While nine African countries are assured a place at the World Cup, the 10th country will engage in a high-stakes four-team play-off tournament to determine the final qualifiers, potentially increasing the representation to 10 African nations. In anticipation of these thrilling African qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, use this Betking coupon code to unlock enticing bonuses while placing bets—an opportunity that adds an extra layer of excitement to the upcoming football spectacle, an opportunity you won’t want to miss out on.
Hakimi, Salah, Mane, and more stars are set to feature in the 2025 Qualifiers (Photo credits: Getty Images)
How Qualifying Works
The World Cup qualifiers in Africa will be played over the two rounds. Round one will be in different groups, with 9 groups of 6 teams each. Each country is scheduled to play two games, home and away, against each team in the group. Winners from these groups will automatically qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
The 2nd round will have the best four in two semi-finals and lastly the final. The team that wins this round will take part in the FIFA Intercontinental Play-offs.
Important Dates for African Qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup
Round 1 – November 13, 2023 – October 14, 2025
- Fifty-four teams to participate in nine groups of six. The winners for each group qualify directly. The four best runners-up teams will participate in the African play-offs.
Round 2, play-offs – November 10-18, 2025
- The four best countries play in a tournament that includes the semi-finals and a final—the winner participates in the FIFA Intercontinental play-offs.
Intercontinental Play-Offs – November, 2025
- At this stage, one more African country may qualify.
Nine or ten African countries will be participating in the 2026 World Cup.
Qualifiers Groups
Group A consists of Egypt, Guinea Bissau, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Djibouti
Group B to include Senegal, Mauritania, DRC, Togo, South Sudan, and Sudan.
Group C to include Nigeria, Benin, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, and Rwanda.
Group D has Cameroon, Angola, Cape Verde, Libya, Mauritius, Eswatini
Group E has Morocco, Congo, Zambia, Tanzania, Eritrea, and Niger.
Group F has Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Gabon, Gambia, Seychelles, Burundi
Group G consists of Algeria, Guinea, Mozambique, Uganda, Somalia, Botswana
Group H includes Tunisia, Namibia, Equatorial, Guinea, Liberia, Sao Tomé et Principe, Malawi
Group I has Ghana, Chad, Mali, Madagascar, Comoros, Central African Republic.
Expected African Teams To Qualify For The 2026 World Cup
Morocco made history in Qatar by becoming the first African team to reach the World Cup semi-finals. They lost 2-0 to France in semis and 2-1 to Croatia in a play-off for third place.
Morocco, in Group E, is the highest team in Africa in the latest FIFA rankings, ahead of Cup of AFCON title-holders Senegal and Tunisia in the third place. A rising force in Africa, Tunisia is in Group H; they defeated the North African teams in a Cup of Nations qualifier.
Cameroon, who are the African holder of World Cup qualification, appearing eight times, have not been doing well in recent matches, offering hope to Angola and Cape Verde in Group D.
FIFA World Cup Appearances:
- 8 – Cameroon
- 6 – Nigeria, Morocco, Tunisia
- 4 –Algeria, Ghana
- 3 – Egypt, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, South Africa,
- 1 – Angola, DR Congo, Togo
How Long Will The African 2026 World Cup Qualifiers Last?
The 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifies will last for two years. The first round of the group stage will start on September 13, 2023, and the final match of the play-offs between the best runners-up will be done in November 2025.
What Are The Play-Offs?
Some of the teams in the runners-up from the nine groups will have another chance. This means that the 4 best second-placed nations will compete in the playoffs, then the semis and the final in 2025 November deciding which African nations will be promoted to play off for the intercontinental tournament.
