2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Group I

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The 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Group I was a CAF qualifying group for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The group contained Mali, Ghana, Madagascar, Central African Republic, Comoros and Chad.

The group winners, Ghana, directly qualified for the World Cup. The group runners-up, Madagascar, were eliminated as one of the five worst runners-up.[1][2]

Standings

[edit]
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Ghana Madagascar Mali Comoros Central African Republic Chad
1  Ghana 10 8 1 1 23 6 +17 25 2026 FIFA World Cup — 1–0 1–0 1–0 4–3 5–0
2  Madagascar 10 6 1 3 17 12 +5 19 0–3 — 0–0 2–1 2–0 3–1
3  Mali 10 5 3 2 17 6 +11 18 1–2 4–1 — 3–0 1–1 3–1
4  Comoros 10 5 0 5 12 13 −1 15 1–0 1–2 0–3 — 4–2 1–0
5  Central African Republic 10 2 2 6 11 24 −13 8 0–5 1–4 0–0 0–2 — 1–0
6  Chad 10 0 1 9 5 24 −19 1 1–1 0–3 0–2 0–2 2–3 —
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Matches

[edit]
Comoros 4–2 Central African Republic
 Report
Referee: Ibrahim Kalilou Traore (Ivory Coast)
Ghana 1–0 Madagascar
 Report
Attendance: 45,000
Referee: Samir Guezzaz (Morocco)
Mali 3–1 Chad
 Report
Referee: Ahmad Imtehaz Heeralall (Mauritius)
Chad 0–3 Madagascar
Report
Honor Stadium, Oujda (Morocco)
Attendance: 3,000
Referee: Tewodros Mitiku (Ethiopia)
Mali 1–1 Central African Republic
 Report
Attendance: 30,000
Referee: Georges Gatogato (Burundi)
Comoros 1–0 Ghana
 Report
Attendance: 11,628
Referee: Abdel Aziz Mohamed Bouh (Mauritania)
Central African Republic 1–0 Chad
 Report
Honor Stadium, Oujda (Morocco)
Attendance: 1,300
Referee: Patrice Milazare (Mauritius)
Mali 1–2 Ghana
 Report
Attendance: 50,200
Referee: Amin Omar (Egypt)
Madagascar 2–1 Comoros
 Report
FNB Stadium, Johannesburg (South Africa)
Referee: Jean-Jacques Ndala Ngambo (DR Congo)
Ghana 4–3 Central African Republic
 Report
Attendance: 39,000
Referee: Abdulrazg Ahmed (Libya)
Madagascar 0–0 Mali
Report
FNB Stadium, Johannesburg (South Africa)
Referee: Patrice Tanguy Mebiame (Gabon)
Chad 0–2 Comoros
Report
Honor Stadium, Oujda (Morocco)
Attendance: 400
Referee: Adalbert Diouf (Senegal)
Central African Republic 1–4 Madagascar
 Report
Attendance: 300
Referee: Adalbert Diouf (Senegal)
Comoros 0–3 Mali
Report
Referee: Mahmood Ali Mahmood Ismail (Sudan)
Ghana 5–0 Chad
 Report
Referee: Ahmed Abdulrazg (Libya)
Central African Republic 0–0 Mali
Report
Attendance: 1,600
Referee: Godfrey Nkhakananga (Malawi)
Madagascar 0–3 Ghana
Report
Referee: Issa Sy (Senegal)
Comoros 1–0 Chad
 Report
Referee: Akaté Gnama (Togo)
Chad 1–1 Ghana
 Report
Referee: Celso Alvação (Mozambique)
Madagascar 2–0 Central African Republic
 Report
Attendance: 450
Referee: Ahmed Arajiga (Tanzania)
Mali 3–0 Comoros
 Report
Referee: Jalal Jayed (Morocco)
Central African Republic 0–2 Comoros
Report M'Changama 20'
Maolida 39'
Attendance: 300
Referee: Naim Hosni (Tunisia)
Madagascar 3–1 Chad
 Report
Attendance: 1,200
Referee: Fabricio Duarte (Cape Verde)
Ghana 1–0 Mali
 Report
Referee: Luxolo Badi (South Africa)
Chad 0–2 Mali
Report
Referee: Lebalang Mokete (Lesotho)
Central African Republic 0–5 Ghana
Report
Attendance: 200
Referee: Patrice Milazare (Mauritius)
Comoros 1–2 Madagascar
 Report
Attendance: 567
Referee: Samir Guezzaz (Morocco)
Chad 2–3 Central African Republic
 Report
Referee: Celso Alvação (Mozambique)
Ghana 1–0 Comoros
 Report
Attendance: 38,000
Referee: Pierre Atcho (Gabon)
Mali 4–1 Madagascar
 Report
Attendance: 3,000
Referee: Georges Gatogato (Burundi)

Goalscorers

[edit]

There were 85 goals scored in 30 matches, for an average of 2.83 goals per match.

8 goals

7 goals

5 goals

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

Discipline

[edit]

A player was automatically suspended for the next match for the following infractions:[3]

  • Receiving a red card (red card suspensions could be extended for serious infractions)
  • Receiving two yellow cards in two different matches (yellow card suspensions were carried forward to further qualification rounds, but not the finals or any other future international matches)

The following suspensions were served during the group stage:

Team Player Infraction(s) Suspended for match(es)
 Central African Republic Louis Mafouta Yellow card vs Ghana (10 June 2024)
Yellow card vs Mali (24 March 2025)		 vs Madagascar (4 September 2025)
Karl Namnganda Yellow card vs Comoros (17 November 2023)
Yellow card vs Ghana (10 June 2024)		 vs Madagascar (19 March 2025)
Brad Pirioua Yellow card vs Mali (20 November 2023)
Yellow card vs Ghana (10 June 2024)		 vs Madagascar (19 March 2025)
 Comoros Kassim M'Dahoma Yellow card vs Madagascar (7 June 2024)
Yellow card vs Mali (20 March 2025)		 vs Chad (25 March 2025)
 Ghana Elisha Owusu Yellow card vs Mali (6 June 2024)
Yellow card vs Chad (4 September 2025)		 vs Mali (8 September 2025)
 Madagascar Ibrahim Amada Yellow card vs Comoros (7 June 2024)
Yellow card vs Mali (11 June 2024)		 vs Central African Republic (19 March 2025)
Louis Démoléon Red card vs Mali (11 June 2024) vs Central African Republic (19 March 2025)
Radoniaina Rabemanantsoa Yellow card vs Comoros (7 June 2024)
Yellow card vs Central African Republic (19 March 2025)		 vs Ghana (24 March 2025)

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "CAF Executive Committee approves FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers calendar and announces TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations Côte d'Ivoire 2023 Final Draw date". CAF Online. CAF. 19 May 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  2. ^ "CAF reveals new format for 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers". CAF Online. CAF. 19 May 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  3. ^ "Regulations: FIFA World Cup 2026 Preliminary Competition" (PDF). FIFA. June 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
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