Nigeria will play DR Congo on Sunday with the winner to represent Africa in the World Cup inter-confederation play-offs.
On Thursday, Nigeria defeated Gabon 4-1 in extra time, with DR Congo overcoming Cameroon 1-0 as a last-minute Chancel Mbemba winner set up Sunday’s final at the Moulay Hassan Stadium in Rabat, Morocco.
The winners of that match will advance through to the inter-confederation play-offs, from which two sides will qualify for the tournament next summer in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
In the African qualifiers, teams were split into nine groups of six, with group winners automatically qualifying for the World Cup.
Algeria, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia were the teams to secure direct qualification.
Nigeria, Gabon, DR Congo and Cameroon — the four best-performing group runners-up — moved into the second round, with one African spot for March’s play-offs.
Nigeria failed to win any of their first four qualification matches, but the appointment of Eric Chelle in January coincided with an upturn in form as Nigeria won four and drew two of their remaining qualifiers, as they ranked second behind South Africa.
In Group B, DR Congo enjoyed a successful campaign, picking up seven wins, though reigning African champions Senegal went undefeated to qualify as group winners. The nation’s only appearance at the World Cup came in 1974 — when they were known as Zaire — which saw them become the first sub-Saharan country to feature at the tournament.
How do the inter-confederation play-offs work?
The play-offs will be held in March in North America, though exact dates and venues have yet to be confirmed.
New Caledonia (who lost the final of the OFC’s automatic qualifying tournament to New Zealand) and Bolivia (who finished seventh in CONMEBOL’s round robin qualifying format) have already qualified for the play-offs. In Asia, the United Arab Emirates will take on Iraq over two legs to qualify for the play-offs — the first leg finished 1-1 in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, ahead of the return in Basra on November 18.
As the host confederation, CONCACAF will be represented twice in the play-offs by the two best runners-up from the third round of qualifying. Curacao and Costa Rica are the teams currently occupying those positions.
After the six participants are confirmed, they will be split into seeded and unseeded teams and into two separate pathways. The two highest FIFA-ranked sides will be seeded and move straight on to the final of each pathway.
The unseeded teams will consist of a pair of single-leg semi-finals, with the two winners advancing to the final. The two final winners will be the 47th and 48th nations at the 2026 men’s World Cup.