African 2026 World Cup qualifying facts and figures
Shock 2022 World Cup semi-finalists Morocco have the only perfect record, winning all seven matches in a group reduced to five teams by the withdrawal of Eritrea. Tunisia have won seven of eight matches.
For the African qualifiers, the leading individual scorer is Los Angeles-based Gabon striker Denis Bouanga with eight goals. (AFP)
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JOHANNESBURG - Facts and figures from 2026 World Cup qualifying in Africa ahead of final two matchdays, starting on Wednesday:
▪️ There have been 80 goals scored in Group F, followed by Groups A and I with 64 each. The leading individual scorer is Los Angeles-based Gabon striker Denis Bouanga with eight goals.
▪️ Morocco are the leading scorers among the 53 participating nations with 21 goals. Ayoub el Kaabi from Greek giants Olympiacos has claimed four and Netherlands-based Ismael Saibari three.
▪️ Reigning African champions the Ivory Coast and Tunisia boast the best defences, with both nations keeping clean sheets in all eight qualifiers.
▪️ Shock 2022 World Cup semi-finalists Morocco have the only perfect record, winning all seven matches in a group reduced to five teams by the withdrawal of Eritrea. Tunisia have won seven of eight matches.
▪️ Nigeria have drawn five matches -- the most of any contenders -- while Angola, Guinea-Bissau, South Sudan, Togo and Zimbabwe have each shared the points four times.
▪️ Of the nine group top seeds, Morocco and Tunisia have already qualified, and Egypt, Senegal, Ivory Coast and Algeria lead other mini-leagues. Fourth-placed Mali are the worst off.
▪️ Island nations the Seychelles and Sao Tome e Principe are seeking their first points after eight consecutive losses each. The Seychellois have scored just two goals and conceded 39.
▪️ Chad, Congo Brazzaville, Djibouti, Eswatini, Somalia, South Sudan, and Zimbabwe have secured points from draws, but none of them have won a qualifier.
▪️ The majority of qualifying matches have been competitive, with 48 drawn and 71 decided by one-goal margins. An exception was the Ivory Coast hammering the Seychelles 9-0 in Abidjan.
▪️ Groups G and I have delivered 13 home victories each, but only six matches in Group E were won by the hosts. Away teams have been most successful in Group H with 10 wins.
▪️ The most common scoreline from the 208 qualifiers so far is 1-0, with 43 matches producing that outcome. There have been 2-0 results 34 times, and 23 matches finished in 1-1 draws.