Spring celebrations

 

On the first day of spring, Japan became the first nation to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, followed later by New Zealand, Iran and Argentina. Having qualified, the Japanese were then held to a goalless draw at home to Saudi Arabia while in other matches North Korea were taken apart 5-1 in Qatar who 5 days later lost 3-1 to late goals in Kyrgyzstan having had a player sent off. Iraq scored 2 goals in stoppage time to salvage a 2-2 home draw after a double from Yousef Nasser had given Kuwait a 2-goal lead, but the Iraqis were given a taste of their own medicine in their next match when Palestine scored 2 late goals to win 2-1 in Jordan while Bahrain were beaten 1-0 away to Indonesia. New Caledonia advanced to the inter-continental playoffs after defeating Tahiti 3-0 in New Zealand with George Gope-Fenepej netting a brace.

In Europe Romania were stunned 1-0 at home to Bosnia and Herzegovina while Moldova were thumped 5-0 at home to Norway and suffered a 3-2 loss to Estonia on the same ground. In a Nations League match Ukraine shocked Belgium 3-1 in Spain, though they were eliminated after losing 3-0 in Belgium, while in America the USA were beaten 1-0 by Panama and Canada lost 2-0 to the eventual Nation League winners Mexico.

In the African section of the World Cup qualifiers, Madagascar bounced back from an early setback to defeat Central African Republic 4-1 with a double from Rayan Raveloson in Morocco where a few days later they lost 3-0 to Ghana for whom Thomas Partey grabbed a brace while Central African Republic play out a goalless draw with Mali who had earlier put 3 past Comoros with 2 from Kamory Doumbia, also in Morocco. Sierra Leone enjoyed a 2-1 win over Guinea Bissau in Liberia while Namibia won 1-0 in Malawi and Nigeria were 2-0 victors in Rwanda with Victor Osimhen scoring both goals. Guinea fired blanks against Somalia in Ivory Coast and there was a goalless draw between Cameroon and Eswatini in South Africa while South Sudan scored late in stoppage time to draw1-1 with Sudan in Libya. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored both goals as Gabon won 2-1 in Kenya while DR Congo were 2-0 winners in Mauritania and Dailon Livramento scored both goals for Cape Verde as they triumphed 2-1 in Angola.

In the Asian Cup qualifiers, Tajikistan failed to add to their early goal at home to East Timor while Afghanistan took an early lead but lost 2-1 in Myanmar and there were goalless draws for Yemen in Bhutan and for Bangladesh in India. In a friendly match in Azerbaijan the hosts were shocked 3-0 by Haiti.

Last kicks of the year

 

As 2024 drew to a close, the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers reached its conclusion. Niger brushed Sudan away 4-0 with a double from Daniel Sosah in Togo while Togo themselves put 3 past their visitors from Equatorial Guinea with a brace from Yaw Annor, and 2 goals from Brahim Diaz helped Morocco to a 5-1 rout in Gabon. Rwanda were stunned 1-0 at home to Libya and failed to qualify despite later shocking their Nigerian hosts 2-1 while DR Congo suffered a 1-0 loss with a stoppage-time goal in Guinea before being humiliated 2-1 in front of their home crowd by Ethiopia and Tunisia were embarrassed 1-0 at home to Gambia as were Mozambique who were hosting Mali. Burkina Faso fell apart 3-0 in Malawi while Zambia scored twice against Sierra Leone in Liberia and South Africa achieved the same result in Uganda. Egypt could only manage a 1-1 home draw against Botswana and Ghana drew 1-1 in Angola while Cameroon and Namibia played a barren match in South Africa and Ivory Coast lost 1-0 in Zambia.

In the Asian section of the World Cup qualifiers, with Almoez Ali and Abbosbek Fayzullaev having scored 2 apiece for hosts Qatar and Uzbekistan respectively, the Qataris scored a winner deep into stoppage time but were hammered 5-0 in the United Arab Emirates five days later with 4 goals from Fabio Lima while Australia drew blanks at home to Saudi Arabia who on their return home were stunned 2-0 by Indonesia for whom Marselino Ferdinan scored both goals. China upset Bahrain 1-0 with a late goal in Riffa and South Korea could only muster a 1-1 draw against Palestine in Jordan while in the South American section, Bolivia were taken to the cleaners 4-0 with 2 goals from Gonzalo Plata in Ecuador who also celebrated a 1-0 win in Colombia and moved up into fourth place in the football rankings. Argentina took the lead but left Paraguay 2-1 losers while 2 goals from Lucas Cepeda helped Chile to a 4-2 home win over Venezuela.

In Oceania Tahiti scored twice against Vanuatu in New Zealand while in the CONCACAF Nations League in Curaçao, Keelan Lebon scored 2 late goals to send shockwaves around the Caribbeans as Saint Martin humiliated Grenada 3-0 and in a friendly tournament in Tajikistan, Nepal enjoyed a 2-0 win over Afghanistan.