South Africa Joins Ivory Coast and Senegal in World Cup Return

Johannesburg, Oct 15 (AP) South Africa returns to the World Cup stage for the first time since hosting the 2010 tournament, joining Ivory Coast and Senegal as the latest African qualifiers.

South Africa earned a place in North America's tournament by defeating Rwanda 3-0 on Tuesday, securing the top position in their qualifying group. This achievement comes despite a three-point deduction for fielding an ineligible player in earlier matches.

With South Africa's victory, Nigeria ended second in the group and will now face a playoff to qualify, even after a stellar 4-0 home win against Benin, highlighted by a hat-trick from star striker Victor Osimhen. Benin had been leading the group before the final round.

Ivory Coast booked their automatic qualification with a decisive 3-0 win over Kenya, edging ahead of Gabon by one point. This marks the Elephants' return after missing the last two World Cups.

Meanwhile, Senegal clinched its third consecutive World Cup appearance following a commanding 4-0 victory over Mauritania, topping Group B by two points ahead of Congo.

(Only the headline of this report may have been reworked by Editorji; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)