2026 World Cup qualifiers: Mali disappoint, Ghana cruise, Ivory Coast toil again

With the highs and lows, Sport News Africa runs through the matches from matchday 6 of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, played on Monday.

2026 World Cup slipping away from Mali

With the chance to snatch second place in Group I from Madagascar (10 points), Mali were held by Central African Republic on matchday 6 of the qualifiers. The Eagles could not take off, despite a few flashes of flair on the pitch at El Arbi Zaouli in Casablanca, Morocco. Tom Saintfiet and his men could do no better than a goalless draw (0-0) and may regret this slip, as Mali remain 3rd in the group with 9 points, while Ghana's Black Stars soar and have the 2026 World Cup firmly in sight.

Also read: 2026 World Cup qualifiers: a second absence for Senegal ahead of Togo

Ghana in command

6/6 for Ghana. It is a perfect start to the year for Otto Addo and his men. A few days after their emphatic 5-0 win over Chad, the Black Stars were dazzling again on Monday, beating Madagascar 3-0 with a brace from Thomas Partey. Ghana go top of Group I on their own with 15 points, 5 ahead of the Malagasy and 6 clear of Mali. Qualification for the 2026 World Cup is within reach for the four-time African champions.

Another underwhelming Ivory Coast display

They also made a clean sweep during this international break, but Ivory Coast failed to impress their supporters at all. A flat Elephants side, who had already struggled to beat Burundi (1-0) last Friday, again turned in an average performance on Monday against Gambia, edging a narrow win (1-0) thanks to a goal inside the first quarter of an hour from Sébastien Haller (15th). Fortunately, the African champions had a wall in Yahia Fofana, who put in a superb performance to protect his goal. Even so, Ivory Coast remain top of Group J with 16 points, one ahead of Gabon in second. The race for World Cup 2026 qualification will go down to the wire between these two nations.

Elsewhere, Tunisia struggled against a Malawi side reduced to 10 men from the 64th minute after Lloyd Aaron's dismissal, before winning 2-0 with difficulty thanks to goals from Seifeddine Jaziri (86th, a header) and Elias Achouri (90+2). Aymen Dahmen had to save a penalty from Richard Mbulu (90+8) to help his side keep a clean sheet. With 14 points, the Eagles of Carthage stay top of Group H with a healthy lead over Namibia, second with 12 points. For their part, Burkina Faso beat Guinea-Bissau 2-1 to also take 6/6 this month and remain second in Group A with 11 points, ahead of the match between Egypt (1st with 13 points) and Sierra Leone (3rd with 8 points) on Tuesday evening (19:00 GMT). At home, Ethiopia made light work of Djibouti, with hat-tricks from Bereket Desta and Abubeker Nassir (6-1).

All of today's results

Group H

Namibia 1-1 Equatorial Guinea

Liberia 2-1 São Tomé & Príncipe

Tunisia 1-0 Malawi

Group I

Central African Republic 0-0 Mali

Madagascar 0-3 Ghana

Group A

Guinea-Bissau 1-2 Burkina Faso

Ethiopia 6-1 Djibouti

Group J

Ivory Coast 1-0 Gambia