Day 2 of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers continued on Tuesday November 21, 2023. Group E was in the spotlight with Morocco's victorious trip to Tanzania (0-2) and Niger's 2-1 win over Zambia.
Following Eritrea's withdrawal from the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, Group E will be played with just 5 countries, unlike the other groups, which are made up of 6 teams. That's why Morocco made its first appearance in the competition. In Tanzania, Morocco had to quickly demonstrate their status as favourites. It took just 3 minutes for the Atlas Lions to have their first chance to score with a penalty. But Parisian right-back Achraf Hakimi saw his shot fly into the Tanzanian sky.
Far from discouraging the 2022 World Cup semi-finalists, Walid Regragui's men broke through their opponents' defense through Hakim Ziyech (28th) on a pass from Nayef Aguerd. Dominated by this performance, the Tanzanians gave up and ended the match by scoring an own goal through Lusajo Mwaikenda (53rd). Even with a game less than the rest of the group, the Atlas Lions' win is enough to take them to the top of the table with a better goal difference.
Niger surprise Zambia
On a run of 6 defeats out of their last 7 games, Niger managed to break this bad run of form with a 2-1 win over Zambia.An important performance against a superior opponent. Having already lost to Tanzania at home, the Nigeriens had two opportunities to entertain, and this time they didn't miss a beat. Niger took the game by the scruff of the neck, taking a 2-goal lead thanks to Amadou Moutari (6th) and Boubacar Goumey (28th). Determined to hold on to this advantage, they managed to pocket the 3 points despite Patson Daka (50th) reducing the deficit.
All the cards are now up in Group E, with Zambia, Niger and Tanzania all on 3 points ahead of Congo, who have not registered a single point in these 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
