Africa's qualifying competition for Qatar 2022 kicked off Wednesday
16 teams embarked on their FIFA World Cup journeys
Mozambique, Djibouti among five sides off to winning starts
Africa's path to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ began in earnest on Wednesday as the first round of qualifiers got under way across the continent.
The day featured eight match-ups, and with all but one decided by no more than a goal, there was plenty of drama. Perhaps the biggest surprise were Djibouti, who knocked off Eswatini 2-1 in Ville de Djibouti thanks to substitute Hamza Idleh's match-winner in the 74th minute. Seated at 195th in the most recent FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking, Julien Mette's charges exacted payback on their competition, who prevailed 8-1 during qualifiers for Russia 2018.
Meanwhile Namibia, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau and Liberia all put good feet forward by registering wins on the opening day, inching closer to second round berths.
Results:
📽️ Burundi 1-1 Tanzania Highlights
📽️ Ethiopia 0-0 Lesotho Highlights
📽️ Eritrea 1-2 Namibia Highlights
📽️ South Sudan 1-1 Equatorial Guinea Highlights
📽️ Mauritius 0-1 Mozambique Highlights
📽️ Djibouti 2-1 Eswatini Highlights
📽️ Sao Tome e Principe 0-1 Guinea-Bissau Highlights
📽️ Liberia 3-1 Sierra Leone Highlights
Watch LIVE on FIFA.com and YouTube
FIFA's digital platforms are giving fans a front row seat to CAF World Cup qualifiers with live streams of matches from Round 1, which run from 4-10 September. Matches will be available as live and with highlights. Keep up with the first round on FIFA.com and over at FIFA TV on YouTube.