Sports
Algeria seal world cup spot with 3-0 win over Somalia
Mohamed Amoura netted two goals as Algeria secured a 3-0 victory over Somalia on Thursday, earning their place as the fourth African team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, joining Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt.
The Wolfsburg forward opened the scoring in the sixth minute, volleying in a cross from Riyad Mahrez, who later scored himself by capitalizing on a loose ball in the first half.
Mahrez provided another assist in the 57th minute, setting up Amoura for Algeria’s third goal.
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Convinced of the team’s qualification, coach Vladimir Petkovic substituted both players shortly after.
The match in Oran was a predictable result, with Algeria, ranked 163 places above Somalia in the FIFA world rankings, dominating the game.
In Group G, Algeria lead with 22 points, four ahead of Uganda, with Mozambique, Guinea, Botswana, and Somalia trailing behind as the group nears its final round.
Much of the pre-match attention focused on Luca Zidane, son of French football icon Zinedine Zidane, who recently switched his international allegiance to Algeria.
The Granada goalkeeper, who previously played for France at youth levels, was eligible to represent Algeria due to his paternal grandparents’ Algerian heritage.
Named as a substitute by coach Vladimir Petkovic, Luca Zidane watched from the bench as Alexis Guendouz of Mouloudia Alger started in goal.
Algeria’s qualification marks their fifth World Cup appearance, set for the 2026 tournament hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Their previous World Cup outings in 1982, 1986, and 2010 ended in first-round exits, but in 2014, they advanced to the second round in Brazil, narrowly losing 2-1 to Germany, the eventual champions.
n another match, Ryan Ogam scored in the 73rd minute to give Kenya a 1-0 win over Burundi in a heated East African derby in Bujumbura, where Burundi played with 10 men for most of the game.
Burundi’s Bonfils-Caleb Bimenyimana was sent off early for a foul on Kenya’s goalkeeper Brian Okoth, who was injured and replaced by Bryne Odhiambo.
The incident led to a tense first half, with Burundian players surrounding the referee after a studs-up foul by Kenya’s Manzur Suleiman, demanding a red card instead of the issued yellow.
Despite their advantage, Kenya struggled to create chances until Jonathan Nahimana’s brilliant save in first-half stoppage time denied a long-range effort.
Ogam’s goal eventually broke Burundi’s resistance, boosting Kenya’s Harambee Stars to third in Group F, eight points behind leaders Ivory Coast.
In Group F, Ivory Coast and Gabon have been dominant, separated by just one point as they approach their second-to-last matches on Friday.
Ivory Coast face Seychelles in Mauritius, as Seychelles lack a FIFA-approved stadium, while Gabon take on Gambia in Nairobi, another nation without an international-standard venue.
A win for Ivory Coast and a loss for Gabon would secure Ivory Coast’s fourth World Cup appearance, their first since 2014.
On Friday, nine qualification matches are scheduled, including three in Group C, where Benin, South Africa, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Lesotho all remain in contention for the top spot.
Benin lead South Africa on goal difference, with both teams three points ahead of Nigeria and Rwanda, while Lesotho trail by five points.
Lesotho’s campaign was boosted when a 2-0 loss to South Africa in March was overturned by FIFA to a 3-0 win due to South Africa fielding an ineligible player, Teboho Mokoena.
Senegal has announced that it is heading upstairs with an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport the after as Les Lions de la Téranga (The Lions of Teranga), its national team was stripped of the Africa Cup of Nations title on Tuesday.
Established in 1984, the CAS, an independent organisation that resolves sports disputes worldwide has tailored procedural rules to render impartial decisions through arbitration and mediation, while bodies and athletes assign it the judicial authority to uphold an equal and just application of sporting regulations.
“The Senegalese Football Federation condemns this unjust, unprecedented and unacceptable decision, which brings African football into disrepute.
“To defend its rights and the interests of Senegalese football, the federation will, as soon as possible, file an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne,” a statement from the West African country, said hours after the CAF hammer fell on it for the behaviour of the team, which the confederation considered abandonment of the game in the AFCON 2025 finals.
Several Senegalese players controversially walked off the pitch in Rabat during the final on January 18 in protest when the hosts were awarded a penalty late in second-half stoppage time.
After Senegal’s players eventually returned having been coaxed back onto the pitch by captain Sadio Mane, Morocco missed the penalty and Pape Gueye went on to score the goal in extra time that gave his team a 1-0 victory.
CAF said that having studied Morocco’s appeal, “the Senegal national team is declared to have forfeited the match” and the result was “officially recorded as 3-0” in favour of Morocco.
The CAF Appeals Committee justified its decision by applying Articles 82 and 84 of the AFCON Regulations, which state that if a team “refuses to play or leaves the ground before the regular end of the match without the authorisation of the referee, it shall be considered (loser) and shall be eliminated for good from the current competition while losing its match by 3-0.
The Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) said in a statement its appeal was never intended to contest the sporting performance of the teams participating in this competition, but solely to request the application of the competition regulations.
It added: “The Federation reaffirms its commitment to respecting the rules, to the clarity of the competitive framework, and to the stability of African competitions.”
Vowing to appeal “as soon as possible” to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Senegal’s football body, stated: “The Senegalese Football Federation condemns this unjust, unprecedented and unacceptable decision, which brings African football into disrepute.”
Minutes before the end of the match, some Senegalese supporters attempted a pitch invasion, while Senegal’s players halted the game for nearly 20 minutes to protest the late penalty awarded to Morocco.
The controversial spot-kick was awarded by Congolese referee Jean-Jacques Ndala right at the end of the allotted eight added minutes in normal time following a VAR check for a challenge on Brahim Diaz by El Hadji Malick Diouf.
The game was goalless at the time and Diaz could have won the trophy for Morocco with the spot-kick in the 24th minute of added time at the end of normal time.
But Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy easily saved the weak attempted ‘Panenka’ chip by the Real Madrid winger, who was clearly distracted by the long delay that followed the penalty award.
The game at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium then went to extra time, and Gueye’s brilliant 94th-minute strike won it for Senegal.
Several of the team’s players posted on social media after the announcement that they had been stripped of the title.
Defender Moussa Niakhate, who plays for French club Lyon, posted a picture of himself lifting the Africa Cup of Nations trophy with a message that said “they’re mad”, in an apparent reference to CAF.
In the immediate aftermath of the final, FIFA president Gianni Infantino had condemned “some Senegal players” for the “unacceptable scenes”.
“It is unacceptable to leave the field of play in this manner, and equally, violence cannot be tolerated in our sport, it is simply not right,” Infantino, who attended the match, said.
In late January, CAF imposed a series of disciplinary sanctions, including fines amounting to several hundred thousand euros, on the federations of both countries for unsportsmanlike conduct and violations of fair play principles.
The appeal trial of 18 Senegalese supporters, imprisoned since the final and sentenced to prison terms ranging from three months to one year for “hooliganism,” which was scheduled to take place on Monday, has been postponed until March 30.
For leaving the football pitch during the finals of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), the Confederation of African Football Associations (CAF), has stripped Senegal of the title and awarded it officially to Morocco, the silver medalists.
The decision, which also came with 3-0 award to the host nation, over the controversial outing, is a punishment for the West African side for abandoning the match, which nearly marred the historic event.
The decision overturns an earlier ruling by the CAF Disciplinary Board and follows an appeal lodged by the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football (FRMF) regarding incidents during the final.
CAF confirmed that Senegal’s conduct during the match fell under Articles 82 and 84 of the AFCON regulations, resulting in the forfeiture. The Appeal Board further determined that the Fédération Sénégalaise de Football (FSF) breached Article 82 through the actions of its team, validating Morocco’s protest and formally declaring them winners.
It also came with Moroccan player Ismaël Saibari who was found guilty of misconduct, having his punishment reduced to a two-match suspension (one suspended), and a previously imposed $100,000 fine was cancelled, in a separate ruling.
CAF, which also addressed off-field incidents involving Morocco, held its federation responsible for the conduct of ball boys, with the associated fine reduced to $50,000, while a $100,000 fine for interference around the VAR review area was upheld, and a sanction related to a laser incident was reduced to $10,000.
All other motions in the case were dismissed, bringing a conclusive end to proceedings surrounding one of the most contentious finals in AFCON history.
The ruling concludes a prolonged dispute that had cast uncertainty over the outcome of the tournament and reinforces CAF’s enforcement of competition regulations in high-stakes matches.
Nigerians woke up on Saturday to the news of the death of Henry Nwosu, one of the most iconic footballers ever to lace his boots for the national team – Green Eagles, now the Super Eagles.
The Imo State-born footballer reportedly passed on, on Saturday morning, Segun Odegbami his former teammate and fellow 1980 Africa Cup of Nations winner, disclosed in a Facebook post hours after the development.
Odegbami said Nwosu died at about 4:00 a.m. at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, where he had been receiving treatment in the intensive care unit since Wednesday.
“After five days in hospital battling for his life, the one I call ‘Youngest Millionaire’ passed on at 4:00 a.m. this morning at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital in Ikeja, Lagos,” Odegbami wrote.
“It is with deep pain in my heart that I have to be the conveyor of the news of the death of Henry Nwosu MON. May he rest peacefully with our Creator in Heaven.”
Nwosu was the youngest member of Nigeria’s squad that won the 1980 Africa Cup of Nations, when the then Green Eagles claimed the country’s first continental title on home soil.
His death comes days after Nigerian football lost another notable figure, former Super Eagles coach Adegboye Onigbinde, who led Nigeria to the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Onigbinde died on March 9 at the age of 88.
Both Nwosu and Onigbinde were key players in the Green Eagles set-up of the 1980s. Onigbinde served as coach of the national team between 1982 and 1984.
At club level, Nwosu played for several Nigerian sides, including New Nigeria Bank F.C. and Stationery Stores F.C. and at the end of active football, the ex-international, moved into coaching and youth development.
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