World Cup qualifiers: Cameroon beats Mauritius Island to keep dying dream alive.

Cabo Verde, the team’s lead rival in the battle for the pool’s lone automatic qualification ticket, dropped two points away in Libya.

The Indomitable Lions got both goals in the second segment through wingers Nicolas Moumi Ngamaleu and Bryan Mbeumo. 

Moumi Ngamaleu opened the scoring at the 57th minute before Manchester United star forward, Mbeumo completed the job in the second minute of additional time barely 30 minutes after coming in from the bench.

While the Lions were sweating to get the crucial second goal under the floodlights at the Cote d’Or National Sports Complex, goals continued raining up North in Libya. Group leaders, Cabo Verde scored two late goals to bounce back from 3-1 goals down to play out a 3all tie with Libya.

Following the last-minute push, the Cabo Verdeans improved their chances of making the 2026 global showpiece. But the side failed in its bid to complete the qualification job, a target that was expected to be achieved by grabbing all 3points against Libya. The result left the Indomitable Lions in full business in the battle for a qualification pass.

Lions’ chances fully intact 

Following yesterday’s result, the Indomitable Lions maintained their second position on the standing in Group D and also increased their point counts to 18points. 

The ranking and the point tally mean that the Lions will be able to directly qualify for next year’s World Cup tournament if they beat Angola in Yaounde next Monday in their 10th and final game, and Cabo Verde drops points.

Cabo Verde counts 20points, two points more than Cameroon. If Cameroon beats Angola on Monday, the Blue Sharks who are on the verge of becoming the second smallest country to ever reach the World Cup finals by making the 2026 tournament, will need to beat Eswatini in their last game next Monday.

Cameroon and Cabo Verde currently enjoy the two-horse race in the Group D qualifiers after yesterday’s results saw Libya and Angola almost completely bottling up their chances.

Following their home draw with Cabo Verde, Libya remained third on the standing. But with 15points in nine matches, the North Africans trail pool leaders Cabo Verde by five points and sits three points behind Cameroon heading to the last round of matches next Monday.

Angola consolidates fourth spot after playing out a 2-2 draw with Eswatini. The Black Antelopes count 11points and are already out of the race. 

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will take place in the United States of America, Canada and Mexico from July 11 to August 11 next year.

The tournament will assemble 48 nations from across the globe. The teams that will win the nine groups in the ongoing African zonal qualifiers will secure direct qualification ticket as the continent’s representatives.

The continent will have a chance to claim a 10th qualification ticket through the playoff series. The playoff series will flag off with the first round assembling the best four group runners from the nine pools in the ongoing group phase in Africa with the winner of the four-nation series to progress to the intercontinental playoff.

Cameroon is chasing an African record-extending nineth World Cup participation ticket. 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3589 of Thursday October 09, 2025