The Africa Zone (CAF) qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup started November 2023 and ends in November 2025.
Nine African teams are guaranteed to compete in the World Cup. Another will participate in the FIFA Play-off Tournament.
The African qualifiers will be played across two rounds.
The first will be contested in the form of a group stage, with nine groups of six teams each. Each team will play two matches, home and away, against each of their opponents. The top finisher in each group will qualify for World Cup 2026.
The second round will pit the four best runners-up in two one-off semi-finals, followed by a final. The winner of this second round will participate in the FIFA Play-off Tournament, Sports Village Square reports.
First-round groups
GROUP A Egypt, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone Ethiopia, Djibouti
GROUP B Senegal, Congo DR, Mauritania, Togo, Sudan, South Sudan
GROUP C Nigeria, South Africa, Benin, Zimbabwe, Rwanda Lesotho
GROUP D Cameroon, Cape Verde, Angola, Libya, Eswatini, Mauritius
GROUP E Morocco, Zambia, Congo, Tanzania, Niger, Eritrea
GROUP F Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Kenya, The Gambia, Burundi, Seychelles
GROUP G Algeria, Guinea, Uganda, Mozambique, Botswana, Somalia
GROUP H Tunisia, Equatorial Guinea, Namibia, Malawi, Liberia, Sao Tome and Principe
GROUP I Mali, Ghana, Madagascar, Central African Republic, Comoros, Chad
The schedule
13-21 November, 2023: 1st and 2nd matchdays.
3-11 June, 2024: 3rd and 4th matchdays
17-25 March, 2025: 5th and 6th matchdays
1-9 September, 2025: 7th and 8th matchdays
6-14 October, 2025: 9th and 10th matchdays
10-18 November, 2025: CAF play-off tournament
FIFA Play-Off Tournament
The FIFA Play-Off Tournament will see six sides fight it out for the final two places at the 23rd FIFA World Cup.
It will involve two teams from Concacaf and one team apiece from the AFC, CAF, CONMEBOL and OFC.
The four lowest-ranked nations will meet in bracket semi-finals.
The two highest-ranked teams will go directly into the finals. The winners of the two bracket finals will reach the FIFA World Cup 2026.
FIFA World Cup appearances
8 – Cameroon
6 – Morocco
6 – Nigeria
6 – Tunisia
4 – Ghana
4 – Algeria
3 – Senegal
3 – Egypt
3 – South Africa
3 – Côte d’Ivoire
1 – DR Congo (under the banner of Zaire)
1 – Angola
1 – Togo
