Morocco trounced 10-man Niger 5-0 in Rabat on Friday to win Group E and become the first African qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
Ismael Saibari scored twice in the first half after Abdul-Latif Goumey was sent off and second-half goals from Ayoub el Kaabi, Hamza Igamane and Azzedine Ounahi completed the rout.
A sixth straight victory lifted Morocco to an unassailable lead with 18 points -- eight more than Tanzania -- and sealed a seventh appearance at the global showpiece with two matches to spare.
Morocco were shock semi-finalists at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, topping a group including Croatia and Belgium and eliminating Spain and Portugal in the knockout phase.
The stunning run came to an end in the semi-finals as they lost 2-0 to France.
Only Ounahi of the scorers against Niger was in the 2022 World Cup squad with coach Walid Regragui introducing new faces since, including Saibari from Dutch club PSV Eindhoven.
In Group A, Egypt beat Ethiopia 2-0 in Cairo with Premier League stars Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush converting late first-half penalties.
Egypt can join Morocco at the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico if they win away to second-placed Burkina Faso on Tuesday.
Newcastle United signing Yoane Wissa was among the goals as the Democratic Republic of Congo hammered South Sudan 4-1 in Juba to stay top of Group B.
Wissa moved from Brentford in a £50 million ($67 mn) deal after Sweden striker Alexander Isak left Newcastle for Liverpool in a British record move.
The Congolese are hoping to return to the World Cup for the first time since 1974, when the central African country was called Zaire.
- South Africa triumph -
Cedric Bakambu scored twice to help the visitors build a three-goal half-time advantage and Wissa added a fourth before Keer Majak claimed a consolation goal.
Senegal trail DR Congo by one point ahead of a top-of-the-table showdown in Kinshasa on Tuesday after beating Sudan 2-0 in Diamniadio through goals from Kalidou Koulibaly and Pape Matar Sarr.
South Africa maintained a five-point lead in Group C thanks to a comfortable 3-0 'away' victory over neighbours Lesotho in Bloemfontein.
The home fixture for Lesotho was moved to the central South African city, 145 kilometres by road from the border, because the mountain kingdom does not have a FIFA-approved stadium.
Mohau Nkota, who quit famed Soweto club Orlando Pirates last month to join Saudi Pro League outfit Al Ettifaq, scored his first international goal for Bafana Bafana (the Boys) on 15 minutes.
Lyle Foster from Premier League returnees Burnley and Oswin Appollis netted within four minutes midway through the second half.
Victory did come at a cost for South Africa, though, with defenders Nyiko Mobbie and Thabo Moloisane retiring injured ahead of a key clash with Nigeria at the same venue on Tuesday.
South Africa have 16 points, five more than Benin, who edged Zimbabwe 1-0 in Abidjan through a Steve Mounie goal. Nigeria, nine points behind the leaders, host Rwanda on Saturday.
Clinical first-half finishing earned Gambia a surprise 3-1 win over Kenya in Nairobi with Brighton winger Yankuba Minteh scoring the second.
However, the result had no impact on the top of Group F, with reigning African champions the Ivory Coast away to Gabon on Tuesday in a match likely to decide who finishes first.
Serhou Guirassy, a prolific scorer for Borussia Dortmund with 38 goals in all competitions last season, bagged his first for Guinea in World Cup qualifying to set up a 3-0 win over Somalia.
But a disappointing campaign by Guinea -- they lie fourth eight points behind Group G leaders Algeria -- means Guirassy will almost certainly miss the World Cup.
Morocco crush 10-man Niger to seal 2026 World Cup spot
https://arab.news/249ax
Morocco crush 10-man Niger to seal 2026 World Cup spot
Real Madrid handed shock home loss as Celta Vigo spring surprise
- Celta jumped from 14th to 10th while the defeat ended Real’s 100 percent home league record this season after six successive wins
MADRID: Real Madrid suffered a shock 2-0 loss and finished with nine men against Celta Vigo in LaLiga on Sunday after Williot Swedberg scored an audacious goal with his heel and a second in stoppage time to leave the hosts four points off leaders Barcelona.
Swedish substitute Swedberg cleverly diverted a cross from Bryan Zaragoza past Thibaut Courtois in the 53rd minute to put Celta ahead and had an easy finish three minutes into added time, going around the goalkeeper to wrap up the points.
Real’s cause was not helped by the 64th minute dismissal of Fran Garcia, who picked up two yellow cards in 60 seconds, but they laid siege to the visitors’ goal for the last 20 minutes as Celta went into a defensive shell to hold onto their advantage.
Real defender Alvaro Carreras was also dismissed for two cautions, his second coming in stoppage time at the end of the game as the home side’s frustrations boiled over.
It was a second clean sheet in 15 league games this season for Celta, whose keeper Ionut Radu made a first-half save from Jude Bellingham’s header and stopped a second-half free-kick whipped in by Kylian Mbappe.
Real stay on 36 points from 16 games as Celta celebrated a first win at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu in 19 years, leaving the Galician club with 19 points.
“With the team they have and their quality, it’s difficult to match them, but we read the game well,” said Celta striker Borja Iglesias. “We had possession, we played in their half, we played a fantastic match.”
Celta jumped from 14th to 10th while the defeat ended Real’s 100 percent home league record this season after six successive wins.
Xabi Alonso’s stuttering Real team have now won only one of their last five league games as they await the midweek arrival of Manchester City in the Champions League.
Earlier on Sunday, Espanyol moved up to fifth as Roberto Fernandez’s first half penalty handed them a 1-0 home win over Rayo Vallecano as both sides finished with 10 men.
Elche’s Rafa Mir scored twice as they ran out 3-0 home winners over struggling Girona, while hosts Valencia and Sevilla remained in the bottom half of the table after a 1-1 draw.
