a second in the 37th.

Osimhen completed his hat-trick soon after halftime, heading home a chipped pass from Moses Simon, but the best goal was the last — thrashed in on the volley by Frank Onyeka.

Morocco were the only side to finish the qualifiers with a 100 per cent record, wrapping up their Group E campaign with a 1-0 home win over Congo for a record-setting 16th straight victory.

Algeria secured qualification last week and were hoping to celebrate in front of their fans in Tizi Ouzou on Tuesday but they made heavy weather of it and needed two late penalties from Mohammed Amoura to beat Uganda 2-1.

Amoura went top of the scoring charts in the African qualifiers with 10 goals as Algeria finished their Group G campaign with 25 points.

They handed a debut in goal to Luca Zidane, the son of France World Cup-winner Zinedine Zidane, but he was beaten after six minutes as Steven Mukwala gave Uganda a shock lead.

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Babar Azam picked as Fakhar Zaman’s replacement for South Africa T20Is, says Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson

Published

4 hours ago

October 26, 2025

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After staying out of favour in the Twenty20 International format for Pakistan’s last five assignments, former skipper Babar Azam was picked for the upcoming three-match series against South Africa only after Fakhar Zaman’s decided to skip it, white-ball head coach Mike Hesson said on Sunday.

Since Hesson took over the role in June, Babar hasn’t featured for Pakistan in T20Is with the national side playing series against Bangladesh, the West Indies and a tri-nation series followed by the Asia Cup during that period.

Hesson had cited the right-hander’s low strike-rate as the reason for his absence. But Babar’s selection for the series, which starts in Rawalpindi on Tuesday raised suggested a change of mind for the coach before the New Zealander clarified it.

“I certainly endorse his selection,” Hesson said of Babar while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of Pakistan’s training session at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. “We’ve sent him (Fakhar) back to first-class cricket after a conversation with him.

“He wanted to focus on improving his technique for one-day cricket, so we gave him a bit of a break from T20s. That’s created an opportunity for another top-order player.”

Hesson confirmed that Babar will take the number three spot instead of the batter’s preferred opening position, where he flourished for Pakistan for a substantial period before eventually falling in form and then out of favour.

The coach, however, has expectations from Babar to make a strong comeback and suggested he saw him in Pakistan’s plans for the T20 World Cup, which is set to be held in February-March next year in India and Sri Lanka.

“It’s a great chance to have Babar back,” said the coach. “He’s likely to bat at number three, a role I’m confident he’ll perform well in.

“It also gives our squad some flexibility ahead of the [T20] World Cup.”

‘Haris needs to work’

Babar’s unexpected return also coincided with the axing of wicket-keeper-batter Mohammad Haris from the Pakistan squad even after he received ample backing from the team management across Hesson’s tenure so far.

The 24-year-old proved his mettle with a century against Bangladesh back in June but gradually lost form amid frequent change of batting positions.

Hesson believed Haris needed to go back to the drawing board to fix his issues.

“Haris has had a number of opportunities recently, and he’d be the first to admit he hasn’t made the most of them,” he said. “But he’s still young and developing, so I wouldn’t say his career is over.

“He needs to work on his decision-making with the bat. Even in domestic T20s, he averages around 17, similar to international cricket, so that’s an area for improvement.”

Haris has been replaced by Usman Khan — who last year gave up on a career in the United Arab Emirates to play for Pakistan before being eventually dropped. He emerged out of nowhere and Hesson said he sees the right-hander, who keeps wickets as well, as a good player of spin.

“We see our wicket-keeper batting more through the middle rather than at the top, especially with spin being such a big factor in Sri Lanka during the World Cup. That’s why Usman has been given this opportunity.”

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FIFA announces new ASEAN Cup for Southeast Asia

Published

5 hours ago

October 26, 2025

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A new tournament, the FIFA ASEAN Cup, will be launched as part of an agreement between FIFA and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), aimed at boosting the development of football across the region.

The announcement was made during the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, where FIFA President Gianni Infantino and ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn signed a renewed Memorandum of Understanding.

The tournament will bring together national teams from all ASEAN member states in a format inspired by the Arab Cup, which was first organised by FIFA in 2021.

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“This will be a great addition to the regional football calendar,” Infantino said.

“Through the FIFA ASEAN Cup, we are uniting countries together, and this competition will be a huge success as it will help boost national team football in the ASEAN region and support the development of our sport across all of Southeast Asia.”

World football’s governing body will work with regional stakeholders including the Asian Football Confederation, the ASEAN Football Federation, and the relevant FIFA member associations to finalise the tournament’s format.

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