Tunisia wins in Zambia to top Group B, as Malawi downs Mozambique

LUSAKA,Zambia 

Wahbi Khazri’s ninth minute goal and Anis Slimane’s strike in the fourth minute of added time at the tail end of the game saw Tunisia move top of Group B in the qualifiers of the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup with a 2-0 win away to Zambia.

The victory saw Tunisia's Carthage Eagles maintain their unbeaten start to the qualifiers as well as keeping a second consecutive clean sheet. Zambia who started their campaign with a win away to Mauritania could not make it back to back victories.

Khazri opened the scoring for the North Africans with a well taken penalty after Benedict Chepeshi had handled the ball inside the box as he tried to defend a corner.

The Zambians put in some effort to try and salvage a draw before the halftime whistle, but couldn’t get a goal to themselves.

Tunisia had to wait till the fourth minute of added time to add a second and seal the game, Slimane firing the ball home after Ali Ben Romdhane’s initial shot had been blocked by the keeper.

Tunisia have maximum six points from two games on top of Group B, three more than Zambia. Equatorial Guinea faces Mauritania later on the day.

Meanwhile, Malawi picked up their first win of the qualifiers with a solitary goal win over Mozambique.

Richard Mbulu scored the game’s lone goal after 10 minutes. The Malawian number 9 had the easiest of tasks tapping the ball into an empty net after the keeper hit the woodwork as he raced to try and pick up an awkward backpass.

Malawi had a chance to double the lead when Gabadinho Mhango wriggled his way on the left to cut in and find some good shooting space, but his eventual curler went just over.

The Mozambican keeper almost had another calamitous episode when he dropped a freekick from Gerald Phiri onto Denis Chembezi’s feet, but luckily the Malawian defender could not hot the target.

In the second half, Malawi upped the pressure but controlled the game well, to ensure they saw off the slim advantage for their first victory.

Malawi moved to third place in Group D on goal difference behind Cameroon with 3 points each. Cote d'Ivoire leads the group on four, while Mozambique trails with a lone point.