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2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)

2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)
Tournament details
Dates15 November 2023 – 18 November 2025
Teams53 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played154
Goals scored375 (2.44 per match)
Attendance1,183,398 (7,684 per match)
Top scorer(s)Egypt Mohamed Salah (6 goals)
← 2022
2030 →
All statistics correct as of 25 March 2025.
Qualification for championships (CAF)
FIFA World Cup
Africa Cup of Nations

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

Format

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 will directly qualify to the World Cup, while the four best group runners-up will participate in play-offs to determine which team will advance to the inter-confederation play-offs.[2][3]

Schedule

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 1–9 September 2025
Matchday 8
Matchday 9 6–14 October 2025
Matchday 10
Second round Semi-finals 10–18 November 2025
Final

First round

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

Draw

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
Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3
Pot 4 Pot 5 Pot 6

Groups

Group A

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 Ethiopia Guinea-Bissau Djibouti
1  Egypt 6 5 1 0 14 2 +12 16 2026 FIFA World Cup — 2–1 1–0 Sep Oct 6–0
2  Burkina Faso 6 3 2 1 13 7 +6 11 Possible second round Sep — 2–2 Oct 1–1 4–1
3  Sierra Leone 6 2 2 2 7 7 0 8 0–2 Oct — Sep 3–1 2–1
4  Ethiopia 6 1 3 2 7 7 0 6 0–2 0–3 0–0 — Oct 6–1
5  Guinea-Bissau 6 1 3 2 5 7 −2 6 1–1 1–2 Sep 0–0 — Sep
6  Djibouti (Z) 6 0 1 5 4 20 −16 1 Oct Sep Oct 1–1 0–1 —
Updated to match(es) played on 25 March 2025. Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(Z) Cannot qualify directly; can still advance to the second round

Group B

Main article: 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Group B
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Democratic Republic of the Congo Senegal Sudan Togo South Sudan Mauritania
1  DR Congo 6 4 1 1 7 2 +5 13 2026 FIFA World Cup — Sep Oct 1–0 1–0 2–0
2  Senegal 6 3 3 0 8 1 +7 12 Possible second round 1–1 — Sep 2–0 4–0 Oct
3  Sudan 6 3 3 0 8 2 +6 12 1–0 0–0 — 1–1 1–1 Oct
4  Togo 6 0 4 2 4 7 −3 4 Oct 0–0 Sep — 1–1 2–2
5  South Sudan 6 0 3 3 2 10 −8 3 Sep Oct 0–3 Oct — 0–0
6  Mauritania (Z) 6 0 2 4 2 9 −7 2 0–2 0–1 0–2 Sep Sep —
Updated to match(es) played on 25 March 2025. Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(Z) Cannot qualify directly; can still advance to the second round

Group C

Main article: 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Group C
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification South Africa Rwanda Benin Nigeria Lesotho Zimbabwe
1  South Africa 6 4 1 1 10 5 +5 13 2026 FIFA World Cup — Oct 2–1 Sep 2–0 3–1
2  Rwanda 6 2 2 2 4 4 0 8 Possible second round 2–0 — Oct 0–2 1–1 0–0
3  Benin 6 2 2 2 6 7 −1 8 0–2 1–0 — 2–1 Sep Sep
4  Nigeria 6 1 4 1 7 6 +1 7 1–1 Sep Oct — 1–1 1–1
5  Lesotho 6 1 3 2 4 5 −1 6 Sep 0–1 0–0 Oct — Oct
6  Zimbabwe 6 0 4 2 5 9 −4 4 Oct Sep 2–2 1–1 0–2 —
Updated to match(es) played on 25 March 2025. Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group D

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 6 4 1 1 7 5 +2 13 2026 FIFA World Cup — Sep 1–0 0–0 1–0 Oct
2  Cameroon 6 3 3 0 12 4 +8 12 Possible second round 4–1 — 3–1 Oct 3–0 Sep
3  Libya 6 2 2 2 6 7 −1 8 Oct 1–1 — 1–1 2–1 Sep
4  Angola 6 1 4 1 4 4 0 7 1–2 1–1 Sep — Sep 1–0
5  Mauritius 6 1 2 3 6 10 −4 5 Sep Oct Oct 0–0 — 2–1
6  Eswatini 6 0 2 4 4 9 −5 2 0–2 0–0 0–1 Oct 3–3 —
Updated to match(es) played on 25 March 2025. Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group E

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 (X) 5 5 0 0 14 2 +12 15 2026 FIFA World Cup — Sep 2–0 2–1 Canc. Canc.
2  Niger 4 2 0 2 6 4 +2 6 Possible second round 1–2 — 0–1 2–1 Canc. Canc.
3  Tanzania 4 2 0 2 2 4 −2 6 0–2 Sep — Oct Canc. Canc.
4  Zambia (Z) 4 1 0 3 6 7 −1 3 Sep Oct 0–1 — 4–2 Canc.
5  Congo[a] 3 0 0 3 2 13 −11 0 Suspended 0–6 0–3[b] Canc. Canc. — Canc.
6  Eritrea[c] 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Withdrew Canc. Canc. Canc. Canc. Canc. —
Updated to match(es) played on 25 March 2025. Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(X) Assured of top two finish; can still qualify directly; (Z) Cannot qualify directly; can still advance to the second round
Notes:
  1. ^ Congo were suspended on 6 February 2025 due to government interference in Congolese Football Federation operations.[10][11] While no announcement regarding their status in the tournament has been released, CAF have cancelled their remaining matches.[12]
  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.[13]
  3. ^ Eritrea withdrew from qualification prior to playing any matches, reportedly due to concerns that players would seek political asylum if allowed to travel overseas.[6][14][15]

Group F

Main article: 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Group F
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Ivory Coast Gabon Burundi Kenya The Gambia Seychelles
1  Ivory Coast 6 5 1 0 14 0 +14 16 2026 FIFA World Cup — 1–0 Sep Oct 1–0 9–0
2  Gabon 6 5 0 1 12 6 +6 15 Possible second round Sep — Oct 2–1 3–2 3–0
3  Burundi 6 3 1 2 13 7 +6 10 0–1 1–2 — Oct 3–2 5–0
4  Kenya 6 1 3 2 11 8 +3 6 0–0 1–2 1–1 — Sep Sep
5  Gambia (Z) 6 1 1 4 12 13 −1 4 0–2 Oct Sep 3–3 — 5–1
6  Seychelles (E) 6 0 0 6 2 30 −28 0 Oct Sep 1–3 0–5 Oct —
Updated to match(es) played on 25 March 2025. Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(E) Eliminated; (Z) Cannot qualify directly; can still advance to the second round

Group G

Main article: 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Group G
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Algeria Mozambique Botswana Uganda Guinea Somalia
1  Algeria 6 5 0 1 16 6 +10 15 2026 FIFA World Cup — 5–1 Sep Oct 1–2 3–1
2  Mozambique 6 4 0 2 10 11 −1 12 Possible second round 0–2 — Sep 3–1 Oct 2–1
3  Botswana 6 3 0 3 9 8 +1 9 1–3 2–3 — Oct 1–0 2–0
4  Uganda 6 3 0 3 6 7 −1 9 1–2 Sep 1–0 — 1–0 Sep
5  Guinea 6 2 1 3 4 5 −1 7 Sep 0–1 Oct 2–1 — 0–0
6  Somalia (Z) 6 0 1 5 3 11 −8 1 Oct Oct 1–3 0–1 Sep —
Updated to match(es) played on 25 March 2025. Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(Z) Cannot qualify directly; can still advance to the second round

Group H

Main article: 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Group H
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Tunisia Namibia Liberia Equatorial Guinea Malawi São Tomé and Príncipe
1  Tunisia 6 5 1 0 9 0 +9 16 2026 FIFA World Cup — Oct Sep 1–0 2–0 4–0
2  Namibia 6 3 3 0 8 2 +6 12 Possible second round 0–0 — 1–1 1–1 Sep Sep
3  Liberia 6 3 1 2 7 4 +3 10 0–1 Oct — 3–0[a] 0–1 2–1
4  Equatorial Guinea 6 2 1 3 4 8 −4 7 Sep 0–3[a] Oct — 1–0 2–0
5  Malawi 6 2 0 4 4 6 −2 6 0–1 0–1 Sep Oct — 3–1
6  São Tomé and Príncipe (E) 6 0 0 6 2 14 −12 0 Oct 0–2 0–1 Sep Oct —
Updated to match(es) played on 24 March 2025. Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(E) Eliminated
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Equatorial Guinea forfeited two matches for fielding an ineligible player, Emilio Nsue.[16] The original results were Equatorial Guinea 1–0 Namibia and Liberia 0–1 Equatorial Guinea.

Group I

Main article: 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Group I
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Ghana Comoros Madagascar Mali Central African Republic Chad
1  Ghana 6 5 0 1 15 5 +10 15 2026 FIFA World Cup — Oct 1–0 Sep 4–3 5–0
2  Comoros 6 4 0 2 9 7 +2 12 Possible second round 1–0 — Oct 0–3 4–2 1–0
3  Madagascar 6 3 1 2 9 6 +3 10 0–3 2–1 — 0–0 Sep Sep
4  Mali 6 2 3 1 8 4 +4 9 1–2 Sep Oct — 1–1 3–1
5  Central African Republic 6 1 2 3 8 13 −5 5 Oct Sep 1–4 0–0 — 1–0
6  Chad (E) 6 0 0 6 1 15 −14 0 Sep 0–2 0–3 Oct Oct —
Updated to match(es) played on 25 March 2025. Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(E) Eliminated

Ranking of runners-up

Neither CAF nor FIFA have made an official announcement on how Eritrea's withdrawal or Congo's suspension will affect the rankings of the group runners-up since not all groups have the same number of teams.

Pos Grp Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 F  Gabon 6 5 0 1 12 6 +6 15 Second round
2 D  Cameroon 6 3 3 0 12 4 +8 12
3 B  Senegal 6 3 3 0 8 1 +7 12
4 H  Namibia 6 3 3 0 8 2 +6 12
5 I  Comoros 6 4 0 2 9 7 +2 12
6 G  Mozambique 6 4 0 2 10 11 −1 12
7 A  Burkina Faso 6 3 2 1 13 7 +6 11
8 C  Rwanda 6 2 2 2 4 4 0 8
9 E  Niger 4 2 0 2 6 4 +2 6
Updated to match(es) played on 25 March 2025. Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Second round

The four best group runners-up will be drawn into play-offs to determine the sole CAF representative at the inter-confederation play-offs. A total of three matches will be played.

Bracket

 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
November 2025 (2025-11)
 
 
 
 
November 2025 (2025-11)
 
 
 
 
 
November 2025 (2025-11)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Semi-finals

v
v

Final

v

Inter-confederation play-offs

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

The play-off winner will join one team each from AFC, CONMEBOL and OFC and two from CONCACAF in the inter-confederation play-offs. The teams will be ranked according to the 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.[17]

Top goalscorers

There have been 375 goals scored in 154 matches, for an average of 2.44 goals per match (as of 25 March 2025).

6 goals

5 goals

4 goals

3 goals

Below are full goalscorer lists for each group:

References

  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. ^ "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.
  11. ^ "FIFA suspends Congo Republic and Pakistan". Reuters. 7 February 2025. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
  12. ^ "Schedule & Results". CAFonline.com. CAF. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  13. ^ "FIFA awards win to Niger after Congo no-show in World Cup qualifier". The Straits Times. 26 June 2024. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
  14. ^ "Eritrea withdrew from 2026 World Cup qualifying 'over fears players will flee'". The Guardian. 14 November 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  15. ^ "Eritrea withdraw from FIFA World Cup qualifiers". FIFA. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ "Bureau of the Council recommends slot allocation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup". FIFA. 30 March 2017. Archived from the original on 19 June 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
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