JOHANNESBURG: Hakim Ziyech scored from a 40-metre drive as shock 2022 World Cup semi-finalists Morocco beat 10-man Tanzania 2-0 on Tuesday when they began their campaign to qualify for the next finals but Ghana and South Africa both suffered embarrassing defeats while top contenders Cameroon, Guinea, Senegal and Zambia also found it tough on the road as they all dropped points.

On a busy day of 15 matches across the continent, there were also wins for Burkina Faso, the Cape Verde Islands, Namibia, Tunisia and Uganda. But it was the Comoros, with a population of around a million, and Rwanda, ranked 140 in world football, who tore up the form book in beating Ghana and South Africa respectively.

Ghana’s loss in Moroni was a harsh reminder of their humiliation almost two years ago when the Indian Ocean islanders beat them at the African Cup of Nations finals in Cameroon to send then home early. French-born attacker Myziane Maolida scored the game’s only goal this time, his second in successive matches.

Maolida took possession close to the centre circle, dribbled past several opponents and beat goalkeeper Richard Ofori with a shot from inside the box, giving Comoros first place in Group ‘I’ with six points, two more than top seeds Mali. Losing will intensify the pressure on Ghana coach and former Premier League manager Chris Hughton after three defeats in four matches.

Earlier South Africa were beaten 2-0 in Rwanda on a water-soaked pitch in Butare as a 12th-minute opener from Innocent Nshuti was followed by a second for Gilbert Mugisha 14 minutes later. It was Rwandas first victory in their last 11 home matches and took them top of Group ‘C’, where they lead not only South Africa but also Nigeria and Zimbabwe.

Galatasaray winger Ziyech struck 28 minutes into the qualifier in Dar es Salaam and Tanzania fell further behind when Lusajo Mwaikenda conceded an own goal eight minutes after half-time. Tanzania, who are ranked 108 places below Morocco, were reduced to 10 men midway through the second half after Novatus Miroshi was red-carded following a second caution.

While Morocco made a winning start in Group ‘E’ after receiving a first round bye last week when Eritrea withdrew, Zambia suffered a surprise 2-1 loss to Niger in the same section. It was the first competitive defeat for former Chelsea and West Ham United manager Avram Grant since taking charge of Zambia last December.

In Group ‘D’, Cameroon were held to a 1-1 draw by hosts Libya while Mauritius drew 0-0 at home with Angola but Cape Verde won 2-0 away at Eswatini. Cameroon top the group on goal difference from Cape Verde and Libya with each country collecting four points from two outings.

Senegal, who have qualified for the last two World Cups, regained first place in Group ‘B’, but only on goal difference from Sudan after being held 0-0 by Togo in Lome. Both have four points, one more than the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Tunisias captain Youssef Msakni converted a penalty two minutes from time to secure a 1-0 away win over Malawi in Lilongwe and make it two wins out of two in Group ‘H’ where Namibia picked up their first points by beating Sao Tome e Principe 2-0.

Burkina Faso rose to second in Group ‘A’ behind Egypt after a 3-0 win over Ethiopia with Aston Villa forward Bertrand Traore coming off the bench to score the second goal from a penalty.

Serhou Guirassy, who has scored 15 goals for Bundesliga outfit Stuttgart this season, failed to find the net for Guinea, who lost 1-0 away to Botswana in Group ‘G’, where Uganda also picked up points by beating Somalia 1-0 after scoring early through Rogers Mato.

The next round of African qualifiers will be played in June, with the continent now turning its focus to January’s Cup of Nations finals in the Ivory Coast.

The nine group winners are guaranteed places at the 2026 finals, which will feature a record 48 teams in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

There is the possibility of a 10th African qualifier as the four best-ranked runners-up enter play-offs and the winners go to an inter-continental tournament with two places up for grabs.

Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2023