Rwanda secure comfortable victory in the Seychelles
Ramadan Agab hat-trick propels Sudan to win
Historic triumph for Somalia
Six African teams made their grand entrance in the first round of CAF qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ on Thursday.
While the logic of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking was respected in the first two fixtures of the day, Somalia (currently the lowest-placed African team at the 202nd spot) pulled off a significant upset by clinching a last-gasp 1-0 success against Zimbabwe (112th), courtesy of a goal by Anwar Sidali Shakunda. The result was the Ocean Stars’ first win in a World Cup qualifying campaign.
Prior to that excitement, the day had kicked off with a first-ever World Cup encounter between Seychelles and Rwanda. The Rwandans’ resounding 3-0 away victory brought an undesirable eight-match winless streak in qualifiers to an end. Ahead of Tuesday’s return leg in Kigali, the challenge facing The Pirates, who have yet to record a qualifying win in 14 attempts (12 losses, two draws), appears daunting.
Sudan, meanwhile, lived up to their status of pre-match favourites against Chad – they had won four of the six previous matches between the countries – by disposing of their western neighbours 3-1 away from home, Ramadan Agab’s impressive hat-trick doing the damage.
Results:
Seychelles 0-3 Rwanda
Chad 1-3 Sudan
Somalia 1-0 Zimbabwe
Up next
Friday 6 September
Gambia-Angola: will be streamed live on FIFA.com and FIFA on YouTube Comoros-Togo: will be streamed live on FIFA.com and FIFA on YouTube
Follow the action LIVE on FIFA.com and YouTube
FIFA’s digital platforms offer football fans the ideal place to follow the African qualifying campaign for the 2022 World Cup: from 4 to 10 September, all of the matches in the first round will be streamed live. The 28 games will be available live and via highlights packages. Follow all the first-round action on FIFA.com and FIFA on YouTube.