Algeria qualify for the World Cup with win over Somalia

QUALIFICATION: Algeria added their name to the list of World Cup qualifiers on Thursday, the fourth African team to book a berth at next year’s finals in North America, after a comfortable 3-0 win over Somalia. Picture: Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images

Algeria added their name to the list of World Cup qualifiers on Thursday, the fourth African team to book a berth at next year’s finals in North America, after a comfortable 3-0 win over Somalia.

Mohamed Amoura netted twice – taking his goals tally in the qualifying campaign to eight – while captain Riyad Mahrez also scored.

Victory for Algeria advanced them to an unassailable 22 points with one match still to play in Group G. It will be their fifth World Cup finals appearance but first since Brazil in 2014.

The top team in each of the nine African groups qualifies automatically for the finals in Canada, Mexico and the U.S., and Algeria join the already qualified Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt.

Amoura handed Algeria a seventh-minute lead when Mahrez’s cross was missed by striker Baghdad Bounedjah but found the Bundesliga-based forward unmarked at the back post to convert.

Mahrez then doubled the lead 12 minutes later with Amoura scoring his second, again from a Mahrez cross, in the 57th minute.

The fixture was a home game for Somalia, but because they do not have a suitable venue for international matches, it was hosted in Oran, handing Algeria the chance to celebrate qualification in front of a packed house at Stade Miloud Hadefi.

Uganda consolidated second spot in the group with a 1-0 victory in Botswana as Jude Ssemugabi netted early in the second half at Francistown.

They had been ahead of Mozambique on goal difference but are now three points clear after the Mozambicans lost at home to Guinea, for whom teenage striker Abdoul Karim Traore netted twice in their 2-1 win.

The 18-year-old opened the scoring in the second minute in Maputo and slammed home the winner in the 59th minute.

The four best runners-up across the nine groups will advance to a playoff in November for a possible additional slot for Africa at the 2026 World Cup.

Namibia’s chances of securing one of the playoff berths were handed a blow by a 3-1 loss away to Liberia, who scored two early goals in Monrovia through Ayouba Kosiah’s third-minute penalty and a ninth-minute strike from Sulahmana Bah.

Edward Ledlum made it 3-0 with nine minutes to go before Namibia netted a consolation goal.

Tunisia had already secured top spot in Group H last month with Namibia staying second on 15 points, one more than Liberia.

Malawi were supposed to host Equatorial Guinea, who failed to arrive for the clash in Blantyre and are likely to forfeit the points, keeping up Malawi’s chances of earning the runners-up slot.

Earlier on Thursday, Kenya won 1-0 away in Burundi, with substitute Ryan Ogam scoring a late winner in the Group F clash.

Burundi played with 10 men for all but the first five minutes of the match after striker Bonfils-Caleb Bimenyimana was sent off for a dangerous challenge on Kenya goalkeeper Brian Bwire, who was injured and had to be replaced.

A further nine qualifiers will be played around Africa on Friday, bringing the ninth round of matches to a close. The final round begins on Sunday with fixtures through until Tuesday.