2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)

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2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)
Tournament details
Dates15 November 2023 – 16 November 2025
Teams53 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played259
Goals scored648 (2.5 per match)
Attendance1,647,509 (6,361 per match)
Top scorerAlgeria Mohamed Amoura (10 goals)
← 2022
2030 →
Qualification for championships (CAF)
FIFA World Cup
Africa Cup of Nations

The 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF) was the African section of the qualification tournament for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, to be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico. A total of nine slots in the final tournament and one inter-confederation play-off slot were reserved for Confederation of African Football (CAF) teams.[1]

Format

[edit]

Due to nine CAF teams now directly qualifying instead of five, the CAF Executive Committee announced a new qualification format on 19 May 2023. Teams were drawn into nine groups of six teams. The winner of each group directly qualified to the World Cup, while the four best group runners-up participated in play-offs to determine which team would advance to the inter-confederation play-offs.[2][3]

  • First round (group stage): Nine groups of six teams played in a home-and-away round-robin tournament. Group winners qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
  • Second round (play-off): The four best group runners-up were seeded into play-offs to determine the CAF representative at the inter-confederation play-offs.

Schedule

[edit]
2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
Round Matchday Dates
First round Matchday 1 15–18 November 2023
Matchday 2 19–21 November 2023
Matchday 3 5–8 June 2024
Matchday 4 9–11 June 2024
Matchday 5 19–22 March 2025
Matchday 6 23–25 March 2025
Matchday 7 3–6 September 2025
Matchday 8 7–9 September 2025
Matchday 9 8–10 October 2025
Matchday 10 12–14 October 2025
Second round Semi-finals 13 November 2025
Final 16 November 2025

First round

[edit]

Teams were drawn into nine groups of six teams to play home-and-away round robin matches from November 2023 to October 2025. The winners of each group qualified directly to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and the four best group runners-up advanced to a play-off to determine which team would advance to the inter-confederation play-offs.

Draw

[edit]

The draw was held on 13 July 2023 at 15:00 GMT (UTC±0) in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.[4][5] All 54 FIFA-affiliated football associations from CAF entered qualification. However, Eritrea withdrew before matches began.[6][7]

The draw pots were announced on 30 June (numbers in parentheses indicate FIFA Men's World Ranking at the time of the draw):[8][9]

CAF qualification first round draw pots[a]
Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3
Pot 4 Pot 5 Pot 6
  1. ^ Teams in bold qualified directly for the World Cup. Teams in italics advanced to the second round.

Groups

[edit]

Group A

[edit]
Main article: 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Group A
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Egypt Burkina Faso Sierra Leone Guinea-Bissau Ethiopia Djibouti
1  Egypt 10 8 2 0 20 2 +18 26 2026 FIFA World Cup — 2–1 1–0 1–0 2–0 6–0
2  Burkina Faso 10 6 3 1 23 8 +15 21 0–0 — 2–2 1–1 3–1 4–1
3  Sierra Leone 10 4 3 3 12 10 +2 15 0–2 0–1 — 3–1 2–0 2–1
4  Guinea-Bissau 10 2 4 4 8 10 −2 10 1–1 1–2 1–1 — 0–0 2–0
5  Ethiopia 10 2 3 5 9 14 −5 9 0–2 0–3 0–0 1–0 — 6–1
6  Djibouti 10 0 1 9 5 33 −28 1 0–3 0–6 1–2 0–1 1–1 —
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group B

[edit]
Main article: 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Group B
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Senegal Democratic Republic of the Congo Sudan Togo Mauritania South Sudan
1  Senegal 10 7 3 0 22 3 +19 24 2026 FIFA World Cup — 1–1 2–0 2–0 4–0 4–0
2  DR Congo 10 7 1 2 15 6 +9 22 Second round 2–3 — 1–0 1–0 2–0 1–0
3  Sudan 10 3 4 3 8 6 +2 13 0–0 1–0 — 1–1 0–0 1–1
4  Togo 10 1 5 4 5 10 −5 8 0–0 0–1 1–0 — 2–2 1–1
5  Mauritania 10 1 4 5 4 13 −9 7 0–1 0–2 0–2 2–0 — 0–0
6  South Sudan 10 0 5 5 3 19 −16 5 0–5 1–4 0–3 0–0 0–0 —
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group C

[edit]
Main article: 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Group C
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification South Africa Nigeria Benin Lesotho Rwanda Zimbabwe
1  South Africa 10 5 3 2 15 9 +6 18 2026 FIFA World Cup — 1–1 2–1 0–3[a] 3–0 3–1
2  Nigeria 10 4 5 1 15 8 +7 17 Second round 1–1 — 4–0 1–1 1–0 1–1
3  Benin 10 5 2 3 12 11 +1 17 0–2 2–1 — 4–0 1–0 1–0
4  Lesotho 10 3 3 4 9 12 −3 12 0–3 1–2 0–0 — 0–1 1–0
5  Rwanda 10 3 2 5 5 9 −4 11 2–0 0–2 0–1 1–1 — 0–0
6  Zimbabwe 10 0 5 5 5 12 −7 5 0–0 1–1 2–2 0–2 0–1 —
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. ^ The South Africa v Lesotho match, which originally finished as a 2–0 win for South Africa, was later awarded as a 3–0 win to Lesotho as South Africa fielded the ineligible player Teboho Mokoena.[10]

Group D

[edit]
Main article: 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Group D
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Cape Verde Cameroon Libya Angola Mauritius Eswatini
1  Cape Verde 10 7 2 1 16 8 +8 23 2026 FIFA World Cup — 1–0 1–0 0–0 1–0 3–0
2  Cameroon 10 5 4 1 17 5 +12 19 Second round 4–1 — 3–1 0–0 3–0 3–0
3  Libya 10 4 4 2 12 10 +2 16 3–3 1–1 — 1–1 2–1 2–0
4  Angola 10 2 6 2 9 8 +1 12 1–2 1–1 0–1 — 3–1 1–0
5  Mauritius 10 1 3 6 7 17 −10 6 0–2 0–2 0–0 0–0 — 2–1
6  Eswatini 10 0 3 7 6 19 −13 3 0–2 0–0 0–1 2–2 3–3 —
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group E

[edit]
Main article: 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Group E
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Morocco Niger Tanzania Zambia Republic of the Congo Eritrea
1  Morocco 8 8 0 0 22 2 +20 24 2026 FIFA World Cup — 5–0 2–0 2–1 1–0 Canc.
2  Niger 8 5 0 3 11 10 +1 15 1–2 — 0–1 2–1 3–1 Canc.
3  Tanzania 8 3 1 4 6 7 −1 10 0–2 0–1 — 0–1 3–0[a] Canc.
4  Zambia 8 3 0 5 10 10 0 9 0–2 0–1 0–1 — 4–2 Canc.
5  Congo[a] 8 0 1 7 4 24 −20 1 0–6 0–3[b] 1–1 0–3[a] — Canc.
6  Eritrea[c] 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Withdrew Canc. Canc. Canc. Canc. Canc. —
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. ^ a b c Congo were suspended on 6 February 2025 due to government interference in Congolese Football Federation operations.[11][12] No announcement regarding their status was immediately available, and CAF initially cancelled their remaining matches.[13] However, Tanzania and Zambia were later awarded 3–0 victories by forfeit.[14] The suspension was lifted by FIFA on 14 May 2025.[15]
  2. ^ Niger were awarded a 3–0 victory by forfeit after Congo refused to travel to DR Congo for their match after their regular stadium was deemed to not meet hosting requirements.[16]
  3. ^ Eritrea withdrew from qualification prior to playing any matches due to concerns that players would seek political asylum if allowed to travel abroad.[6][17][18]

Group F

[edit]
Main article: 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Group F
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Ivory Coast Gabon The Gambia Kenya Burundi Seychelles
1  Ivory Coast 10 8 2 0 25 0 +25 26 2026 FIFA World Cup — 1–0 1–0 3–0 1–0 9–0
2  Gabon 10 8 1 1 22 9 +13 25 Second round 0–0 — 3–2 2–1 2–0 3–0
3  Gambia 10 4 1 5 27 18 +9 13 0–2 3–4 — 3–3 2–0 5–1
4  Kenya 10 3 3 4 18 14 +4 12 0–0 1–2 1–3 — 1–1 5–0
5  Burundi 10 3 1 6 13 13 0 10 0–1 1–2 3–2 0–1 — 5–0
6  Seychelles 10 0 0 10 2 53 −51 0 0–7 0–4 0–7 0–5 1–3 —
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group G

[edit]
Main article: 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Group G
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Algeria Uganda Mozambique Guinea Botswana Somalia
1  Algeria 10 8 1 1 24 8 +16 25 2026 FIFA World Cup — 2–1 5–1 1–2 3–1 3–1
2  Uganda 10 6 0 4 14 9 +5 18 1–2 — 4–0 1–0 1–0 2–0
3  Mozambique 10 6 0 4 14 17 −3 18 0–2 3–1 — 1–2 2–0 2–1
4  Guinea 10 4 3 3 11 8 +3 15 0–0 2–1 0–1 — 2–2 0–0
5  Botswana 10 3 1 6 12 16 −4 10 1–3 0–1 2–3 1–0 — 2–0
6  Somalia 10 0 1 9 3 20 −17 1 0–3 0–1 0–1 0–3 1–3 —
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group H

[edit]
Main article: 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Group H
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Tunisia Namibia Liberia Malawi Equatorial Guinea São Tomé and Príncipe
1  Tunisia 10 9 1 0 22 0 +22 28 2026 FIFA World Cup — 3−0 3–0 2–0 1–0 4–0
2  Namibia 10 4 3 3 13 10 +3 15 0–0 — 1–1 1–2 1–1 3–0
3  Liberia 10 4 3 3 13 11 +2 15 0–1 3–1 — 0–1 3–0[a] 2–1
4  Malawi 10 4 1 5 11 10 +1 13 0–1 0–1 2–2 — 3–0[b] 3–1
5  Equatorial Guinea 10 3 2 5 8 15 −7 11 0–1 0–3[a] 1–1 1–0 — 2–0
6  São Tomé and Príncipe 10 1 0 9 5 26 −21 3 0–6 0–2 0–1 1–0 2–3 —
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Equatorial Guinea forfeited two matches for fielding an ineligible player, Emilio Nsue.[19] The original results were Equatorial Guinea 1–0 Namibia and Liberia 0–1 Equatorial Guinea.
  2. ^ The match between Malawi and Equatorial Guinea on 9 October was cancelled[20] due to Equatorial Guinea players refusing to travel citing continual complaints over conditions and money. Equatorial Guinea head coach Juan Micha was sacked and several players were removed from the active squad following the cancellation.[21] FIFA updated the group standings to indicate a 3–0 forfeit by Equatorial Guinea without making an official statement.[22]

Group I

[edit]
Main article: 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Group I
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Ghana Madagascar Mali Comoros Central African Republic Chad
1  Ghana 10 8 1 1 23 6 +17 25 2026 FIFA World Cup — 1–0 1–0 1–0 4–3 5–0
2  Madagascar 10 6 1 3 17 12 +5 19 0–3 — 0–0 2–1 2–0 3–1
3  Mali 10 5 3 2 17 6 +11 18 1–2 4–1 — 3–0 1–1 3–1
4  Comoros 10 5 0 5 12 13 −1 15 1–0 1–2 0–3 — 4–2 1–0
5  Central African Republic 10 2 2 6 11 24 −13 8 0–5 1–4 0–0 0–2 — 1–0
6  Chad 10 0 1 9 5 24 −19 1 1–1 0–3 0–2 0–2 2–3 —
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Ranking of runners-up

[edit]

On 14 March 2025, CAF notified member associations that matches against the sixth-place team would be discounted when ranking the runners-up due to the withdrawal of Eritrea in Group E.[23] This information was not announced publicly by either CAF or FIFA.

Pos Grp Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 F  Gabon 8 6 1 1 15 9 +6 19 Second round
2 B  DR Congo 8 5 1 2 10 5 +5 16
3 D  Cameroon 8 4 3 1 14 5 +9 15
4 C  Nigeria 8 4 3 1 13 6 +7 15
5 A  Burkina Faso 8 4 3 1 13 7 +6 15
6 E  Niger 8 5 0 3 11 10 +1 15
7 I  Madagascar 8 4 1 3 11 11 0 13
8 G  Uganda 8 4 0 4 11 9 +2 12
9 H  Namibia 8 2 3 3 8 10 −2 9
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Second round

[edit]
Main article: 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF second round

The four best group runners-up (Cameroon, DR Congo, Gabon, and Nigeria) advanced to play-offs to determine the sole CAF representative at the inter-confederation play-offs. The matchups for the semi-final were based on the 17 October 2025 FIFA rankings, with the highest-ranked side taking on the lowest and the second-highest taking on the third-highest.[24][25][26] A total of three matches were played, all hosted in Morocco.[27]

Team 1ScoreTeam 2
Semi-finals
Nigeria 4–1 (a.e.t.) Gabon
Cameroon 0–1 DR Congo
Final
Nigeria 1–1 (a.e.t.) (3–4 p) DR Congo

Inter-confederation play-offs

[edit]
Main article: 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (inter-confederation play-offs)

The winner of the second round, DR Congo, will join Bolivia (from CONMEBOL), Iraq (from AFC), Jamaica and Suriname (both from CONCACAF), and New Caledonia (from OFC) in the inter-confederation play-offs.

The teams were ranked according to the November 2025 FIFA Men's World 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 the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[28]

Semi-finalFinal
      
31 March 2026 – Zapopan
 DR Congo
26 March 2026 – Zapopan
Winner match 1
 New Caledonia
 Jamaica
Semi-finalFinal
      
31 March 2026 – Guadalupe
 Iraq
26 March 2026 – Guadalupe
Winner match 2
 Bolivia
 Suriname

Qualified teams

[edit]
  Qualified for the World Cup
  Can qualify
  Failed to qualify
  Withdrew
  Not a CAF member

The following teams from CAF qualified for the final tournament.

Team Qualified as Qualified on Previous appearances in FIFA World Cup[a]
 Morocco Group E winners 5 September 2025 6 (1970, 1986, 1994, 1998, 2018, 2022)
 Tunisia Group H winners 8 September 2025 6 (1978, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2018, 2022)
 Egypt Group A winners 8 October 2025 3 (1934, 1990, 2018)
 Algeria Group G winners 9 October 2025 4 (1982, 1986, 2010, 2014)
 Ghana Group I winners 12 October 2025 4 (2006, 2010, 2014, 2022)
 Cape Verde Group D winners 13 October 2025 Debut
 South Africa Group C winners 14 October 2025 3 (1998, 2002, 2010)
 Senegal Group B winners 14 October 2025 3 (2002, 2018, 2022)
 Ivory Coast Group F winners 14 October 2025 3 (2006, 2010, 2014)

Notes

  1. ^ Italic indicates hosts for that year.

Top goalscorers

[edit]

There were 648 goals scored in 259 matches, for an average of 2.5 goals per match.

10 goals

9 goals

8 goals

7 goals

6 goals

5 goals

Below are full goalscorer lists for each group and the second round:

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Current allocation of FIFA World Cup confederation slots maintained". FIFA. 30 May 2015. Archived from the original on 30 May 2015.
  2. ^ "CAF Executive Committee approves FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers calendar and announces TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations Côte d'Ivoire 2023 Final Draw date". cafonline. CAF. 19 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  3. ^ "CAF reveals new format for 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers". cafonline. CAF. 19 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  4. ^ Olsson, Andrew (4 July 2023). "Learn all about 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying in the CAF region and the seeds". Pan-Africa Football. Archived from the original on 1 October 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  5. ^ "FIFA World Cup 2026 African Qualifiers Official Draw on 13 July". cafonline. CAF. 11 July 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Eritrea Pull Out Of 2026 World Cup Qualifier". Dehai News. Dehai News. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  7. ^ "Statement on FIFA World Cup 2026 preliminary competition". CAF. 10 November 2023. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  8. ^ Inyang, Ifreke (30 June 2023). "FIFA puts Super Eagles in Pot 1 as race to 2026 World Cup begins". dailypost.ng. Daily Post. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  9. ^ "FIFA World Cup 2026: African preliminary qualifiers draw officially conducted". CAF. 13 July 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  10. ^ "FIFA Disciplinary Committee sanctions South African Football Association". FIFA. 29 September 2025. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  11. ^ "Suspension of the Congolese Football Association (FECOFOOT) from 6 February 2025 until further notice" (PDF). FIFA Circular. No. 1922. 6 February 2025. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
  12. ^ "FIFA suspends Congo Republic and Pakistan". Reuters. 7 February 2025. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
  13. ^ "Schedule & Results". CAFonline.com. CAF. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  14. ^ "Scores & Fixtures". FIFA.
  15. ^ "Lifting of the suspension of the Congolese Football Association (FECOFOOT)" (PDF). FIFA Circular. No. 1933. 14 May 2025. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
  16. ^ "FIFA awards win to Niger after Congo no-show in World Cup qualifier". The Straits Times. 26 June 2024. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
  17. ^ Aarons, Ed; Cizmic, Alex (14 November 2023). "Eritrea withdrew from 2026 World Cup qualifying 'over fears players will flee'". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  18. ^ "Eritrea withdraw from FIFA World Cup qualifiers". FIFA. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  19. ^ Dunbar, Graham (24 May 2024). "Equatorial Guinea must default wins in World Cup qualifying over same ineligible player as in 2013". apnews.com. Associated Press. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  20. ^ "FAM Statement on Malawi vs Equatorial Guinea Match". Football Association of Malawi. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  21. ^ "Coach, players fired after Equatorial Guinea fail to pitch for World Cup tie". Reuters. 12 October 2025. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
  22. ^ "CAF Standings". FIFA. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
  23. ^ "The International Window on X". 9 October 2025. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  24. ^ "Spain stay top as Argentina move back to second". FIFA. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  25. ^ Gleeson, Mark (12 October 2025). "Morocco to host African World Cup playoffs". Reuters. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
  26. ^ Elikplim, Bokor (12 October 2025). "CAF confirms Morocco as host for 2026 World Cup African play-off tournament - AfricaSoccer.com". Retrieved 12 October 2025.
  27. ^ Kabbour, Abderrahim (12 October 2025). "Morocco to Host African Playoff Matches for World Cup Qualifiers". Morocco World News. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
  28. ^ "Path to 2026 laid out for Play-Off Tournament hopefuls". FIFA. 20 November 2025. Retrieved 20 November 2025.