Mauritania & Namibia suffer defeats in WC qualifiers

by Staff Reporter

Wednesday Nov 15, 2023. 23:00

With the Africa 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in full swing, Mauritania and Namibia commenced their bid to feature in the popular showpiece with defeats in their respective group stage openers.

In taking to Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Equatorial Guinea hosted Namibia in their Group H encounter, picking up a narrow 1-0 victory in the process.

In a tightly contested affair, Emilio Nsue’s 67th minute strike was enough to separate the two teams on the day.

Then, DR Congo claimed a hard-fought 2-0 win over Mauritania at Stade des Martyrs in their Group B matchup.

With the two sides deadlocked until the hour mark, Brentford winger Yoane Wissa popped up to give his nation the lead in the 62nd minute. DR Congo then scored their assurance goal in the 81st minute, as Theo Bongonda joined Wissa on the scoresheet.

Elsewhere, Zimbabwe marked their return to competitive football this week, following their 0-0 stalemate with Rwanda at the Huye Stadium.

Amavubi looked lively throughout the encounter, while the Warriors struggled to kick into gear in their Group C fixture.

Also, Ethiopia and Sierra Leone got their Group A qualifying campaign off with a 0-0 draw at Stade El Abdi.

With the game interrupted on a couple of occasions due to a heavy layer of fog hovering over the pitch, the officials decided to implement a lengthy stoppage time period.

Nonetheless, neither side were able to make the most of the extra time awarded at the end of the 90 minutes.

Results, Wednesday, 15 November

Rwanda 0-0 Zimbabwe

Equatorial Guinea 1-0 Namibia

DR Congo 2-0 Mauritania

Ethiopia 0-0 Sierra Leone