Morocco made history on Friday, becoming the first African side to qualify for the 2026 World Cup in North America. They secured their spot with a 5-0 thrashing of Niger in Rabat.

This dominant win gave Morocco an unassailable lead in Group E, with two matches to spare.

Tanzania's 1-1 draw against Republic of Congo in Brazzaville earlier in the day paved the way for Morocco's qualification.

Morocco's qualification has set the tone for the African qualifiers, and other teams will be looking to follow in their footsteps, with Nigeria playing against Rwanda on Saturday.

With several teams still in contention, the road to the World Cup in North America is shaping up to be an exciting and unpredictable journey.

Other matches played

In other matches played on Friday, Burkina Faso strengthened their position with a comprehensive 5-0 win over Djibouti.

Despite going down to 10 men early in the game, Burkina Faso took the lead through Cyriaque Irie and never looked back.

Egypt also took a significant step towards World Cup qualification, beating Ethiopia 2-0 in Cairo.

Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush scored penalties in the first half to put the Pharaohs in command.

DRC made light work of South Sudan, winning 4-1 in Juba. Cedrick Bakambu and Yoane Wissa scored for the Leopards, who are now top of their group.

Senegal secured a 2-0 win over Sudan. Kalidou Koulibaly and Pape Matar Sarr scored for the Lions of Teranga.