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Morocco thrash 10-man Niger to become first African qualifiers for 2026 World Cup

Azzedine Ounahi celebrates with teammates after giving Morocco a 5-0 lead
Azzedine Ounahi celebrates with teammates after giving Morocco a 5-0 leadAbdel Majid BZIOUAT / AFP
Morocco trounced 10-man Niger 5-0 in Rabat on Friday to win Group E and become the first African qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.

Ismael Saibari scored twice in the first half after Abdul-Latif Goumey was sent off and second-half goals from Ayoub el Kaabi, Hamza Igamane and Azzedine Ounahi completed the rout.

A sixth straight victory lifted Morocco to an unassailable lead with 18 points, and sealed a seventh appearance at the global showpiece with two matches to spare.

Morocco were shock semi-finalists at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The Atlas Lions topped a group including Croatia and Belgium and eliminated Spain and Portugal in the knockout stage.

The stunning run came to an end in the semi-finals as they lost 2-0 to France. Morocco finished fourth after losing a play-off against Croatia.

See all the stats of the match on Flashscore.