There were some excellent performances among the COSAFA sides competing in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers during this FIFA International window as they dream of a ticket to the finals in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
We round up the results from the two games played with only the top team in each pool guaranteed a place at the World Cup.
Angola: Angola remain unbeaten in the qualifiers with a win and three draws from their four games to date, and are two points behind Group D leaders Cameroon. They drew 1-1 with the Indomitable Lions on Tuesday, having beaten Eswatini 1-0 in their previous match. Both of those were played at home.
Botswana: Botswana picked up a 3-1 win against Somalia on Monday to stay in the hunt in Group G. That followed a 1-0 loss in Uganda. The Zebras are three points behind leaders Algeria and Mozambique with six games left to play, so anything is possible.
Comoros: The Comoros are frontrunners in Group I, leading second-placed Ghana on goal-difference with nine points from a possible 12. They lost 2-1 against Madagascar in neutral Johannesburg, but then claimed a 2-0 victory against Chad in Morocco. It is a fibe start to the campaign.
Eswatini: It has been a rough start to the Group D qualifiers for Eswatini, who have endured four defeats in a row. They lost to Angola (0-1) and Mauritius (1-2), both away from home, in their two matches in this window.
Lesotho: Likuena claimed an excellent 2-0 win over Zimbabwe in neutral Johannesburg but were then beaten 1-0 by Rwanda in Durban in their second fixture, where they might have hoped to collect more points. They are only two points off the leaders in Group C though and very much still in the hunt.
Madagascar: The Malagasy will be very pleased with their two games, claiming a 2-1 success against Comoros in Johannesburg and then holding pool favourites Mali to a 0-0 draw in the same city. They are only two points behind Group I leaders Comoros and Ghana.
Malawi: A mixed bag for Malawi in this window as they defeated Sao Tome e Principe 3-1 but then lost 1-0 to Equatorial Guinea. They have six points from their four games, four points behind leaders Tunisia in Group H.
Mauritius: Mauritius picked up their first win of the qualifiers when they defeated Eswatini 2-1 and have taken four points from a possible 12 so far. They also lost 1-2 to Libya in this window, a close result. Their win over Eswatini was a first in World Cup qualifiers since they beat Uganda 3-1 in 2003.
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Mozambique: The Mambas have won three of their four qualifiers and claimed back-to-back successes in this window to leave them level on points with Group G leaders Algeria. They defeated Somalia 3-1 and then claimed a 1-0 success against Guinea in neutral Morocco, an excellent result. But just three points separate the top five teams in this pool.
Namibia: A pair of solid draws have left Namibia very much in the hunt in Group H and they are unbeaten after four games in the pool, lying two points behind leaders Tunisia. They played to a 1-1 draw with Liberia and then held Tunisia to a goalless stalemate, with both those matches played in neutral Johannesburg. They have only conceded once in their four qualifiers.
Seychelles: It is backs to the wall for Seychelles as they have lost all four Group F qualifiers to date. The islanders went down 1-5 away to Gambia and 1-3 at home to Burundi in this window.
South Africa: Bafana Bafana will be satisfied with their four points from two games, a 1-1 draw in Nigeria and a 3-1 victory over Zimbabwe at home. They are level on points at the top of their Group C with Rwanda and Benin.
Zambia: Chipolopolo have left themselves with some work to do in the qualifiers after three defeats in a row leave them trailing pool leaders Morocco by six points, with the latter having a game in hand. They lost 1-2 away in Morocco and were then beaten 1-0 by Tanzania at home in this window.
Zimbabwe: A difficult couple of games for the Warriors as they lost to Lesotho (0-2) and South Africa (1-3). Their young team now has a mountain to climb in the remaining qualifiers as they have two points in Group C, five behind the leaders.
