Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored four sensational goals to inspire Gabon to a dramatic 4\u20133 comeback win over The Gambia, keeping their hopes of automatic qualification for the FIFA World Cup 2026\u2122 alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The victory sets up a thrilling final-day showdown in Group F, where C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire and Gabon will battle for the group\u2019s single automatic ticket to North America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, Senegal and DR Congo are locked in a similar fight at the top of Group B.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
South Sudan 0\u20135 Senegal<\/strong> Senegal moved within touching distance of World Cup qualification after an emphatic 5\u20130 win away to South Sudan in Juba.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ismaila Sarr opened the scoring from close range before Sadio Mane capitalised on defensive errors to double the lead immediately after half-time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sarr then added a third before Nicolas Jackson converted a penalty, and substitute Cherif Ndiaye rounded off the scoring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Victory leaves Pape Thiaw\u2019s side needing just one more win, at home to Mauritania on Tuesday, to seal qualification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Togo 0\u20131 DR Congo<\/strong> Cedric Bakambu\u2019s early strike ensured DR Congo stayed within two points of Senegal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Real Betis striker smashed home from the edge of the box after Fiston Mayele won possession in midfield and threaded through a clever pass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite Togo dominating the later stages, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Chancel Mbemba held firm in defence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To qualify automatically, DR Congo must now beat Sudan and hope Mauritania upset Senegal in Dakar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Gambia 3\u20134 Gabon<\/strong> Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang produced one of the standout performances of the qualifiers, scoring all four of Gabon\u2019s goals in a thrilling 4\u20133 victory over The Gambia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The former Arsenal striker opened the scoring before Yankuba Minteh equalised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Aubameyang restored Gabon\u2019s lead, only for Adama Sidibeh to strike twice \u2014 once before the break and once just after \u2014 to put The Gambia ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the 34-year-old captain dragged his side back, heading in his hat-trick before sealing the win with a thunderous strike from distance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The night ended on a sour note, however, as Aubameyang was sent off for a second yellow card and will now miss Gabon\u2019s decisive final group clash with Burundi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Seychelles 0\u20137 C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire<\/strong> C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire remain one point clear at the top after a clinical demolition of Seychelles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The AFCON 2023 champions were four up by half-time through goals from Ibrahim Sangare, Emmanuel Agbadou, Oumar Diakite, and Evann Guessand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Second-half strikes from Yan Diomande, Simon Adingra, and Franck Kessie completed the rout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Victory means Emerse Fae\u2019s men need only to beat Kenya on Tuesday to confirm their World Cup spot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sudan 0\u20130 Mauritania<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sudan\u2019s slim hopes of World Cup qualification ended after a frustrating goalless draw with Mauritania in Dar es Salaam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n James Kwesi Appiah\u2019s men dominated possession but failed to convert their chances, as Saifeldin Malik missed their best opportunity late on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mauritania goalkeeper Abderrahmane Sarr was outstanding, keeping out several close-range efforts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored four sensational goals to inspire Gabon to a dramatic 4\u20133 comeback win over The Gambia, keeping their hopes of automatic qualification for the FIFA World Cup 2026\u2122 alive. The victory sets up a thrilling final-day showdown in Group F, where C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire and Gabon will battle for the group\u2019s single automatic ticket […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":853,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[180,183,182],"class_list":["post-852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-aubameyang","tag-fifa","tag-world-cup"],"aioseo_notices":[],"blog_post_layout_featured_media_urls":{"thumbnail":["https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/images-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"full":["https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/images.jpg",300,168,false]},"categories_names":{"4":{"name":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/?cat=4"}},"tags_names":{"180":{"name":"Aubameyang","link":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/?tag=aubameyang"},"183":{"name":"Fifa","link":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/?tag=fifa"},"182":{"name":"World Cup","link":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/?tag=world-cup"}},"comments_number":"0","wpmagazine_modules_lite_featured_media_urls":{"thumbnail":["https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/images-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"cvmm-medium":["https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/images.jpg",300,168,false],"cvmm-medium-plus":["https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/images.jpg",300,168,false],"cvmm-portrait":["https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/images.jpg",300,168,false],"cvmm-medium-square":["https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/images.jpg",300,168,false],"cvmm-large":["https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/images.jpg",300,168,false],"cvmm-small":["https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/images-130x95.jpg",130,95,true],"full":["https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/images.jpg",300,168,false]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=852"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":854,"href":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852\/revisions\/854"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/853"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Scorers:<\/strong> Sarr (29\u2019, 54\u2019), Mane (46\u2019), Jackson (pen 60\u2019), C. Ndiaye (75\u2019)<\/p>\n\n\n\nGroup B: Bakambu keeps DR Congo alive<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Scorer:<\/strong> Bakambu (7\u2019)<\/p>\n\n\n\nGroup F: Aubameyang\u2019s magic lifts Gabon<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Scorers:<\/strong> Minteh (23\u2019), Sidibeh (45+3\u2019, 47\u2019) \u2013 Aubameyang (20\u2019, 42\u2019, 62\u2019, 78\u2019)<\/p>\n\n\n\nGroup F: C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire hit seven to stay top<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Scorers:<\/strong> Sangare (pen 7\u2019), Agbadou (17\u2019), Diakite (32\u2019), Guessand (38\u2019), Diomande (56\u2019), Adingra (68\u2019), Kessie (90\u2019)<\/p>\n\n\n\nGroup B: Sudan and Mauritania bow out<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n