The African Qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup are defined: who can qualify and the key matches
The African qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup come to an end and in October the nine direct qualifiers of the continent will be defined, on an exciting FIFA date in which several teams can surprise and some historic ones can fall by the wayside.
What is the format of the African Qualifiers?
African football, which had the best performance in its history in Qatar 2022 thanks to semi-finalist Morocco, benefited from the increase in the number of participants and It will have 9 direct spots and one more to the playoffs.
The 54 selected members affiliated with the CAF were divided into 9 groups of 6 members. The 9 winners from each zone will qualify directlywhile the four best seconds will compete in a playoff playoff in direct elimination duels for the place for the intercontinental playoff.
In October the first phase will end and the direct qualifiers will be defined. Meanwhile, the playoff round will be in November 2025.
The panorama for the last dates, group by group
GROUP A
Egyptwith Mohamed Salah as the flag, They beat Djibouti 2-0 on October 8 and qualified. It will play in the World Cup for the fourth time in its history. Now, they will face Guinea-Bissau on the 12th just to meet the schedule and finish the Qualifiers undefeated. Burkina Faso finished second in this area, which will compete in the playoffs for the repechage.
GROUP B
An even area, with two clear contenders. Senegal (21 points) reaches the last date as leader and depends on himself. If they beat Mauritania, they will be in the World Cup. Their rival is the Democratic Republic of the Congo (19 points), which needs a slip from the leader and beat South Sudan. Both triumphed on the penultimate day.
GROUP C
The most disputed groupwhose outlook changed due to a regulatory issue. South Africa arrived as a big favorite, due to a player’s poor alignment they lost 3 points and now everything is open. On the penultimate date, the South Africans tied with Zimbabwe and lost the lead. Now, they have 15 points against 17 of Benin, who won and depends on themselves to strike out and qualify. They will face Nigeria on the last date, which can also achieve passage if they win because they have 14 units. South Africa needs to beat Rwanda so Benin doesn’t win. It will be a spectacular last date.
GROUP D
The area that could deliver the big surprise of the Qualifiers. The selection of Cape Verdea small island of less than 500 thousand inhabitants, has 2 more points than Cameroon and if they beat Eswatini at home on October 13, they will qualify for the World Cup for the first time in their history. Continental giant Cameroon only has to beat Angola and hope that Cape Verde does not triumph.
GROUP E
Morocco qualified after winning its seven games. The Qatar 2022 semi-finalist is the best African team and they showed it in the Qualifiers, where they left no doubt. Tanzania, Niger and Zambia fight for second place.
GROUP F
Another area with two favorites who will compete for the passage. Ivory Coast (23 points) depends on itself on the last date and, after a win over Seychelles, they will be in the World Cup if they beat Kenya on October 14. Gabon (22) needs the Ivorians not to win and defeat Burundi, against whom they will not be able to count on Aubameyang, scorer of 4 goals and sent off against Kenya.
GROUP G
Algeria also qualified one date before the endafter beating Somalia 3-0 on October 9. Thus, he will play his fifth World Cup. Second place will be defined on the last day. Uganda leads Mozambique by 3 points and ten goals.
GROUP H
Another group that was defined before the closure. Tunisia added 22 points out of 24 and achieved the classification. Namibia will be second if they win or draw with Liberia on October 9.
GROUP I
After beating Central African Republic on October 8, Ghana (22 points) He was one point away from achieving passage. He will seek to ensure it October 12 against Comoros. Madagascar (19) needs to beat eliminated Mali and wait for a landslide defeat of the leader to strike. If he doesn’t get it, at least he will go to the playoff for the repechage.
THE POSITIONS, IN THIS LINK
Africa’s qualifiers for the World Cup
The Moroccan team beat Niger 5-0 and became the first African qualifier for the 2026 event. It will be their seventh performance in a World Cup. It comes from achieving the best campaign in the history of the continent, when in Qatar 2022 it reached the semifinals.
Tunisia beat Equatorial Guinea 1-0, secured first place in Group H of the African Qualifiers and will play in the 2026 World Cup. It will be its 7th. participation in its history and the third in a row.
Egypt will play its fourth World Cup in history. They beat Djibouti 2-0 and secured first place in Group A of the African Qualifiers.
The North African team qualified one date before the end by beating Somalia and will play in its fifth World Cup. They achieved 7 wins out of 9 and won their group over Uganda and Mozambique.
