Ghana defeated Comoros 1-0 in Accra on Sunday to top Group I and advance to the 2026 World Cup as the fifth African nation to qualify, behind Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia. Mohammed Kudus scored the game’s winning goal.
Supported by a crowd of 40,000, Ghana controlled the first half’s territory and possession, but Comoros goalkeeper Adel Anzimati-Aboudou was rarely threatened by plodding, predictable attacks.
However, Tottenham midfielder Kudus gave the home team the lead on 47 minutes, so they didn’t waste much time after the break.
Kudus put the ball into the net from point-blank range after Comoros only half cleared a goalmouth scramble. The ball was crossed low into the six-yard box.
Success against Comoros was particularly sweet as the Indian Ocean islanders shocked Ghana at the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and beat them again in the second round of World Cup qualifying two years ago.
Ghana top the group with 25 points from 10 matches. Madagascar finished second with 19 points despite a 4-1 loss to third-placed Mali in Bamako.
It will be the fifth appearance by the Black Stars in the global showpiece. Their best performance was in 2010 in South Africa, where they lost to Uruguay after a quarter-finals penalty shootout.
Qualification for the expanded 48-nation 2026 tournament, which the United States, Canada and Mexico will co-host, justified the faith of Ghanaian officials in coach Otto Addo, who was under fire last year.
Following a catastrophic 2025 AFCON qualifying campaign, the populace and media in the west African nation repeatedly demanded that Addo be fired.
Ghana, who won the competition four times between 1963 and 1982, finished in a dismal last place with just three points, behind Angola, Sudan, and Niger. They failed to win any of the six AFCON qualifiers.
Benin, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, and Senegal are the group leaders and will select the other four automatic African qualifiers for the World Cup on Monday and Tuesday.
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