The African qualification process for the 2026 FIFA World Cup CAF Qualifiers began on November 15, 2023, and will continue until November 18, 2025. This qualification is exclusive to teams that are members of the Confederation of African Football (CAF). The nine slots are available for the 2026 FIFA World Cup African Qualifiers in the final tournament in the 2026 FIFA World Cup United States, Canada and Mexico.
In CAF, FIFA-affiliated football associations participate in the qualification process. For the first round of qualification, the All 54 FIFA-affiliated football associations will be used to determine which nations will compete. In the second and third rounds, the most recent Men’s FIFA rankings will be utilized.
In the 2022 FIFA World Cup CAF (Africa) is allocated five teams – Ghana, Senegal, Tunisia, Morocco and Cameroon for the final round. This time a total of 48 teams have qualified for the 2026 Football World Cup with 9 slots of final round.
2026 FIFA World Cup African Qualifiers
Table of Contents
All the ground and Matchday with Date
| 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 | ||
| Inter-confederation play-offs | 6 teams |
Participated Teams
- Group A: Egypt, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Djibouti
- Group B: Sudan, Senegal, Mauritania, Togo, South Sudan, DR Congo
- Group C: Nigeria, South Africa, Rwanda, Benin, Lesotho, Zimbabwe
- Group D: Cape Verde, Cameroon, Angola, Libya, Eswatini, Malawi
- Group E: DR Congo, Ghana, Madagascar, Comoros, Central African Republic, Chad
- Group F: Algeria, Uganda, Mozambique, Gambia, Botswana, Zambia
- Group G: Tunisia, Equatorial Guinea, Namibia, Mauritania, Malawi, Senegal
- Group H: Ivory Coast, Gabon, Kenya, Zambia, Republic of Congo, Burundi
- Group I: Morocco, Tanzania, Mali, Mauritania, Libya, Eritrea
CAF Qualifiers First Round draw POT
| POT 1 Morocco (13) Senegal (18) Tunisia (31) Algeria (33) Egypt (34) Nigeria (39) Cameroon (43) Mali (50) Ivory Coast (51) | POT 2 Burkina Faso (55) Ghana (59) South Africa (62) Cape Verde (66) DR Congo (69) Guinea (80) Zambia (84) Gabon (85) Equatorial Guinea (91) |
| POT 3 Uganda (92) Benin (93) Mauritania (99) Kenya (105) Congo (106) Madagascar (107) Guinea-Bissau (111) Namibia (112) Angola (114) | POT 4 Mozambique (117) Gambia (119) Sierra Leone (120) Togo (122) Tanzania (123) Zimbabwe (124) Central African Republic (125) Malawi (126) Libya (127) |
| POT 5 Niger (128) Comoros (130) Sudan (131) Rwanda (139) Burundi (140) Ethiopia (143) Eswatini (146) Botswana (147) Liberia (148) | POT 6 Lesotho (152) South Sudan (168) Mauritius (180) Chad (181) São Tomé and Príncipe (187) Djibouti (193) Seychelles (196) Eritrea (198) Somalia (199) |
2026 FIFA World Cup African Qualifiers Groups and Standing
The 2026 FIFA World Cup African Qualifiers Group winners will secure direct qualification for the final World Cup teams, while the four best runners-up will enter playoffs to compete for a spot in the inter-confederation playoffs.
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | Win | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Egypt | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 2 | +11 | 13 |
| 2 | Burkina Faso | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 6 | +5 | 8 |
| 3 | Sierra Leone | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 8 |
| 4 | Guinea-Bissau | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 6 |
| 5 | Ethiopia | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | −5 | 3 |
| 6 | Djibouti | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 14 | −11 | 1 |
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | Win | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sudan | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | +6 | 10 |
| 2 | DR Congo | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 10 |
| 3 | Senegal | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 8 |
| 4 | Togo | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 3 |
| 5 | South Sudan | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 9 | −8 | 2 |
| 6 | Mauritania | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 | −5 | 1 |
Group C
| Pos | Team | Pld | Win | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Africa | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 10 |
| 2 | Benin | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 8 |
| 3 | Rwanda | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 7 |
| 4 | Nigeria | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 6 |
| 5 | Lesotho | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 5 |
| 6 | Zimbabwe | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 8 | −4 | 3 |
Group D
| Pos | Team | Pld | Win | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Verde | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 10 |
| 2 | Cameroon | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 9 |
| 3 | Libya | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 8 |
| 4 | Angola | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 7 |
| 5 | Mauritius | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 4 |
| 6 | Eswatini | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 6 | −5 | 1 |
Group E
| Pos | Team | Pld | Win | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Morocco | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 2 | +10 | 12 |
| 2 | Niger | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 6 |
| 3 | Tanzania | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| 4 | Zambia | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 3 |
| 5 | Congo (Suspended) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 13 | −11 | 0 |
| 6 | Eritrea (Withdrew) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Group F
| Pos | Team | Pld | Win | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ivory Coast | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 0 | +13 | 13 |
| 2 | Gabon | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 5 | +5 | 12 |
| 3 | Burundi | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 7 |
| 4 | Kenya | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 6 | +4 | 6 |
| 5 | Gambia | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 4 |
| 6 | Seychelles | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 25 | −23 | 0 |
Group G
| Pos | Team | Pld | Win | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Algeria | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 5 | +6 | 12 |
| 2 | Mozambique | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 12 |
| 3 | Guinea | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 7 |
| 4 | Botswana | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 8 | −1 | 6 |
| 5 | Uganda | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 6 |
| 6 | Somalia | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 9 | −6 | 1 |
Group H
| Pos | Team | Pld | Win | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tunisia | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | +7 | 13 |
| 2 | Namibia | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 1 | +6 | 11 |
| 3 | Liberia | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 7 |
| 4 | Malawi | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 6 |
| 5 | Equatorial Guinea | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 6 |
| 6 | São Tomé and Príncipe | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 12 | −11 | 0 |
Group I
| Pos | Team | Pld | Win | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tunisia | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | +7 | 13 |
| 2 | Namibia | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 1 | +6 | 11 |
| 3 | Liberia | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 7 |
| 4 | Malawi | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 6 |
| 5 | Equatorial Guinea | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 6 |
| 6 | São Tomé and Príncipe | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 12 | −11 | 0 |
Second round
The four best 2026 FIFA World Cup African Qualifiers runners-up teams from the groups will be drawn into the play-offs.
Inter-confederation play-offs
The top two runners-up from the third round will form a team. This team will compete against teams from AFC, OFC, and CONMEBOL, as well as two teams from CONCACAF. The victorious team will qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
How many African teams qualify for the World Cup?
2026 FIFA World Cup African Qualifiers 9 direct slots are available for the final round.
