The first round of CAF qualifying for FIFA World Cup 26™ came to a thrilling conclusion on Tuesday, 14 October.
Nine African teams have now qualified directly for the World Cup, which will take place in Canada, Mexico and the United States in 2026. One final African team will have the chance to compete in the FIFA Play-Off Tournament.
To reach the FIFA Play-Off Tournament in March 2026, four African teams – Nigeria, Cameroon, Congo DR and Gabon – will compete in a continental play-off during the next international window in November 2025. Find out everything you need to know about the CAF play-offs below.
When and where will the African play-offs take place?
The African play-offs will be held as a centralised tournament in Morocco, with stadiums to be confirmed at a later stage.
Three matches will be played by the knock-out system in the format of semi-finals and a final. The semi-finals will take place on Thursday, 13 November and the final on Sunday, 16 November.
How the teams qualified for the African play-offs
The four best runners-up from the African qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 2026 will participate in the African play-offs.
Nigeria
Victor Osimhen’s Super Eagles secured second place in Group C, behind South Africa, on the final day of qualifying. Their 4-0 victory over Benin allowed them to overtake the latter and claim second place.
Cameroon
A 0-0 draw with Angola on the final day of qualifying was enough for Vincent Aboubakar and Bryan Mbeumo’s Cameroon to clinch second place in Group D, behind history-making Cabo Verde and ahead of Libya.
Congo DR
Congo DR still had a chance to qualify directly for the World Cup 26 on the final day of qualifying, but that would have required Senegal not to win. However, the Lions of Teranga beat Mauritania 4-0, while the Leopards won 1-0 against Sudan, who finished third. Cedric Bakambu and his teammates had to settle for second place in Group B.
Gabon
The Panthers saw African champions Côte d’Ivoire qualify directly for their fourth World Cup. Here, too, the Elephants needed to lose on the final day to give Gabon any hope of qualifying. But Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and his team-mates will have to battle it out in the play-offs.
The African play-off schedule
Semi-finals – 13 November
Match 1: Team 1 v Team 4 Match 2: Team 2 v Team 3
Final – 16 November
Match 3: Match 1 Winner v Match 2 Winner
How Teams 1 to 4 are determined
Teams 1, 2, 3 and 4 will be determined according to the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking published on 23 October.
Team 1: the highest-ranked team in the FIFA ranking. Team 2: the second-highest-ranked team in the FIFA ranking. Team 3: the third-highest-ranked team in the FIFA ranking. Team 4: the least-ranked team in the FIFA ranking.
Currently, Nigeria are ranked 45th in the world, Cameroon 52nd, Congo DR 60th and Gabon 79th.