Tunisia pull ahead in 2026 Fifa World Cup race 

Tunisia pulled four points clear of Namibia in their battle for a 2026 World Cup berth after two contrasting performances on Monday. 

In Johannesburg, Namibia were held to a 1-1 draw by Equatorial Guinea in a match that they could well have won, while in Rades, the home side were rather fortunate to get three points after finally overcoming 10-man Malawi in the dying minutes of the game. 

Namibia gave a slick performance performance against Equatorial Guinea, creating several scoring opportunities in the first half. 

Peter Shalulile stabbed a Deon Hotto cross narrowly wide of the target and Hotto himself shot straight at Equatorial Guinea’s keeper, Jesus Owono who once again came to their rescue when he tipped a powerful Joslin Kamatuka header over the bar. 

Namibia took the lead five minutes after the break when Shalulile stabbed in a Hotto cross, but Equatorial Guinea equalised barely three minutes later when Edward Maova could only parry a freekick away which was stabbed home by Saul Coco. 

Equatorial Guinea had a great chance to take the lead with 15 minutes to go when Basilio Ndong sent in a dangerous cross but Emilio Nsue’s shot went narrowly wide of the goals. 

Both sides pushed hard for the winner in the final stages but in the end they had to settle for a draw which didn’t help either’s cause much, especially since Tunisia later pulled four points clear after a belated 2-0 victory against Malawi. 

Malawi missed a great chance to take the lead when Lloyd Njaliwa’s header hit the crossbar just before halftime, and their woes deepened when Lloyd Aaron was sent off for a foul midway through the second half. 

Malawi defended bravely but Tunisia finally took the lead when Seiffeddine Jaziri headed in a cross by Elias Achouri, who stretched their lead to 2-0 with a penalty in injury time.

With six of ten rounds now completed, Tunisia have moved up to 16 points at the top of Group H, followed by Namibia on 12 points and Liberia on 10, while Equatorial Guinea are fourth on seven points. 

Namibia coach Collin Benjamin said they deserved to win. 

“I think we could keep and protect the ball, and we created good chances in the first half and when we went into the halftime break we were emotionally in a good space,” he said. 

“In the 50th minute we took a deserved lead, but three minutes later, there was a bit of disorganisation, and they scored their goal, but even after that I think we were still in control and we were still the better team. So we take this draw, but deep down, I think we could have had those three points,” he added. 

“In the end it’s football and they are also a good team and for us to have measured ourselves against them and boldly come out of it gives us hope going forward,” he said. 

Benjamin congratulated his team on a fine performance. 

“If you look at how we were playing today, we controlled the match. Our transitions, when we lost the ball, we were back in numbers, attacking the second balls and getting it, and creating chances. The team is alive, the team is motivated and I think it is really one of the best matches that we have had in a long while, so I just want to congratulate my team for that. I’m really proud of them, and I just hope they all stay injury free, so that we can come back in the next round and fight to get more points.”

Shalulile’s goal was his first for Namibia in close to two years, but Benjamin responding to a question said that the Namibian brought much more value to the team. 

“The value that Peter Shalulile brings to the team is immense. He’s an absolute professional, an absolute patriotic leader on and off the field. He’s the first one that carries bags onto the bus from the airport, and all of these things off the field that he does, it’s par excellence,” he said. 

“The last game we played against Malawi, our goal came from an assist from him, so his value is much more than just to score goals. With Peter on the field, the opponents know they have to be careful and that’s already an advantage so that Prins (Tjiueza) or Joslin (Kamatuka) or whoever is in that position can then play off him. Peter Shalulile is a proud Namibian, and we’re very happy to have him and we wish him all the best,” he said.