Bryan Mbeumo of Manchester United in action during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Sunderland at Old Trafford on October 4, 2025 in Manchester, United Kingdom.placeholder image
Bryan Mbeumo of Manchester United in action during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Sunderland at Old Trafford on October 4, 2025 in Manchester, United Kingdom. | Manchester United via Getty Imag
The World Cup qualifiers in Africa got underway on Wednesday with Cameroon claiming a huge win to keep their hopes of qualifying alive
Manchester United midfielder Bryan Mbeumo scored a goal in second-half stoppage time as Cameroon beat Mauritius 2-0 away from home to keep their World Cup qualification hopes alive.
Cameroon are second in Group D, two points behind Cape Verde. They started Wednesday four points behind the group leaders with their qualification hopes out of their own hands.
However, a win in Mauritius and a 3-3 draw for Cape Verde in Libya reduced the gap between the nations to just two points ahead of the final matchday. Libya were 3-1 up against Cape Verde but the island nation scored twice in the final 15 minutes to rescue a point.
It means that Cape Verde are still in pole position to qualify if they can beat Eswatini on Monday while Cameroon host Angola. Eswatini have yet to win in World Cup qualifying and sit bottom of Group D while Angola are fourth with two wins from their nine games.
Bryan Mbeumo goal keeps Cameroon hopes alive
Mbeumo came off the bench in Cameroon’s win over Mauritius. Moumi Ngamaleu opened the scoring after 57 minutes with Mbeumo sealing all three points as he headed in a rebound after seeing his first-time volley saved by the goalkeeper.
The win means Cameroon can still secure their place at the 2026 World Cup if they beat Angola and Cape Verde fail to beat Eswatini. Cameroon have a better goal difference than Cape Verde while the sides have one win each over each other.
Cape Verde won the last meeting 1-0 when the sides met in September but Cameroon won 4-1 when the African nations faced off back in June 2024.
Andre Onana, who is on loan in the Turkish Super Lig, started and finished the game for Cameroon against Mauritius as he kept a clean sheet.
How Confederation of African Football World Cup qualifying works
At least nine African teams are guaranteed a spot at the World Cup in Canada, USA and Mexico with the qualifying process splitting the continent into nine groups of six teams who play each home and away.
Once the 10 games are completed, all the group winners will have secured their spots at the World Cup next summer. So far, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia have qualified. If Cameroon and Mbeumo do not finish top of the group, they can still reach the World Cup by qualifying for inter-confederation play-offs.
The four best group runners-up will go into the play-offs. Cameroon are currently among the best runners-up and a draw or win in Monday will keep them among the best second-placed sides.
The four best runners-up will then face each off in a semi-final and then final in November to determine the only CAF team to play in the inter-confederation play-offs. Two teams will qualify for the World Cup via the inter-confederation play-offs. It will involve one nation from AFC, CAF, CONMEBOL and OFC with two from CONCACAF.
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