Madagascar Send Ghana Warning With Big Win to Go Top of World Cup Qualifiers Group

• Madagascar have climbed to the top of Group I of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers on Wednesday
• The Bareas defeated the Central African Republic in their matchday 5 encounter at Larbi Zaouli in Morocco
• They will next face Ghana, who will engage Chad on Friday, at the Accra Sports Stadium before their trip to Morocco

Ghana's Group I opponents in the World Cup qualifiers, Madagascar, recorded a resounding win to go top of the group ahead of the game against the Black Stars of Ghana.

The Bareas came from a goal down to hammer the Central African Republic 4-1 at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca.

The hosts raced to an early lead after Hugo Gambor broke the Madagascar offside line to fore home from a Gabriel Oualengbe free-kick.

Eight minutes later, Madagascar responded through Rayan Raveloson who finished off a fine move from the visitors. The attacker gave Madagascar the lead four minutes later after an error by Central African Republic goalkeeper Dominique Youfeigane to complete his brace.

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After the break, the visitors extended their lead through Arnaud Randrianantenaina before Lalaina sealed victory in the 89th minute.

The victory sees Madagascar climbed to the top of the climb ahead of Ghana and Comoros, who are yet to honour their matchday five games.

Meanwhile, the win means Madagascar head into their match against Ghana in high spirits as their chances of qualifying for the World Cup stays alive.

The West African powerhouse, who failed to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, will face Chad on Friday before their trip to Morocco.

Desmond Offei shares approach for qualifiers

New assistant coach of the Black Stars, Desmond Offei, has disclosed that the Black Stars will head into the two games as if they were final matches.

Ghana are on a revival mission after failing to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

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He said, as quoted by Ghana FA's website:

"First of all, I think we have to look at ourselves because we have enough quality in the squad to make sure that we perform on the day.

"Yes, of course we want to also make the Ghanaian fans very proud of us, so it's very important that we give a really good performance against Chad at home. They're going to fight and it's going to be like a final.

"So for us, I think it's very important to make sure that this window is wrapped up very, very positively and make sure that the Ghanaian fans are very well and very happy with us. Like I said, we have to look at their strengths.

"Now both teams, Chad and Madagascar, have new coaches, so we don’t know how they're going to set up. But we know the players of course, so it's about us and how we get the boys ready to fight and make sure they give everything on a day."

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Ghana's WCQ results so far

As Ghana continue to prepare for their upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against Chad and Madagascar, their performance in the qualifiers has been commendable, despite the team's failure to qualify for AFCON 2025 later this year.

Ghana commenced their campaign with a dramatic 1-0 victory over Madagascar before losing by same result four days later to Comoros.

But in their subsequent matches, the Black Stars picked up their first away win in 2 years when they defeated Mali 2-1 away from home before emerging victorious in a thrilling 4-3 encounter against the Central African Republic (CAR).

These consecutive victories propelled Ghana to the top of Group I with 10 points from their first four matches. However, the group dynamics shifted when Madagascar secured a significant 4-1 win over the Central African Republic, allowing them to climb to the summit of the standings.

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Mahama visits Black Stars

Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that President John Dramani Mahama paid a courtesy visit to the senior national team the Black Stars ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

The President, joined by the Minister of Sports and Recreation, as well as the head of Ghana's football Kurt Okraku, met the team after training on Wednesday.

President Mahama was introduced to the team before he delivered a morale-boosting message to the players as they prepared for Chad on Friday.

Nomso Obiajuru was a contributing writer in this article

Source: YEN.com.gh