The Mozambican national soccer team has dropped out of the list of the four best second-placed teams among the nine groups in the African Qualifying Zone for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the final phase of which will be co-hosted by the United States of America, Mexico and Canada, after the conclusion of the sixth round of matches.

According to a Challenge newspaperThis is the consequence of the heavy defeat suffered on Wednesday against Algeria (5-1), in the sixth match of Group "G", which meant that the lead shared with the "Desert Foxes" slipped away, now isolated at the top of the standings with 15 points.

"This means that if the qualifying phase had come to an end, the Mambas would have missed out on the play-off that would have kept alive the possibility of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup," says the same publication.

At the end of the first round, Mozambique was in second place among the four best runners-up. Only Gabon was ahead of them, also with 12 points, but with a better goal difference, having scored five goals, as a result of 10 goals scored and five conceded. In third and fourth place among the best runners-up were Namibia (11) and Madagascar (10), in groups "H" and "I" respectively.

It should be noted that, while the winners of the nine CAF groups qualify directly for the World Cup, the four best runners-up will play a play-off from which the winner will qualify for another play-off, in which they will face representatives from five confederations. Ultimately, the winner of this second play-off will become the 48th and final team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

(Photo DR)