Ben Romdhane’s late winner sends Tunisia to 2026 FIFA World Cup

Mohamed Ben Romdhane scored a late winner as Tunisia beat hosts Equatorial Guinea 1-0 in Malabo on Monday to book a place at the 2026 World Cup, taking an unassailable lead in their qualifying Group H.

After the victory, Tunisia moved to 22 points from their eight qualifiers, and became the second African country to qualify for the FIFA World Cup after Morocco.

Tunisia have booked their place in the football World Cup for the third consecutive time, and Sami Trabelsi's side will make their seventh appearance overall in the event.

The 2026 World Cup is scheduled in the United States, Mexico and Canada from June 11 to July 19.

It looked like Tunisia would have to wait for the confirmation of their spot in the World Cup; however, Firas Chaouat took advantage of the opposition’s defensive error and set up Ben Romdhane, who struck in the 94th minute.

Before Tunisia, Morocco also booked its spot in the upcoming football World Cup on Saturday.

Meanwhile, on Monday, the Moroccan team added another win to their bag, defeating Zambia 2-0 on Monday as Youssef En Nesyri and Hamza Igamane scored for the African nation.

Furthermore, Mozambique kept their World Cup hopes alive with a 2-0 victory over Botswana in Group G. They are in second place behind leaders Algeria, but have played a game more.

Witi and Faisal Banga scored in either half to give them the victory in Maputo.

Nine teams from Africa will earn a direct qualification in the World Cup, while 10th place will be awarded to the team which claim an inter-continental play-off.