Asian qualifying started last time with some exciting two-legged knock-out football. If you enjoyed that, you'll really like this episode, as we kick off African qualifying with a huge episode!
This is the format of African qualifying:
This is the format of African qualifying:
We're going to cover the first two rounds of qualifying, which means we will go from 55 teams to 20 in no time at all! With 35 teams going out, that's a new record for a DWC episode.
Below is the seeding for African qualifying, showing where each team enters:
Below is the seeding for African qualifying, showing where each team enters:
Togo pip Central African Republic to automatic qualification for Round 2. The 30 teams on the left above are drawn randomly into the following ties:
The biggest mis-match sees 2nd-highest seeds Cameroon play 2nd-lowest seeds Somalia. The biggest teams all avoid each other, whilst South Sudan and Seychelles will each be fancying their chances of progressing after drawing each other.
Round 1 - First leg
Réunion started confidently and notched a straightforward 2-0 win over Tanzania. Guinea-Bissau went one better, but a late consolation meant they beat Comoros 3-1.These were the only teams to win by more than 1 goal, which meant that Cameroon and Kenya didn't make more of their relatively gentle draws, each recording underwhelming 1-0 victories.
A late goal saw Lesotho pick up an impressive 1-0 win over Chad, whilst Eswatini also struck late to earn a fine 1-1 draw with Central African Republic (CAR), despite being a man down. Meanwhile, Liberia and Botswana played out an entertaining 2-2 draw.
Round 1 - First leg
Réunion started confidently and notched a straightforward 2-0 win over Tanzania. Guinea-Bissau went one better, but a late consolation meant they beat Comoros 3-1.These were the only teams to win by more than 1 goal, which meant that Cameroon and Kenya didn't make more of their relatively gentle draws, each recording underwhelming 1-0 victories.
A late goal saw Lesotho pick up an impressive 1-0 win over Chad, whilst Eswatini also struck late to earn a fine 1-1 draw with Central African Republic (CAR), despite being a man down. Meanwhile, Liberia and Botswana played out an entertaining 2-2 draw.
Here are the full results of the first legs:
Round 1 - Second leg
The last thing Sao Tomé & Príncipe needed when trying to battle back was to gift Kenya a goal 20 seconds in through a bad backpass, but that's what they did. Kenya doubled their lead with Ghislain Gnamien's second of the day, but Sao Tomé & Príncipe battled back with two of their own. This left them one away from stealing it on away goals, but they couldn't manage it. It was a similar story as Rwanda went 2-0 up on Sierra Leone against the run of play, and Sierra Leone could only get one back to lose 2-1.
Zimbabwe unconvincingly confirmed their progression with a goalless draw, as did Cameroon. Gambia also progressed after a second-leg draw with Eritrea put them through 2-1 on aggregate. It was easier for Cape Verde, who won 2-0 to complete a 3-0 aggregate win over Madagascar, whilst Guinea-Bissau also recorded a second victory, 3-2 this time.
Benin deserved to win their first leg against Niger, but could only draw. In the second leg they made no such slip-up, going through with a 2-0 win. Lesotho backed up their first leg with another 1-0 victory to surprise Chad. Burkina Faso got the only goal of their game with Equatorial Guinea, but it wasn't enough to prevent an away goals defeat.
Liberia had probably had the better of their first leg, and went 2-0 up through a Francis Doe brace. However, Botswana halved the deficit and in added time Tshepo Matete equalised to take us to extra time. There was a deciding goal, and it came from Botswana's Joel Mogorosi to complete a brilliant comeback.
There was further extra time madness as Seychelles and South Sudan couldn't score in normal time. Both sides added one in the extra period, meaning South Sudan claimed an away goals victory. And Réunion were taken to extra time, as they had a man sent off, allowing Tanzania to win 2-0 in normal time. Francis Kahata scored another to put Tanzania ahead, and despite picking up a red card themselves, they held on for a fantastic 3-2 aggregate victory. CAR were once again pegged to a 1-1 draw by Eswatini, but they finally shook their opponents off in extra time with a solitary goal.
Mauritius and Djibouti went one further, as their 1-1 draw took them all the way to penalties, where Mauritius won a low-quality shootout.
The last thing Sao Tomé & Príncipe needed when trying to battle back was to gift Kenya a goal 20 seconds in through a bad backpass, but that's what they did. Kenya doubled their lead with Ghislain Gnamien's second of the day, but Sao Tomé & Príncipe battled back with two of their own. This left them one away from stealing it on away goals, but they couldn't manage it. It was a similar story as Rwanda went 2-0 up on Sierra Leone against the run of play, and Sierra Leone could only get one back to lose 2-1.
Zimbabwe unconvincingly confirmed their progression with a goalless draw, as did Cameroon. Gambia also progressed after a second-leg draw with Eritrea put them through 2-1 on aggregate. It was easier for Cape Verde, who won 2-0 to complete a 3-0 aggregate win over Madagascar, whilst Guinea-Bissau also recorded a second victory, 3-2 this time.
Benin deserved to win their first leg against Niger, but could only draw. In the second leg they made no such slip-up, going through with a 2-0 win. Lesotho backed up their first leg with another 1-0 victory to surprise Chad. Burkina Faso got the only goal of their game with Equatorial Guinea, but it wasn't enough to prevent an away goals defeat.
Liberia had probably had the better of their first leg, and went 2-0 up through a Francis Doe brace. However, Botswana halved the deficit and in added time Tshepo Matete equalised to take us to extra time. There was a deciding goal, and it came from Botswana's Joel Mogorosi to complete a brilliant comeback.
There was further extra time madness as Seychelles and South Sudan couldn't score in normal time. Both sides added one in the extra period, meaning South Sudan claimed an away goals victory. And Réunion were taken to extra time, as they had a man sent off, allowing Tanzania to win 2-0 in normal time. Francis Kahata scored another to put Tanzania ahead, and despite picking up a red card themselves, they held on for a fantastic 3-2 aggregate victory. CAR were once again pegged to a 1-1 draw by Eswatini, but they finally shook their opponents off in extra time with a solitary goal.
Mauritius and Djibouti went one further, as their 1-1 draw took them all the way to penalties, where Mauritius won a low-quality shootout.
Here are the full first round results:
Moving swiftly on, and the top 25 seeds join the 15 qualifiers in the draw for the second round of qualifying:
Round 2 - First leg
The big draw is clearly Morocco vs Nigeria, as the 6th and 4th-ranked African sides do battle. And it was bad news for the North Africa side, as Nigeria stormed to a 3-0 victory, with three set piece strikes. In the other glamourous ties, Mali and Ivory Coast played out a lively 2-2 draw, whilst Algeria glided through untroubled in beating Guinea 3-0.
There were a few lucky Round 1 winners drawn against each other in this round. A stunning goal from Paul Were was the only one in the clash between Kenya and Benin, whilst Cameroon battled to a 2-0 win over South Sudan. Meanwhile, Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania shared a goalless draw.
Ethiopia exploited Egypt's high line to go 2-0 up with two Seidu Bancey strikes, but Egypt struck back with a brace of their own by Abdoulaye Cissé to share the spoils and avoid an upset. No such luck for Senegal, who couldn't prevent a 1-0 loss to Cape Verde.
The big draw is clearly Morocco vs Nigeria, as the 6th and 4th-ranked African sides do battle. And it was bad news for the North Africa side, as Nigeria stormed to a 3-0 victory, with three set piece strikes. In the other glamourous ties, Mali and Ivory Coast played out a lively 2-2 draw, whilst Algeria glided through untroubled in beating Guinea 3-0.
There were a few lucky Round 1 winners drawn against each other in this round. A stunning goal from Paul Were was the only one in the clash between Kenya and Benin, whilst Cameroon battled to a 2-0 win over South Sudan. Meanwhile, Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania shared a goalless draw.
Ethiopia exploited Egypt's high line to go 2-0 up with two Seidu Bancey strikes, but Egypt struck back with a brace of their own by Abdoulaye Cissé to share the spoils and avoid an upset. No such luck for Senegal, who couldn't prevent a 1-0 loss to Cape Verde.
There were also a spate of low-scoring affairs. Here's the full leg results:
Round 2 - Second leg
The tie between Ivory Coast and Mali was well-poised. Ivory Coast got the only goal of the first half, before an own goal by Mali's Issiaka Elliasou sparked a dramatic collapse to a 5-0 defeat. The Nambia Derby was also level going into this game, and it was a free kick from Namibia's Ronald Ketijere that proved the different in the second leg. Angola and Malawi followed their initial 0-0 draw with another dour game, with the only goal going to Malawi following a goalmouth scramble.
South Africa and Sudan relied on their first leg victories to get through, after draws in their second legs. Algeria nearly did the same, but an injury-time goal earned a second leg win over Guinea. Tunisia also added a one-goal win to a three-goal first leg win in seeing off Guinea-Bissau.
After a nervy draw in the first leg, things got tougher for Egypt as Omar Gaber inexplicably headed into his own goal 30 seconds into their second leg. However, he helped set up an equaliser and Egypt held on to overcome poor Ethiopia on away goals. Ghana found it easier to pull away from level, as they beat Mauritius 3-0 in their second leg. DR Congo, however, were held up to a second 0-0 draw with Uganda, and missed out in the penalty shootout.
The tie between Ivory Coast and Mali was well-poised. Ivory Coast got the only goal of the first half, before an own goal by Mali's Issiaka Elliasou sparked a dramatic collapse to a 5-0 defeat. The Nambia Derby was also level going into this game, and it was a free kick from Namibia's Ronald Ketijere that proved the different in the second leg. Angola and Malawi followed their initial 0-0 draw with another dour game, with the only goal going to Malawi following a goalmouth scramble.
South Africa and Sudan relied on their first leg victories to get through, after draws in their second legs. Algeria nearly did the same, but an injury-time goal earned a second leg win over Guinea. Tunisia also added a one-goal win to a three-goal first leg win in seeing off Guinea-Bissau.
After a nervy draw in the first leg, things got tougher for Egypt as Omar Gaber inexplicably headed into his own goal 30 seconds into their second leg. However, he helped set up an equaliser and Egypt held on to overcome poor Ethiopia on away goals. Ghana found it easier to pull away from level, as they beat Mauritius 3-0 in their second leg. DR Congo, however, were held up to a second 0-0 draw with Uganda, and missed out in the penalty shootout.
Libya and Gabon progressed with second wins over Burundi and Botswana. Morocco claimed a bit of pride by beating Nigeria 1-0, leaving this year's qualification process on a high.
Kenya and Cameroon both got through their second knockout fixture by repeating their first leg scorelines, whilst Equatorial Guinea overcame Tanzania 2-1. They were joined by Zimbabwe, who followed up their first leg win over Togo with a 4-0 thrashing, whilst Gambia did the double over Mozambique. Cape Verde joined them as a goalless allowed them beat Senegal. Central African Republic were set to go out to Congo, but a late equaliser from Hilaire Momi took us to extra time, where they cut loose to win 4-1 and claim a big scalp.
Kenya and Cameroon both got through their second knockout fixture by repeating their first leg scorelines, whilst Equatorial Guinea overcame Tanzania 2-1. They were joined by Zimbabwe, who followed up their first leg win over Togo with a 4-0 thrashing, whilst Gambia did the double over Mozambique. Cape Verde joined them as a goalless allowed them beat Senegal. Central African Republic were set to go out to Congo, but a late equaliser from Hilaire Momi took us to extra time, where they cut loose to win 4-1 and claim a big scalp.
After all that, these are the results of the second round:
The 20 winners will be drawn into 5 groups of 4 in the final stage of qualifying.
Next time we'll have a similarly frantic episode, as we fire through the first 3 rounds of North American qualifying.
Next time we'll have a similarly frantic episode, as we fire through the first 3 rounds of North American qualifying.