The Walya Antelopes of Ethiopia defeated Djibouti 6-1 last night to register their first win in Group A of the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers.

Bereket Desta and Abubeker Nassir netted hat-tricks to guide Ethiopia to victory in a match played at the Stade Ben M’Hamed El Abdi in El Jadida, Morocco.

The Mekelakeya FC forward put Ethiopia ahead after 19 minutes, and Nasiir added two more goals before the interval.

Six minutes after recess Samuel Akinbinu pulled a goal back for Djibouti after a defensive lapse by the Ethiopians.

But the Ethiopians continued to push forward and run rings around the Djibouti defence as Desta made it 4-1 after 52 minutes, and later Nasiir converted a penalty on 58 minutes. Desta also converted a second penalty for Ethiopia after 70 minutes as the Djibouti defending line continued to makes several blunders.

The win sends Coach Mesay Teferi’s to 4^th place with 6 points. Egypt who are yet to play their sixth match top the Group with 13 points, while Burkina Faso have 11 points. Djibouti are bottom with one point.

Action continues today with seven teams from the CECAFA Zone in action. Sudan who hope to maintain their lead in Group B will host South Sudan in Benghazi, Libya, while Rwanda host Lesotho in a Group C match in Kigali.

Two Group G matches will see Somalia play away to Botswana, while Uganda Cranes host Guinea at the Mandela National Stadium, Namboole. Burundi will also face Seychelles in a Group F tie, while Tanzania battle Morocco in Group E at the Honor Stadium.

The Harambee Stars of Kenya have suffered a 2-1 home defeat to Gabon in a Group F match in the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers.

Former Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang gave Gabon the after 16 minutes at the Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi.

The match also watched by the Kenyan President William Ruto ended 1-0 at the interval infavour of Gabon.

After recess Kenya conceded a penalty which Aubameyang converted after 52 minutes.

Ten minutes later Harambee Stars skipper Michael Olunga pulled back a goal for the home side to send fans into celebrations. The home team continued to push forward, but failed to find the final punch. Kenya’s campaign has now taken a big knock following the defeat and 3-3 away draw to The Gambia few days ago

Benni Mccarthy, the Kenyan coach said that his team had missed some good scoring chances. “There were a lot of positives today, but we also need to keep building and improving,” said the Kenyan coach.

The President of Football Kenya Federation (FKF), Hussein Mohammed thanked all Kenyans for coming to support. “A gallant fight from Harambee Stars, but we live to fight another day. Huge thanks to all Kenyans for the incredible support – the 12th man was truly behind the boys today, and it felt special after years of playing away from home,” said the FKF President.

The defeat by Gabon dents Kenya’s hopes in the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifying campaign. Kenya are 4^th in the Group with 6 points, while Gabon are top with 15 points, and Ivory Coast with 13 points.

Action continues on Monday with Ethiopia facing Djibouti in a Group A match to be played at the Ben M’Hamed El Abdi Stadium, El-Jadida in Morocco.

The national football team of Somalia has picked it’s first point in the on-going FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers.

Somalia held Guinea to a goalless draw in a Group G match played at the Alassane Quattara Stadium in Abidjan, Ivory Coast on Friday night.

Goalkeeper Abdirahman Mohamud Jama was the man of the match for the Somali team as he made several saves to deny Guinea any goals.

The Somalian national team had suffered four straight defeats since the qualifiers started last year.

Somalia remained in sixth place on the log with 1 points, while Guinea are third with 7 points. Algeria lead the Group with 12 points, and Mozambique are second with same number of points and less goal difference.

In a Group C match played at the Amahoro Stadium in Kigali, hosts Rwanda suffered a 2-0 defeat to Nigeria. Turkish based striker Victor James Osimhen netted a brace for the Super Eagles. The Amavubi dropped to third place with 7 points, while South Africa who defeated Lesotho 2-0 lead the Group with 10 points.

Djibouti and Burundi also suffered defeats in Group A matches. Djibouti suffered a 4-1 defeat to Burkina Faso in a match played at the Ben M’Hamed El Abdi Stadium, El Jadida (Morocco), while table leaders Egypt stopped Burundi 2-0.

At the Stade de Martyrs in Kinshasa, DR Congo picked maximum points stopping South Sudan 1-0 in a Group B match. Theo Bongonda netted the lone goal. Burundi also suffered a 1-0 defeat to Ivory Coast in a Group F match.

Action continues on Saturday with Sudan hosting Senegal I a Group B clash in Benghazi, Libya.

The Harambee Stars of Kenya battled from two goals down to hold The Gambia 3-3 in a Group F match of the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier.

With new coach Benni Mccarthy in-charge of the Kenyan team, there was a lot to prove at the Alassane Guattara Stadium in Abidjan, and the Harambee Stars did exactly that battling till the end of the match.

The Gambia started looking a better side and earned a penalty after a mistake by goalkeeper Ian Otieno. But the Kenyan goalkeeper saved Musa Barrow’s penalty to take the game to 0-0 at halftime.

After recess Barrow made amends after 55 minutes when he put The Gambia ahead, while Yankuba Minteh made it 2-0 after 61 minutes.

Michael Olunga, the Harambee Stars skipper later pulled a goal back for his side from the spot after 69 minutes. Substitute Mohammed Bajaber leveled matters for Kenya with a well taken shot from outside the box that beat The Gambia goalkeeper Ebrima Jarju.

But the Scorpions continued to push forward and Barrow netted his second goal on the night. But the Harambee Stars did not give up and leveled matters again in the sixth minute of added time through another substitute William Wilson. Kenya have maintained their 4^th place in Group F with 6 points, while Gabon are top with 12 points.

In an earlier match played at the Cairo International Stadium in Egypt, a 10-man Uganda Cranes suffered a 3-1 Group G defeat to Mozambique.

Uganda conceded an early goal after 3 minutes with Pepo Santos curving in a corner that Uganda’s goalkeeper Isima Watenga failed to punch out of danger.

But Libyan based striker Muhammad Shaban leveled matters for the Uganda Cranes four minutes later finishing off a well delivered cross by Allan Okello.

But the Mozambique team continued to dictate the pace of the match stringing passes around the pitch. After 16 minutes another goalkeeping error by Watenga gifted Santos who made it 2-1 for Mozambique.

Later Uganda’s Denis Omedi received a booking and quickly got sent off after picking another card. Three minutes of added time to half time Stanley Ratifo increased Mozambique’s lead as they run rings around Uganda’s defending line.

After the interval Uganda replaced goalkeeper Watenga with Nafan Alionzi, but there were no more goals. Uganda are now placed 5^th in Group G with 6 points, while Mozambique lead the Group with 12 points.

Action continues on Friday with six teams from the CECAFA Zone in action. Burundi will face Ivory Coast in a Group F tie, while Djibouti play away to Burkina Faso, and Ethiopia battle Egypt in Group A ties.

South Sudan will also play away to DR Congo in a Group B tie, while Rwanda take on Nigeria in Kigali in a Group C battle, and Somalia face Botswana in a Group G encounter.