Although not qualified for the next African Cup of Nations and with a new technical staff, the Comoros have made an ideal start to their World Cup 2026 qualifying campaign. They dominated CAR 4-2.Guinea, on the other hand, won by a landslide.
In two months' time, when the eyes of the world turn to Côte d'Ivoire to follow their conquest of the 34th edition of the AFCON, the players from the Comoros will be in front of the TV. Unlike two years ago, when, full of bravery and self-sacrifice, they managed to get past the 1st round in their first appearance at an AFCON, before going on to challenge hosts Cameroon in the 8th round, despite a number of setbacks. If the Comoros have not been invited to the continental showpiece, it's because they missed their qualifying campaign outright. Coach Younes Zerdouk has not succeeded in making Amir Abdou, the man who put the Coelacanths on the map of African soccer, forget him.
Inaki Williams opens his account
Comoros' new coach Stefano Cusin, on the other hand, is off to a flying start in his 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign.On the first day, Friday November 17, the Comoros beat the Central African Republic 4-2. In Moroni, they were the masters of the stage. While the Fauves opened the scoring with an own goal from Abdallah (10th), the Comorians, spurred on by their playmaker Youssouf M'Chamanga, reversed the trend. He provided the decisive assist on goals by M'Dahoma (29th) and Youssouf (50th). Said (58th) and Maolida (67th) rounded off the scoring. The second own goal in the 74th minute was a mere consolation. The Comoros thus take first place in Group I ahead of Ghana, who came from behind to beat Madagascar 1-0. The goal came from Iniaki Williams in injury time.He opens his account with Ghana.
Seydouba Cissé saves Guinea on the line
In Group G of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, Guinea also came from behind to beat Uganda. Seydouba Cissé scored the winner in added time (2-1, 94th minute). The Cranes had pulled level at 1-1 in the 30th minute when Fayo responded to Aguibou Camara's opener (10th).
All the teams played in this group. Guinea, who travel to Botswana on November 21, are third behind Algeria and Mozambique, who respectively beat Somalia (3-1) and Botswana (3-2) on Thursday.
Finally, in Group E, Zambia recorded their first win against the Republic of Congo (4-2).
