After five teams reached the decisive stage of the African qualifiers for the World Cup, the Ghana national team secured its spot in the same round by defeating South Africa 1-0 on Sunday in the final sixth round of the second stage. In group seven, the Ghanaian team entered the match in second place, three points behind South Africa, with a goal difference of +5 for the latter and +3 for the hosts. Following the victory, Ghana equaled its rival in terms of points and goal difference (+4 for both), securing its qualification based on the number of goals scored (7 for Ghana compared to 6 for South Africa).
Ghana, aiming to return to the finals after missing the 2018 edition following three consecutive appearances, owes the victory and qualification to Andre Ayew, who scored the only goal of the match in the 33rd minute from a penalty kick. In a less significant match within the same group, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia drew 1-1, with Zimbabwe earning its second point and Ethiopia securing its fifth point.
Previously, five teams had reached the decisive stage: the Democratic Republic of the Congo (group ten), Morocco (nine), Senegal (eight), Mali (five), and Egypt (six). The leaders of each of the ten groups qualify for the final stage, where each team will play two matches (home and away) to determine the five teams that will represent the continent in the Qatar 2022 finals.
