African qualifying has been a lot of fun so far, particularly the previous group where Ivory Coast pipped South Africa in a dramatic winner-takes-all finale:
Tunisia and Libya have both made the DWC finals before, and so this group may well be a showdown between them. Malawi and Kenya are likely to just be happy to be this far, although who knows what they can do?
Matchday 1
Mohamed Konaté got the first goal of the group, as his header opened the scoring for Tunisia away to Kenya. And it was also the only goal of this round of games, as Tunisia won 1-0, and Libya & Malawi drew 0-0.
Matchday 2
Tunisia made it 2 wins from 2 as they overcame Libya 2-0 to get an early hold on this group. The tie between Malawi and Kenya appeared to be heading for a draw until Allan Wanga popped up late on with a fine header to win the game 1-0 for Kenya.
Matchday 1
Mohamed Konaté got the first goal of the group, as his header opened the scoring for Tunisia away to Kenya. And it was also the only goal of this round of games, as Tunisia won 1-0, and Libya & Malawi drew 0-0.
Matchday 2
Tunisia made it 2 wins from 2 as they overcame Libya 2-0 to get an early hold on this group. The tie between Malawi and Kenya appeared to be heading for a draw until Allan Wanga popped up late on with a fine header to win the game 1-0 for Kenya.
Matchday 3
Libya had a chance to get into the 2nd place they would expect as they visited Kenya. But that wasn't what happened - instead, Ghilain Gnamien notched a hat-trick as Kenya claimed a mightily impressive 4-0 win to show they mean business. Tunisia swept Malawi aside 3-0 to stay top of the group.
Libya had a chance to get into the 2nd place they would expect as they visited Kenya. But that wasn't what happened - instead, Ghilain Gnamien notched a hat-trick as Kenya claimed a mightily impressive 4-0 win to show they mean business. Tunisia swept Malawi aside 3-0 to stay top of the group.
Halfway in, and it's clear that there's only two teams who can qualify today:
Matchday 4
If Kenya are to challenge for an unlikely automatic qualification, they needed to at least draw away to Tunisia. They kept it tight until the 73rd minute, when Marcus Olsson was sent off for a last man foul. Hatem Ben Arfa put away the penalty, and Darwin González added a second for a 2-0 win that effectively puts Tunisia through. Kenya's defeat left the door ajar for whoever won between the other two sides, and that sense of desperation was evident as an open game saw Malawi lead 2-0 at the break. However, Libya were soon back into it as Mohammad Zubya got one back just after the break, and in the 67th minute Mohamed Al Maghrabi levelled. A draw was no good for either team, and it was Libya who claimed a vital win as Guillaume Daho headed in a free kick to dramatically complete the comeback.
If Kenya are to challenge for an unlikely automatic qualification, they needed to at least draw away to Tunisia. They kept it tight until the 73rd minute, when Marcus Olsson was sent off for a last man foul. Hatem Ben Arfa put away the penalty, and Darwin González added a second for a 2-0 win that effectively puts Tunisia through. Kenya's defeat left the door ajar for whoever won between the other two sides, and that sense of desperation was evident as an open game saw Malawi lead 2-0 at the break. However, Libya were soon back into it as Mohammad Zubya got one back just after the break, and in the 67th minute Mohamed Al Maghrabi levelled. A draw was no good for either team, and it was Libya who claimed a vital win as Guillaume Daho headed in a free kick to dramatically complete the comeback.
Matchday 5
Tunisia just needed a point against Libya to win the group, and Taha Yassine Khenissi's header was enough for a 1-0 win. Libya's loss meant Kenya had the chance to secure second if they could beat Malawi. As with the two sides' previous encounter, it was scoreless as the game entered its final stages, but Kenya earned a penalty and a chance to claim victory. Karim Nizigiyimana stepped up, and fired it straight down the middle to win it for his side and earn them a play-off spot!
Tunisia just needed a point against Libya to win the group, and Taha Yassine Khenissi's header was enough for a 1-0 win. Libya's loss meant Kenya had the chance to secure second if they could beat Malawi. As with the two sides' previous encounter, it was scoreless as the game entered its final stages, but Kenya earned a penalty and a chance to claim victory. Karim Nizigiyimana stepped up, and fired it straight down the middle to win it for his side and earn them a play-off spot!
With one game to go, sadly there's nothing left to play for:
Matchday 6
Libya failed to avenge their heavy defeat to Kenya earlier in the group, as they could only finish with a 0-0 draw. Tunisia appeared set to be losing their 100% record, but a 91st-minute solo goal from Hamdou Elhouni earned them a late 1-0 win, and the magical 18 point total.
Libya failed to avenge their heavy defeat to Kenya earlier in the group, as they could only finish with a 0-0 draw. Tunisia appeared set to be losing their 100% record, but a 91st-minute solo goal from Hamdou Elhouni earned them a late 1-0 win, and the magical 18 point total.
Here's how it finished:
After home-and-away wins in the second round as well, Tunisia join Turkey and Portugal in qualifying for this year's DWC finals by winning every qualifying match. Kenya looked a very worthy second place here, and will go into the African play-offs with little to lose.
Next time, we finally start qualifying in the final continent, Oceania. There, we cover the entirety of qualification there, with the exceptional of the final play-off.
Next time, we finally start qualifying in the final continent, Oceania. There, we cover the entirety of qualification there, with the exceptional of the final play-off.