Ivory Coast had the biggest shout in the opening round of the 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers as they demolished Seychelles 9-0, effectively giving the islanders their biggest competitive defeat.
In other matches, Tunisia had a stroll against Sao tome and Principe while Ghana chiseled out a slender win. GOAL gives a wrap of matches that took place this past Friday.
Comoros lead Ghana & MaliThree games kicked off at 3PM on Friday where a total of 10 goals were scored.Comoros had a field day against Central Africa Republic as they beat them 4-2. They now lead Ghana and Mali in Group I ahead of the second round of matches next week.Uganda lost 2-1 to Guinea in Group G while Eswatini lost 1-0 to Libya in Group D action.
Advantage ZambiaThe second set of matches took place at 6PM on Friday where Zambia demolished Congo 4-2 to take temporary leadership of Group E as Tanzania take on Niger later today.The Black Stars, Ghana, narrowly edged Madagascar 1-0 while Malawi beat Liberia by the same score-line.
Ivory Coast ran riotIn the late kick-offs, Tunisia overpowered Sao Tome and Principe 4-0 to take the lead of Group H while Mali thumped Chad 3-1.The biggest result came from the tie between Ivory Coast and Seychelles as the Ivorian destroyed the islanders 9-0.Meanwhile in Group D, Cameroon won 3-0 against Mauritius while Guinea Bissau held Burkina Faso to a one-all draw.
The biggest winnerIvory Coast were by far the best performers in this round as they won 9-0 against Seychelles.This was their second biggest win, playing second fiddle to their 1961 11-0 triumph over Central Africa Republic. For Seychelles, this is their biggest defeat ever.
Biggest losersNigeria were held to a one-all draw by Southern Africa side Lesotho, who were close to causing the biggest upset as the Super Eagles had to come back from behind to register a draw. In two previous meetings, Nigeria won 4-2 and 3-0.
