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The national teams of Tunisia and Libya began their journey in the African qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup with two victories, as Tunisia won 4-0 over Sao Tome and Principe in the eighth group, and Libya won away from its stadium over Eswatini 1-0 in the fourth group, today, Friday.
Tunisia topped the group with three points and was ahead on goal difference over Malawi, which beat Liberia 1-0 away from home, and Equatorial Guinea, which beat Namibia with the same score.
Yassine Meriah waited until the 37th minute to put Tunisia in the lead when he received a cross pass from a corner kick executed by Naim Al-Saliti and shot it powerfully from inside the penalty area to the right of the visitors’ goalkeeper.
Captain Youssef Msakni made the score 2-0 in the 52nd minute with a powerful shot from close range after a perfect low pass from Al-Seliti.
Hamza Rafia scored the third goal in the 78th minute with a low shot after a pass from Ali Al-Abdi.
Firas Balarabi cooperated with Al-Abidi before completing the home team’s four-man win in the 89th minute with a shot that surprised the Sao Tome goalkeeper.
Coach Jalal Al Qadri’s team will play away from home next Tuesday against Malawi.
Msakni’s teammates did not take advantage of the opponent’s defensive errors in the first half hour.
The Nigerian referee canceled a goal for Tunisia due to a violation against the Sao Tome goalkeeper, before preventing Al-Saliti from scoring a goal near the end of the first half.
Tunisia is preparing to participate in the African Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast early next year, where it will play in Group E, alongside Mali, South Africa, and Namibia.
🔚 Tunisia’s national team beats Saotome with a clean 4-0 ⚽️
Watch the goals⬇️
#TunisiaSaotome
#AfricaQualifiers | #SSC pic.twitter.com/JRGV9taKYr– Saudi Sports Company SSC (@ssc_sports) November 17, 2023
Libya wins outside its stadium
The Libyan national team opened its campaign in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers with an away victory over Eswatini 1-0 in the first match for its new Serbian coach, Milutin Sredojevic “Micho”.
Striker Ahmed Karaoua, player of Al Ahly Tripoli, scored the only goal of the match in the 53rd minute after receiving a wonderful through pass from substitute Taha Al-Shalawi, which Karaoua received brilliantly and shot the ball into the roof of the goal from close range.
The Libyan national team leads Group D with three points, two points ahead of Angola and Cape Verde, while the matches of the first round of the group will conclude later today with a match between Cameroon and Mauritius.
Cape Verde tied 0-0 at home with Angola in the opening of the group matches yesterday, Thursday.
Libya will host Cameroon next Tuesday in the second round of qualifiers, while Eswatini will play with Cape Verde on the same day.
The 54 teams participating in the continental qualifiers are divided into 9 groups, and the winner of each group guarantees a seat in the finals.
The four best second-place teams will participate in playoff matches to determine one team that will advance to a new world championship in the qualifiers, where one team from each continent will participate in a mini-tournament to determine the final two places in the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
