Gabon retook pole position in the race with Cote d'Ivoire to play at the 2026 World Cup with a 2-1 victory over Kenya on Sunday afternoon.
Veteran striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang struck in the 16th minute for Gabon in the Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi.
The 35-year-old added the second from the penalty spot in the 52nd minute. Even though the hosts struck back 10 minutes later through Michael Olunga, Gabon held firm.
The victory took Thierry Dieudonne Mouyouma's men to 15 points in Group F.
Cote d'Ivoire, who have not featured at the World Cup since 2014, will leapfrog the Gabonese with a win over Gambia on Monday night at the Stade Felix Houphouet Boigny in Abidjan.
In Group D, four days after their shock 0-0 draw against Cameroon to furnish them with their first point of the campaign, Eswatini played out a six-goal thriller with Mauritius.
Philani Mkhontfo bagged a brace in the first-half at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit to set Eswatini on course for their first win in the campaign.
But two minutes after the retastart, Lindsay Rose halved the deficit and on 50 minutes Yannick Aristide levelled the match.
Substitute Mayibongwe Mabuza edged Eswatini ahead in the 75th minute but in stoppage time Emmanuel Vincent made it honours even.
The result leaves Eswatini propping up the pool with two points after six games. At the other end of the food chain, Cape Verde lead the way with 10 points after five games.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Control
On Saturday night, Sudan maintained control of Group B with a 0-0 draw against Senegal.
Sudan, who have never appeared at the World Cup, set the pace with 11 points from their five games. Democratic Republic of Congo are second with 10 and Senegal, aiming to compete at a third successive World Cup, lie third.
The qualifying matches for the 2026 tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico continue on Monday and Tuesday.
The winners of the nine African groups advance automatically to the tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada while the four best second-placed teams enter a mini-tournament.
The winner of that will advance to a play-off involving five teams from other confederations. They will battle for two places at the 48-team event which starts on 11 June. The final will take place on 19 July.
