African qualification for FIFA World Cup 2026 is close to its completion with nine out of a possible 10 spots having been filled.
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A total of nine spots in the tournament and potentially one inter-confederation playoff slot are available for CAF teams. That’s double the five spots that were available for previous World Cups.
The change comes as FIFA upped the overall number of countries set to compete at next year’s tournament from 32 to 48.
New qualification format
Due to nine CAF teams now directly qualifying instead of five, the CAF Executive Committee announced a new qualification format.
Teams were drawn into nine groups of six teams. The winner of each group qualifies for the World Cup, while the four best group runners-up will participate in playoffs to determine which team will advance to the inter-confederation playoffs.
In Group A, Egypt finished top the group, five points ahead of Burkina Faso.
Thanks to Liverpool star Mo Salah, Egypt will return to the World Cup for the first time since Russia in 2018. Prior to that, their last appearance was in 1990 in Italy.
In Group B, Senegal edged DR Congo by two points to secure their spot.
The Lions of Teranga have now qualified for three World Cups in a row.
In Group C, South Africa booked their spot thanks to a final matchday 3-0 win over Rwanda. Coupled with Benin’s 4-0 loss to Nigeria, Bafana Bafana will take part in a World Cup for the first time since Mzansi hosted the tournament in 2010.
In Group D, minnows Cape Verde shocked all and sundry by qualifying for their first ever World Cup tournament.
By doing so, they became the second-smallest nation (after Iceland) to qualify for the World Cup with a population of just under 525 000.
In Group E, Morocco are a yawning six points clear of second-place Niger with just one match to play and also assured of a place at FIFA World Cup 2026.
Morocco memorably finished fourth at the most recent World Cup in Qatar in 2022 and will co-host the 2030 tournament with Portugal and Spain.
In Group F, Ivory Coast held off Gabon by a single point in what was an impressive qualifying campaign by both nations.
Ivory Coast will be going to their first World Cup since 2014 in Brazil.
In Group G, Algeria secured their spot at next year’s tournament after finishing seven points ahead of second-placed Uganda.
Algeria hadn’t qualified since the World Cup in Brazil in 2014.
In Group H, Tunisia finished 13 points ahead of Namibia in second place.
Tunisia qualified for both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, having missed out of the two prior to that in 2010 and 2014.
Finally, in Group I, Ghana secured top spot thanks to their 1-0 win over Comoros in Accra last Sunday.
Tottenham midfielder Mohammed Kudus claimed the winning goal after 47 minutes for the Black Stars, poking a low cross into the net from close range.
Ghana have now qualified for five of the last six World Cups, only missing out on doing so for Russia 2018.
| Team | Qualified as | Previous FIFA World Cup appearance |
|---|---|---|
| Egypt | Group A winners | 3 (1934, 1990, 2018) |
| Senegal | Group B winners | 3 (2002, 2018, 2022) |
| South Africa | Group C winners | 3 (1998, 2002, 2010) |
| Cape Verde | Group D winners | Debut |
| Morocco | Group E winners | 6 (1970, 1986, 1994, 1998, 2018, 2022) |
| Ivory Coast | Group F winners | 3 (2006, 2010, 2014) |
| Algeria | Group G winners | 4 (1982, 1986, 2010, 2014) |
| Tunisia | Group H winners | 6 (1978, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2018, 2022) |
| Ghana | Group I winners | 4 (2006, 2010, 2014, 2022) |
Second round
The four best group runners-up (Cameroon, DR Congo, Gabon, and Nigeria) advanced to playoffs to determine the sole CAF representative at the inter-confederation playoffs.
The matchups for the semi-final will be based on the 23 October 2025 FIFA rankings, with the highest-ranked side taking on the lowest and the second-highest taking on the third-highest.
A total of three matches will be played, all hosted in Morocco.
The playoff winner will join one team each from AFC, CONMEBOL and OFC and two from CONCACAF in the inter-confederation playoffs.
The teams will be ranked according to the FIFA ranking, with the four lowest-ranked teams playing in two single-elimination matches.
The winners will meet the two highest-ranked teams in another set of single-elimination matches, with the winners of these matches qualifying for FIFA World Cup 2026.
FIFA World Cup 2026 will held in the United States, Canada and Mexico between 11 June and 19 July and will comprise 48 countries in the biggest tournament to date.
Matches are scheduled to take place in 16 host cities.
