JOHANNESBURG: Gha­na’s Thomas Partey scored twice and Mohammed Kudus grabbed another as their side eased to a 3-0 win over Madagascar in a World Cup qualifier played in neutral Morocco on Monday to take a sizeable step towards a place at the tournament next year.

Ghana did not qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations finals in a surprise failure that stunned the continent, but they are well on course for a place at the 48-team World Cup which will be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Captain Jordan Ayew created all three goals to complete a successful night for Premier League players as Ghana built a five-point lead over second-placed Madag­ascar in Group ‘I’.

Ghana, seeking a fifth World Cup appearance, have 15 points, Madagascar 10, Mali and the Comoros nine each, the Central African Republic five and Chad none with four rounds to play.

The top team in each of the nine groups earns a place at the global event, while the four best runners-up enter an arduous inter-continental pla­y­off campaign for one further berth.

Arsenal midfielder Partey scored both goals with his head. He finished an Ayew free-kick on 11 minutes and a corner taken by the Leicester City veteran on 53 minutes.

West Ham United star Kudus completed the scoring on 58 minutes. He raced on to an Ayew pass and fired past Luxembourg-based goalkeeper Geordan Dupire.

Adding to the joy in the Ghana camp was the fact that Mali, the top seeds in the group, surprisingly dropped two points in a 0-0 draw with the Central African Republic in Casablanca, Morocco.

Ivory Coast striker Seba­stien Haller scored with a header from Simon Adingras cross as his side edged Gambia 1-0 in Abidjan to return to the top of Group ‘F’.

They are a point ahead of second-placed Gabon and have yet to concede a goal six games into their campaign.

Tunisia substitute Seifed­dine Jaziri netted a header after 87 minutes and Elias Achouri added an injury-time penalty to end the stubborn resistance of 10-man Malawi in a 2-0 win in Rades.

Tunisia head Group ‘H’ with 16 points from six games after Malawis Lloyd Aaron received a second yellow card after 64 minutes.

Second-placed Namibia are four points off the pace after being held to a 1-1 draw by Equatorial Guinea in neutral South Africa. Peter Shalulile gave the Namibians the lead after 51 minutes but Saul Coco equalised three minutes later.

Liberia beat minnows Sao Tome e Principe 2-1 in the other game in the pool.

Lassina Traore scored twice as Burkina Faso won 2-1 at Guinea-Bissau to keep the heat on Group ‘A’ leaders Egypt. The Burkinabe are within two points of the Egyptians but have played a game more.

Egypt have been African champions a record seven times, but qualified for the World Cup only twice. The Mohamed Salah-led Pharaohs have 13 points, Burkina Faso 11 and Sierra Leone eight.

After scoring just once in five qualifiers in the same group, Ethiopia ran riot against Djibouti to win 6-1 with Bereket Desta and Abubeker Nassir scoring hat-tricks in El Jadida.

Published in Dawn, March 26th, 2025