Late Ben Romdhane Strike Sends Tunisia to 2026 FIFA World Cup

Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane struck deep into stoppage time to seal Tunisia’s place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a dramatic 1-0 victory over Equatorial Guinea on Monday.

The Al Ahly midfielder fired home in the 94th minute after being teed up by Firas Chaouat, securing an unassailable lead for the Carthage Eagles at the top of Group H. Tunisia have amassed 22 points from eight matches, 10 clear of second-placed Namibia, who have a game in hand but can no longer catch them.

Ben Romdhane also netted the only goal when Tunisia beat Equatorial Guinea in the reverse fixture last year. Reflecting on his winner, the 26-year-old told Tunisian TV:
“When Firas Chaouat received the ball in the final moments, I knew he would beat his marker. So I moved into position and was ready to score.”

The midfielder, who joined Al Ahly this year from Hungarian side Ferencváros, admitted it was their sternest test of the qualifiers.
“It was the toughest match of the campaign, as we expected given the conditions, the pitch, and the humidity,” he said.

Team-mate Ferjani Sassi echoed the sentiment:
“They had plenty of chances, but we adapted to the circumstances. We believed in ourselves right until the end.”

Tunisia fielded players based in nine different countries, including Premier League midfielder Hannibal Mejbri of Burnley. The side is led by former centre-back Sami Trabelsi, who captained Tunisia at the 1998 World Cup in France.

This qualification marks Tunisia’s seventh appearance at the finals. They will now look to improve on a modest record of three wins from 18 matches, having never progressed beyond the group stage.

Moroccan dominance and North African power

Tunisia join 2022 semi-finalists Morocco as the first African nations to secure their tickets to North America. Egypt and Algeria are both poised to follow, meaning North Africa could well have four representatives in 2026.

Egypt will book their place if they win Tuesday’s decisive Group A clash away to Burkina Faso, while Algeria require three more points after a 0-0 draw with Guinea left them four clear at the top of Group G. Uganda and Mozambique closed the gap slightly with 2-0 wins over Somalia and Botswana respectively.

Morocco, meanwhile, demonstrated their depth by resting stars including Paris Saint-Germain defender Achraf Hakimi in their 2-0 victory over Zambia in Ndola. Youssef En-Nesyri struck early in the first half before Hamza Igamane doubled the lead in front of a 50,000-capacity crowd. The Atlas Lions, who memorably defeated Spain and Portugal to reach the semi-finals in Qatar, are the only African team with a perfect record in qualifying, having won all seven matches.

Elsewhere, Ghana edged Mali 1-0 in Accra thanks to Alexander Djiku’s second-half goal, moving the Black Stars three points clear at the top of Group I. Mali, however, can no longer win the group and must hope to progress as one of the four best runners-up.

Africa’s road to 2026

The remaining 15 matchday-eight fixtures take place on Tuesday, with Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, Cape Verde and reigning African champions Ivory Coast among those aiming to consolidate their leads.

Africa is guaranteed nine places at the expanded 48-team World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, with the possibility of a 10th via the intercontinental play-offs in March 2026.