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Mohamed Salah hit four goals as Egypt cruised to victory in their first qualifier for the 2026 Fifa World Cup but Nigeria were held to a 1-1 draw at home by minnows Lesotho.<\/p>\n
Motlomelo Mkwanazi gave Lesotho, ranked 153rd in the world \u2013 113 places below Nigeria \u2013 a shock lead with a 56th-minute goal from a corner.<\/p>\n
West Brom centre-back Semi Ajayi powerfully headed in Kelechi Iheanacho\u2019s corner to level 11 minutes later but the Super Eagles could not find a winner in their Group C opener in a rainy Uyo.<\/p>\n
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Jose Peseiro\u2019s side had dominated the first half but paid for their profligacy as Iheanacho saw a free-kick saved, Nottingham Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi failed to capitalise on a promising cut-back and Ademola Lookman had a low shot across goal turned away.<\/p>\n
Liverpool forward Salah starred as Egypt thrashed Djibouti 6-0 in Cairo while elsewhere there were wins for Algeria, Mozambique, Burundi and Gabon.<\/p>\n
Africa has a guaranteed nine qualifiers for the 2026 finals in Canada, Mexico and the United States, with all group winners booking a spot at the tournament.<\/p>\n
Egyptian king makes his mark<\/h3>\n
In a Group A match totally dominated by the hosts, Salah\u2019s first for\u00a0Egypt<\/strong>\u00a0came in the 17th minute after Mostafa Mohamed whipped in a cross from the left.<\/p>\n Five minutes later, Salah made it 2-0 from the penalty spot and he completed his hat-trick shortly after the break, pouncing on a ball from Ahmed El Fatouh.<\/p>\n With 20 minutes to go Salah bagged his fourth, with El Fatouh again the provider, and Mohamed added a fifth four minutes later.<\/p>\n Trezeguet completed the rout for the Pharaohs with a strike in the 89th minute inside the Cairo International Stadium.<\/p>\n In Group G,\u00a0Algeria<\/strong>\u00a0beat\u00a0Somalia<\/strong>\u00a03-1 at home after\u00a0Mozambique\u00a0<\/strong>won 3-2 away against\u00a0Botswana<\/strong>\u00a0earlier on Thursday.<\/p>\n A first-minute own goal set Algeria on their way in Baraki before Baghdad Bounedjah doubled the lead on the half-hour mark.<\/p>\n Issa Abatari pulled one back for Somalia with 25 minutes left but Islam Slimani made sure of the points for the North Africans in the 80th minute.<\/p>\n Gabon<\/strong>\u00a0came from behind to beat\u00a0Kenya<\/strong>\u00a02-1 in Group F thanks to an 88th-minute winner, with\u00a0Burundi<\/strong>\u00a0sealing a 3-2 \u2018home\u2019 win over\u00a0The Gambia<\/strong>\u00a0in a Group F match played in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.<\/p>\n And\u00a0Sudan<\/strong>\u00a0drew 1-1 against\u00a0Togo\u00a0<\/strong>in Benina, Libya, in Group B, which contains continental champions Senegal.<\/p>\n MK Dons forward Mo Eisa opened the scoring for the \u2018hosts\u2019 with a 17th-minute penalty before Kevin Denkey equalised for Togo just before the break.<\/p>\n In Thursday\u2019s late match,\u00a0Cape Verde<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Angola<\/strong>\u00a0drew 0-0 in their Group D opener in Praia.<\/p>\n Meanwhile,\u00a0Ethiopia\u00a0<\/strong>have filed a complaint with world governing body Fifa after their Group A opener against\u00a0Sierra Leone<\/strong>\u00a0on Wednesday evening was disrupted by dense fog.<\/p>\n The game was played in the Moroccan coastal city of El Jadida because Ethiopia do not have an international-standard venue.<\/p>\n The half-time break was extended and the referee stopped the game twice in the second half, with the match ending 0-0 after 15 minutes of stoppage time.<\/p>\n The qualifier \u201cshould have been postponed\u201d a statement from the Ethiopia Football Federation (EFF) said.<\/p>\n Ethiopia are set to host Burkina Faso back at the Stade El Abdi on Tuesday evening, and the EFF have asked Fifa to bring forward the kick-off from 20:00 local time (19:00 GMT) to avoid a repeat of foggy conditions.<\/p>\n Fifa has been contacted for comment.<\/p>\n <\/p>\nEthiopia complain about fog in Morocco<\/h3>\n
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