We may have only just had the 2022 World Cup last winter but it’s already time to look ahead to the next tournament in four years’ time.
Teams belonging to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) now know how they can reach the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico with the qualifying groups having been decided.
There are a hell of a lot of teams within the continent competing for a well-earned spot at the World Cup, but with nine teams guaranteed to qualify for the tournament instead of just five from previous years, it’s an exciting time for African football.
Here is all you need to know about World Cup qualification in CAF.
In CAF’s World Cup qualifying stage, there are nine groups of six teams – totalling 54 nations. Each team plays one another home and away in a round-robin format, meaning a total of ten matches in each group.
The winners of each group automatically qualify for the World Cup as a result of CAF being given nine guaranteed spots in 2026 due to the tournament moving from 32 to 48 teams.
Now the draw for the qualifying groups has been completed, the next step is for qualification to get underway. The first round of games starts in November 2023 and will run for two years across ten matchdays.
|
Matchday |
Date range |
|---|---|
|
1 & 2 |
13-21 November 2023 |
|
3 & 4 |
3-11 June 2024 |
|
5 & 6 |
17-25 March 2025 |
|
7 & 8 |
1-9 September 2025 |
|
9 & 10 |
6-14 October 2025 |
Group A
|
Pos. |
Team |
Played |
Won |
Drawn |
Lost |
Goal difference |
+/- |
Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Egypt |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
2 |
Burkina Faso |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
3 |
Guinea-Bissau |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
4 |
Sierra Leone |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
5 |
Ethiopia |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
6 |
Djibouti |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
Group B
|
Pos. |
Team |
Played |
Won |
Lost |
Drawn |
Goal difference |
+/- |
Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Senegal |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
2 |
Congo DR |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
3 |
Mauritania |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
4 |
Togo |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
5 |
Sudan |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
6 |
South Sudan |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
Group C
|
Pos. |
Team |
Played |
Won |
Lost |
Drawn |
Goal difference |
+/- |
Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Nigeria |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
2 |
South Africa |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
3 |
Benin |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
4 |
Zimbabwe |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
5 |
Rwanda |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
6 |
Lesotho |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
Group D
|
Pos. |
Team |
Played |
Won |
Lost |
Drawn |
Goal difference |
+/- |
Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Cameroon |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
2 |
Cabo Verde |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
3 |
Angola |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
4 |
Libya |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
5 |
Eswatini |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
6 |
Mauritius |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
Group E
|
Pos. |
Team |
Played |
Won |
Lost |
Drawn |
Goal difference |
+/- |
Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Morocco |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
2 |
Zambia |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
3 |
Congo |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
4 |
Tanzania |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
5 |
Niger |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
6 |
Eritrea |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
Group F
|
Pos. |
Team |
Played |
Won |
Lost |
Drawn |
Goal difference |
+/- |
Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Cote d’Ivoire |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
2 |
Gabon |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
3 |
Kenya |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
4 |
The Gambia |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
5 |
Burundi |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
6 |
Seychelles |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
Group G
|
Pos. |
Team |
Played |
Won |
Lost |
Drawn |
Goal difference |
+/- |
Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Algeria |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
2 |
Guinea |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
3 |
Uganda |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
4 |
Mozambique |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
5 |
Botswana |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
6 |
Somalia |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
Group H
|
Pos. |
Team |
Played |
Won |
Lost |
Drawn |
Goal difference |
+/- |
Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Tunisia |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
2 |
Equatorial Guinea |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
3 |
Namibia |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
4 |
Malawi |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
5 |
Liberia |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
6 |
Sao Tome and Principe |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
Group I
|
Pos. |
Team |
Played |
Won |
Lost |
Drawn |
Goal difference |
+/- |
Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Mali |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
2 |
Ghana |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
3 |
Madagscar |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
4 |
Central African Republic |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
5 |
Comoros |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
|
6 |
Chad |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0:0 |
0 |
Matchday 1
*Game times and dates are preliminary at time of writing and subject to change
|
Date |
Time (BST) |
Group |
Fixture |
|---|---|---|---|
|
13/11/23 |
TBC |
A |
Ethiopia vs Sierra Leone |
|
13/11/23 |
TBC |
A |
Burkina Faso vs Guinea-Bissau |
|
13/11/23 |
TBC |
A |
Egypt vs Djibouti |
|
13/11/23 |
TBC |
B |
Congo DR vs Mauritania |
|
13/11/23 |
TBC |
B |
Senegal vs South Sudan |
|
13/11/23 |
TBC |
B |
Sudan vs Togo |
|
13/11/23 |
TBC |
C |
Rwanda vs Zimbabwe |
|
13/11/23 |
TBC |
C |
Nigeria vs Lesotho |
|
13/11/23 |
TBC |
C |
South Africa vs Benin |
|
13/11/23 |
TBC |
D |
Eswatini vs Libya |
|
13/11/23 |
TBC |
D |
Cameroon vs Mauritius |
|
13/11/23 |
TBC |
D |
Cabo Verde vs Angola |
|
13/11/23 |
TBC |
E |
Niger vs Tanzania |
|
13/11/23 |
TBC |
E |
Morocco vs Eritrea |
|
13/11/23 |
TBC |
E |
Zambia vs Congo |
|
13/11/23 |
TBC |
F |
Burundi vs The Gambia |
|
13/11/23 |
TBC |
F |
Gabon vs Kenya |
|
13/11/23 |
TBC |
F |
Cote d’Ivoire vs Seychelles |
|
13/11/23 |
TBC |
G |
Algeria vs Somalia |
|
13/11/23 |
TBC |
G |
Guinea vs Uganda |
|
13/11/23 |
TBC |
G |
Botswana vs Mozambique |
|
13/11/23 |
TBC |
H |
Liberia vs Malawi |
|
13/11/23 |
TBC |
H |
Equatorial Guinea vs Namibia |
|
13/11/23 |
TBC |
H |
Tunisia vs Sao Tome and Principe |
|
13/11/23 |
TBC |
I |
Ghana vs Madagascar |
|
13/11/23 |
TBC |
I |
Mali vs Chad |
|
13/11/23 |
TBC |
I |
Comoros vs Central African Republic |
While the nine group winners are guaranteed a place at the next World Cup, there is the possibility that another African team qualifies.
The four best group runners-up will compete against one another in a play-off, with the winner eventually going to the FIFA play-off tournament.
That FIFA play-off tournament is made up of one nation from each federation (excluding UEFA), as well as an extra nation from CONCACAF, with the winner of that knockout competition joining the other 47 teams in the World Cup group stages.
The 2026 World Cup will take place in June and July across the United States, Canada and Mexico. The expanded format means there will be even more games than usual at the world’s biggest international tournament.
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